One Year and Counting - Town Hall/Library Project

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

Re: AGENDA Town Council 1/17/2006 (Tu)
« Reply #14 on Yesterday at 10:47am » oldetowne wrote:
The update/status report on the town hall renovations
should be quite interesting. Those of us who recall that the
Council chambers were supposed to be available once again
by New Years 2006 will not be surprised to learn that New
Years 2007 may be a more realistic target. With all due
respect for those volunteers who serve on the committee, I
suggest that the Council take a mulligan on this and appoint
an entirely new building committee - supported by
professional staff other than those town employees
currently handling the matter - and get it done
right.

Re: AGENDA Town Council 1/17/2006 (Tu)
« Reply #15 on Yesterday at 11:45am » cruzrt wrote:
It ought to be obvious that something is seriously wrong
with the Town Hall renovation. For the past 2 months, there
has been no signs of any activity in the building at any time
of day. No workmen, no work vehicles, no noise, no nothing.
Is there a strike? Did we stop paying the contractors? The
place is obviously not finished. Why has it taken this long for
1 of the 9 councillors to speak up?

Re: AGENDA Town
Council 1/17/2006 (Tu)
« Reply #17 on Today at 12:14pm » RDGarrey wrote:
Oldetowne, I agree with you on this. I have been involved
with construction for over 15 years and have managed large
construction projects and renovations. I can tell you this, I
would be unemployed if I was running that project. It always
amazed me that in municipal work their is this mentality that
time limits and monetary constraints are not something you
need to adhere to. In the rest of the construction world
those factors are what drive the project. We have seen
succesful projects in the past few years in town (Stillman
Bldg., Webb School, Silas Deane) so we know it can be done.
Let's learn from our mistakes and successes and do it right
in the future.

Re: AGENDA Town Council 1/17/2006 (Tu)
« Reply #18 on Today at 1:36pm » stvman wrote:
The Town Website (wethersfieldct.com) has the minutes for
the Town Hall Renovation Building Commitee meetings. But,
even though that group meets 2 or 3 times each month,
there are no minutes shown for any dates more recent than
September 05. Could it be that the Commitee has
disbanded; I don't think so; could it be that the work
stoppage has been discussed there? could it be that some
people do not want the minutes readily available to the
public?

And a little bit of my own snooping:
----------

BUILDING COMMITTEE, TOWN HALL/LIBRARY (Town's Web Site)
(Charter Sec. 512)  (7)
Paul T. Camarco 	R 	19 Terrace Road 	3-1-2004 to *
Joseph F.Coombs,Chr.++ 	D 	8 Cedar Street 	1-3-2000 to *
David R. Edwards, III 	R 	200 Windmill Hill 	11-17-2003 to *
Raymond A. Grasso 	D 	21 Stockade Circle 	1-3-2000 to *
Carmen A. Pace 		D 	34 Angela Drive 	1-3-2000 to *
Stuart Temple 		R 	317 Brimfield Road 	9-15-2003 to *
Timothy O.Tuell,V.Chr. 	R 	886 Ridge Road 	1-3-2000 to *
(*project completion)

----------
(From Town's Web Site)
WETHERSFIELD TOWN HALL / LIBRARY RENOVATIONS BUILDING COMMITTEE AMENDED MINUTES - MONDAY September 12, 2005
Chairman Coombs called the Meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. in the Public Works Conference Room. Members present were Paul Camarco, Joseph Coombs, Raymond Grasso, Carmen Pace and Tim Tuell. ---- Committee Members David Edwards and Stuart Temple were absent.----- Today is day 344 of the project. -----
Paul Camarco, Clerk
----------
Democrats -v- Republicans on that committee: 3 : 4
----------

Fixed order of earlier postings.

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

For all of you are intensely interested in the progress [?] of the Town Hall / Library Renovation and its supervisory Building Committee, please note:

• There will be a meeting of that committee on this Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, in Town Hall, 2nd Flr, in the Public Works Dept Conf. Rm: it is to start at 6:00 pm
  
• There will be a recently posted (1/19/2006) SPECIAL MEETING OF TOWN COUNCIL, tomorrow, Sat., Jan. 21, 2006, starting at the WPD's Comm. Rm shortly after 9:00 AM: the council will spend the next 3-1/2 hours touring parts of town and its buildings for the benefit of the newer Council members; the public obviously may tag along in its own cars.
  
• In today's copy of the Manager's Report to Council, Ms. Therrien says that she has attached to it an updated budget and schedule for Phase I work, and "A presentation to you (Council) by the Building Committee on the status of this project will be given at one of your February Council meetings."
  
• Her referenced attachment included two pages (?Gant charts?) of 205 specific tasks and an anticipated completion date of 8/12/2006; of these tasks about 2/3 are marked 100% complete; the areas with the least, very low levels of completion involved the library and the main lobby - most listed at 0% (zero) completed. Engineers among you should get a copy of it and interpret it for the rest of non-engineers.

Hope you find this helpful.

[stvman]

It would be very nice if Therrien's attachment to the Weekly Managment Report on the status of Town Hall/Library renovations were accessible via the town website. But, of course that will never happen. As was discussed at the last Council meeting, the Scanner is located on the second floor of Town Hall, and the Manager and Town Clerk are on the first floor, and "never the twains shall meet".

[stvman]

Persons on the Town Hall Library Renovation Committee have recently made comments on the record such as: "contractor is not making satisfactory progress", "don't know the timetable for completion", and "contractor is blaming architect". The chairman of the Building Committee used to make frequent appearances at Council meetings with status reports, but he's been notably missing lately. Hmmmm!!!!

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

During the balance of this year, all renovation of the Town Hall and Library should be completed.

One of the necessary steps in this process will require the complete shut down of the Library for perhaps 1-2 months while the space is remediated, renovated, reacquired, restocked and reopened. It is still not clear when this shut down will occur but the public will be notified before it happens.

Library patrons will be referred to the facilities of our adjacent communities during this hiatus. Employed staff will continue to facilitate the transition during that time.

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

From: Town Manager's Office
Re: Renovated Space Occupied, Elevator In Service
On: February 13, 2006

"It's official: The Parks & Recreation and Social & Youth Services departments have moved from [BOTTOM*] Ground Floor South to the renovated spaces of [BOTTOM*] Ground Floor North, effective immediately. The Central Connecticut Health District is also in their new space on the [BOTTOM*] Ground Floor.

Access to these offices is through the stairwells in Town Hall, or by the new elevator located next to the [MIDDLE FLOOR, North] Registrars Office."

* Obviously, some better naming convention needs to be devised than "Ground Floor" considering the bottom level is Ground Floor on the Silas Deane Hwy side and parking lot level is also "Ground Floor" to most of Wethersfield's citizens.

Maybe we need a committee to name all of the parts of our going-way-over-budget Town Hall renovation project.

Maybe the Town could sponsor a contest to name the floors! Maybe we could a bidding war with sponsors who would pay big bucks to brand each floor.

Or, maybe patronage will kick in and we will have the levels named after the prominent and powerful in the world of local politics.

[oldetowne]

The Town Council received a report on the status of the building projects at the Town Hall and Library on Monday night. I think it's fair to say that the project is further behind schedule than it ever has been and that the delays in completing Phase I (which was authorized by the voters in 1999) are seriously impacting Phase II (which was authorized by the voters in 2004). For example, it had originally been expected that bid packages for Phase II were to go out about two months ago. They have not yet gone out and no target date has been set. The architect and the committee seem to be at a total loss as to what they have to do with the town clerk's vault, although that information was provided to them several months ago.

The minutes of the building committee posted on the town's website only go up through April, but here is a sampling of what is in there. Once again, I believe that we should thank the entire committee for their work to date (including the town staff that has "overseen" the project) and fire them.

Keep those checkbooks handy, fellow taxpayers....

April 24, 2006 - "Budget Report April 20, 2006 - Chairman Coombs advised Tony Martino completed his audit with the Town Finance Director. The MUNIS System and Tony's Excel Spreadsheet are in balance. Questions arose as to what happened to the additional $790,000 that was shown on the bottom of the chart. Chairman Coombs advised that there was a misinterpretation of the Bond Attorney's Ruling related to the second Referendum Question regarding the acceptance of the State Library Grant and Small Cities Grant. This misinterpretation was discovered during the audit. Tim Tuell advised this revelation effected the conditions he used in the past for voting on Change Orders, thinking there was more money available. Tim as well as other members voiced how upset they were to this revelation. Members wanted to know the bottom line of what was left in the budget. Tony Martino advised there was just under $63,000 in funds available for the project after transferring Phase 2 expenses to that project and moving money left over from the Radio and Police parts of the Bond. Tony went over a Chart he had showing the whole bond project. He will update it to include the above PCO and expenses and get it to members. Tim Tuell asked that Peter Wells come to the next meeting to review where we are in the project and what future expenses we might be facing. "

April 24, 2006 - "Construction Status - Chairman Coombs advised demolition is mostly complete. After the meeting he will take any member over to see the progress in the Library Lower Level. There is discussion ongoing regarding the canopy. We are unhappy with the metal work having so many seams. There was no shop drawing submitted for the canopy so we didn't have a chance in advance to reject the design. We are looking at two scenarios for correcting this work. (1) Paying them and putting it on a punch list to fix. (2) Rejecting the work and refusing to pay until it is corrected. If we do Item 2 we might not meet the June 2006 completion date required for reimbursement under the Small Cities Grant. Ray Grasso suggested we write DECA and advise what has happened and maybe we can draw down the funds to hold in escrow until the work is fixed to our satisfaction. At the minimum we should make DECA aware of the problem and maybe they would extend the time for this portion of the work."

April 10, 2006 - "Construction Status - Chairman Coombs advised demolition is continuing. They are having problems with fabricating the stairs. Today the contractor was saw cutting the floor and cut an electrical conduit. The conduit was not shown on the drawings. They have to take the cut feed back to the main panel. They installed temporary lights for now so staff can continue to work."

March 27, 2006 - "Construction Status - Chairman Coombs advised the contractor is proceeding with demolition. They over demolished and have to go back and correct what shouldn't have come out. They took out block that shouldn't have come out and grade beam foundation work where the old renovation work was done. The Library stairway stringers were wrong and have to be replaced. The handrails will also have to be replaced. Fortunately this was caught before they started installing the stairway."

March 27, 2006 - re: town clerk vault - "Mike Turner advised he and Chairman Coombs met with the State Library Staff to determine the requirements for remodeling the Town Clerk's Vault. They have a four hour fireproofing requirement. What they want is very expensive and above our scope of work. The current concrete block wall is four inches thick and the new requirements set the need for ten inch block. This added block would require us add support beams in the Park & Recreation Offices we just finished. They require a separate fire suppression system, ventilation system and lighting system from the rest of the building. Chairman Coombs advised we have additional vaults in the following areas: Assessor's Office; Tax Collector's Office's; Finance Office; Building Inspection Office and Engineering Offices. Mike Turner advised as long as permanent records were kept in those other vaults the same requirements wouldn't apply. It was suggested we look at consolidating some of these vaults. Raymond Grasso asked we check into seeing what would happen if we don't improve the vault to the letter of their requirements. Also is there a grant we can apply for to do this work?"

February 27, 2006 re: town clerk's vault - "Ed Flynn advised he had concerns with the Town Clerks Vault. The vault does not meet current vault standards. We will be eliminating the windows with a block wall but do not know if we will be required to install a dehumidifier system and dry fire extinguisher system."

(Council meeting of June 5, 2005 - "Mr. Wells said that the Town Hall currently does not comply with regard to windows in vaults, and scheme 3 allows for no windows in the vaults of various appropriate offices")

[cruzrt]

Does anyone want to connect the dots about the flood in the Library on Monday July 3. This library patron has seen buckets and large plastic coverings in the main area of the library for much of last fall, winter, and spring. And seen the buckets full of water. A few months ago the buckets went away, but now we know that a lot of water came in thru the roof on Monday during a thunderstorm. Could this be a brand new leak? Maybe. Could it be that the repair job wasn't done right? Maybe. Could it be that the paid Town Government staff let this issue stay on the back-burner? Maybe. Whichever situations led to the flood, the long suffering taxpayers deserve some answers, and specific facts. That Hartford Courant news story did indicate that at least part of the problem was not new!!!!

[Ironrod]

An important omission in the Hartford Courant article was that the town manager probably claimed Monday's storm was a 100 year event. Let's see...that would make at least a dozen 100 year storm events that Wethersfield has endured in the past 3 years...must be that darn global warming thing.

Seriously, all Wethersfield residents should be outraged over the fact that $10MM was/will be spent on a building that is now better at collecting water than keeping it out.

The Town Hall/Library Renovation is way behind schedule and way over budget.

And you wonder why there is double digit tax increases???

Use to be that I would say its time to start asking questions...is it now time to start demanding answers???

[SyZyGy]

ironrod - good to hear from you again!!! With what this town put you through, it is a wonder that you are bothering to post again. If you up to the morbid challenge, you might want to attend the only town council meeting (regular) on July 17, where the Russ & Co will be turning on the flood lights on Cottone field by accepting the 8-24. I am sure that Danny and the Bulldogs will be there, badmouthing all of the opponents (dead, moved, or alive) and extolling (cough, cough) the virtues of all of the supporters (as in jock straps). I am sure it will be a show regardless.

www.courant.com/news/local/hr/hc-wetflood0704.artjul04,0,6951635.story

Storm Water Hits Library

Basement Offices Are Also Affected By Hour-Long Rain

By CAROLYN MOREAU
Courant Staff Writer

July 4 2006

WETHERSFIELD -- Storm water seeped into the town hall basement and dripped from the library ceiling during a downpour Monday afternoon that soaked the Silas Deane Highway area and left other parts of town dry.

The rain began shortly after 4 p.m. and "it rained for an hour like you would not believe," said Town Manager Bonnie Therrien.

The rain quickly overwhelmed gutters on the library roof. Water entered the air intake system, ran into the ceiling and finally dripped onto bookshelves in the circulation area and staff offices.

Librarians pulled the books off the shelves and threw tarps over the desks, so the damage was minimal, said Laurel Goodwin, the library director.

The water in the library did not surprise anyone familiar with the municipal complex, which was built in the late 1950s. The shared roof of the town hall and library is currently being replaced because of a long-term problem with leaks, Therrien said.

But the water in the basement appeared to be a new problem. More than an inch of water covered the floor of the lower offices, which include the parks and recreation department and youth services.

Therrien said she suspects the cloudburst overwhelmed the storm water collection system on the Silas Deane Highway and the water backed up into the town hall basement via pipes.

Town officials were unsure how bad the damage was late Monday, but Therrien said it looked like more mess than destruction. A clean-up crew will work through the July 4 holiday so the departments can open Wednesday morning, she said.

Meanwhile, the case of the basement flooding will be investigated, Therrien said.

The downpour crossed the Connecticut River and caused street flooding in parts of Glastonbury.

Contact Carolyn Moreau at [e-mail].
Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant

[RGarrey]

I have an observation/question to make regarding the leaks in the Library. If you were going to perform a multimllion dollar renovation to a building that you owned, and you knew that the roof leaked. Would you renovate the interior first, new flooring, paint, doors, ceiling tiles, etc. before fixing the roof? I know that I wouldn't. I also heard that the water coming in through some floor drains may have had to do with some drain pipes that haven't been cleaned out in a long time.
I guess I am missing something because I know that if this project were being done in the private sector, someone would be looking for a new job. I keep hearing the excuse that this is an old building with surprises in the walls. There are thousands of buildings like this throughout the country that have been or are going through a renovation. I find it hard to believe that our town hall is so unique that these problems have never been experienced by an architect or construction company before.
I can only hope that this project becomes the one that makes the Town rethink the way it approaches large construction projects.

[oldetowne]

Rick - Those are certainly some good observations. The differences between how the town has handled some of its recent projects and the private sector is astonishing.

If you look at the most recent school projects - SDMS on one hand, and the Webb/Stillman/Town Garage work on the other hand - the town got more than what it bargained for. On time and under budget. Dave Drake and his committees did an outstanding job, working around school schedules, etc. Maybe the hiring of a construction manager had something to do with it, but I think Dave and his people can take a large part of the credit.

Contrast that with the old WHS renovation which took eight or ten years, the ambulance facility job that ended up costing twice as much as originally anticipated, and the total fiasco of the police station - town hall - library work that has been going on for the past six or seven years. It's not a matter of the town being unable to do the work. It's apparently a problem with personnel - paid and volunteer - and their inability to manage the project and control the contractors and architects. Combine that with a half-baked scheme to "renovate" an outdated and hideous building to make it easier to slide by the voters in between years of double digit property tax increases and you are left with the debacle at 505 Silas Deane.

Read the minutes of the building committee meetings, or at least those that they have elected to post on line. What you will see is a parade of ineptitude, miscommunication and misinformation. Remove the appointed committee. Remove the staff members who have been overseeing the project. Appoint a construction manager, at least for "Phase II". Do SOMETHING......

[Ironrod]

Syz...

Thanks for your kind words...I'm not really back just visiting. In fact, a long time ago when I realized it was necessary to leave I knew I would never come back.

Much has changed over the past year and many things will never be the same - lost forever. For some that loss will not be noticed, for many others a distant memory and for the few who lost the most it will never forgotten.

Remember, it took 3 years to turn on the lights so the fight was not in vane. I hope each and every time those lights go on someone pauses to remember how many lives were impacted for some night time fun.

I once said a town without a conscience has no soul...regretably that is what Wethersfield has become.

In the end, we moved on to better places and more promising times but we will never forget what was left behind.

Now go Play Ball!

[morganika]

I once said a town without a conscience has no soul...regretably that is what Wethersfield has become.


Agreed. It's pretty bad around here these days. Russ and Company have no heart, no soul, and should be thrown out.

[oldetowne]

On good authority, it seems that some or all of the phones at the police station, town hall and library were not functioning for extended periods of time last weekend. It didn't get the press coverage like at Christmastime, probably because nobody from the press cares about Wethersfield.

Some of the problems may have been related to work at the library and all of the phones there had to be rebooted. But that was not the sole cause and the WPD phones were compromised a number of times.

I am used to the town wasting my money, but I had always hoped that the few functions that we REALLY care about and depend on, like police and fire, would be safe.