MUNICIPAL RENOVATIONS COMMITTEE
MINUTES of MEETING
THURSDAY 2/26/09
6:30 PM, MAYOR’S OFFICE
Members Present: Ed Cook, Alan Zordan, Bill Hill, Is Temkin, Tom Jerram, Mike Clark
Also Present: Stephen Nocera, mayoral Aide; Lorel Purcell, O&G; Bob Prentiss, O&G; Robert Roach, and Brian Solywoda, Friar Associates; Jerry Rollett, Director Public Works, City of Torrington
The Meeting was opened at 6:39 PM on a motion from Mr. Cook seconded by Mr. Zordan.
The Minutes of the Special Meeting of 02/18/09 were approved on a motion from Mr. Hill, seconded by Mr. Cook.
Mr. Clark informed those present that the temporary vault at the Field Street City Hall would be outfitted now with shelves to be used at the renovated City Hall in 2010. Existing City clerk vault shelving will be stored at Timken and altered as required as soon as the renovated City Hall final ceiling height is definite. He noted that in addition to saving the cost of possibly having to alter existing shelving twice if they were used at both vaults, there was also a cost savings due to different labor rate requirements attributed to moving expenses versus City Hall construction.
Mr. Clark stated that interior signage required for the Field Street City Hall location had been ordered and would be installed before operations opened there on March 2nd. The signs are being made by Giordano sign, the lowest quote for the job.
Mr. Cook presented an update of the progress regarding additional budget reductions requested by the Mayor during the previous MRC full meeting. He informed the Committee that there were additional savings of $750,000.00 from the 12/18/08 work estimate presented by O&G. He added that the total cost reductions to the project cost approved at referendum now totaled nearly $950,000.00. Mr. Zordan added that he is looking into further reductions in owner costs, and stated that he felt there were considerable potential savings in furniture estimates as well as vault shelving requirements. Mr. Clark stated that there was an effort being made by the Probate department and Mayor’s office to explore the possibility of eliminating the Probate vault by going paperless. He said the
State of Connecticut is considering this as a cost saving measure throughout Connecticut. Mr. Nocera requested that an additional cost cuts update be presented at the March 12th MRC meeting.
Mr. Hill presented an overview of the results of his initial overview of construction specifications. He stated he had compiled a list of questions for review by Friar Associates and was awaiting a full response. He mentioned that the delay in receiving a response from Friar was due to their Project manager having been on vacation, and added that several of his concerns had already been addressed.
Ms Purcell stated that she felt construction bid opening should be moved forward to March 17th to allow additional time for the architect to respond to inquiries from the commissioning agent, Mr. Hill and Mr. Prentiss. She stated that the overall project would not be delayed by more than10 days.
Mr. Roach stated that all questions were being reviewed and several required a response from associated consultants. The latter had caused some delay.
Under Other Business: Mr. Hill once again suggested that the sewer pipes already in place at 140 Main Street should be “scoped” to determine their condition and possible need for replacement. The MRC concurred and voted unanimously to proceed with that suggestion.
Dr. Temkin suggested that the MRC should not place too much confidence in early cost cutting results since there had been no actual City Hall work undertaken as yet, and there was a likelihood of unexpected discovery once work began.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM on a motion from Mr. Cook, seconded by Mr. Zordan.
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