Public Building and Site Commission Wants To Get Projects Earlier

Some members of the Public Building and Site Commission were miffed that construction projects such as the Newtown Middle School roof replacement appear to have gotten underway without the commission's input.

"We do not want to get projects where we did not have a say," Commission Chairman Robert Mitchell said during the group's monthly meeting at Reed Intermediate School on Tuesday.

Responsibility for the roof project was handed over to the commission by the Board of Selectmen on Monday night, but some members said they were upset to know work had already been done on the project – such as hiring a consultant to come up with cost estimates and soliciting requests for proposals for architectural work.

"I take exception to that," Mitchell said. "We should have been in charge six months ago when it was being done."

The commission is trying to figure out a way to have projects referred to it sooner in the process. For instance, the commission has received little information on a new planned animal control facility and Hook and Ladder fire station.

"I have nothing on the pound except I'm in charge," Mitchell said.

In the case of the Newtown Middle School Roof project, the commission questioned school district Facilities Director Gino Faiella and Board of Education member David Nanavaty who attended the meeting on who authorized the firm to come up with estimates on the project and why architectural firms had been contacted already.

Those tasks would typically fall under the Public Building and Site Commission's purview, officials said.

"It was a professional service that should have gone to this commission," Mitchell said.

Nanavaty and Faiella said the firm was consulted in response to the Board of Finance, which had asked for more up-to-date estimates on the project. Additionally, some of the information was needed as part of the process to qualify for state school construction grants, officials said.

The bids already received for architectural work were not meant to limit the commission's work, Nanavaty said.

"You are at the beginning of this project," he said. "You are going to have the opportunity to weigh in on this project."

Mitchell said he wanted Public Building and Site Commission members to keep tabs on the work of other town bodies should they discuss projects that might fall under the commission's authority.

Bob Edwards  volunteered to keep tabs on the middle school roof project.

"We're dealing with multiple jobs," Mitchell said. "We want to bring our expertise to the table."

In other updates, the Newtown High School expansion project remains two weeks behind schedule, officials said. Workers will soon be ready to bring trusses to the school site, and they need to be assured the parking lot and driveway areas were clear of other uses.