“A Huge Milestone”: With all bids higher than what voters approved, Selectmen award $15.2 million contract for new Police HQ project

Wilton’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) had a lot of business on its Sept. 19 meeting agenda but dedicated the most meeting time to the critical task of awarding a construction contract for the long-awaited, new police headquarters.

After First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice promised residents that the BOS would not come back and request more money than voters approved at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting, the board had to find a way to make up the difference between the approved funding and the higher-than-expected construction bids.

Alternative Cost Scenarios and Funding Sources

Since the BOS voted to disqualify the lowest bidder two weeks ago, Chris Burney (the former Wilton DPW Director who is now the project manager for the police station project) has been vetting reviews and recommendations for the next lowest bidder, Branford-based Secondino and Sons, Inc. Burney told the BOS he had received consistently positive feedback about the firm.

But before awarding the contract, the selectmen had to maneuver a bit to pay for it. The roughly $14.4 million available for the project in bonded funds is not enough to cover the $15.2 million bid.

Bidders were asked to present total costs (Secondino’s were nearly $15.7 million) and possible deductions, which included eliminating an emergency response truck garage bay and a covered carport. Secondino’s $15.2 million bid reflects those deductions.

“They could always be built later on,” Burney said. “It was not integral to the construction of the main building.”

Cost-reduction alternatives also reflected changes to finishes and other minor modifications that did not significantly change the appearance or function of the building.

Even with the cost-reduction measures, there is still a gap between the bonding approved by voters and the contractor’s bid. To fill the gap, Vanderslice recommended allocating the last remaining ARPA funds of $611,000, along with $208,000 in budget savings expected from FY2023.

“The bottom line is, we have the funds to fund this contract, even though the bid is higher than we had originally expected back in 2021,” Vanderslice said.

She reminded the board that the Town applied for a state grant that, if awarded, would provide up to $500,000 for the garage bay and covered parking.

The project will also have $759,000 of bonded funding for construction contingencies. If the contingencies are not needed, the Town will not need to borrow the full amount (or, Vanderslice said, the contingency funding could be used for the eliminated items).

With the plan for funding recommended by Vanderslice, the board voted unanimously to award the contract to Secondino.

Vanderslice called it “very exciting” and “a huge milestone.”

Residents can expect to see preparations at the site very soon, Burney said, with a groundbreaking likely in November.

More BOS News

In addition to the police headquarters project, the board also tended to business on a number of other important topics at the Sept. 19 meeting. Vanderslice sent a memo to the board on Sept. 18, in which she outlined important background information on some of the topics to be discussed.

• Wilton’s Chief Financial Officer Dawn Norton updated the board on FY2023 financial results, with a review of actual revenue and operating expenses, which were both favorable versus budget.

• Deputy Police Chief Rob Cipolla updated the board on recent, alarming statistics on thefts from cars and thefts of cars in Wilton, as well as other police activity. GOOD Morning Wilton will report that information in more detail in a separate story.

• The board voted unanimously to approve a contract for the completion of another section of the Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT), extending the WilWalk portion of the trail another 650 feet. The latest collaboration between the Town and the non-profit NRVT organization was agreed upon earlier this year. The NRVT received grant money to pay for the construction, but the Town of Wilton helped to facilitate the grant and construction bidding process. Vanderslice also took the opportunity to inform the public that the NRVT is “very much in need of volunteers” for work on the trails as well as for leadership positions on the non-profit’s board.

• DPW Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio and Assistant Director/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo provided an update on ongoing DPW projects to improve the Schenck’s Island parking lot, repair the columns outside Town Hall, and address some air quality and mold issues at the schools.

• Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker recommended a contract — one of eight bids received — for the Municipal Building Needs Assessment. The contract for $101,500 is roughly $20,000 higher than originally planned. The board agreed to cover the difference using funds from the FY2023 budget savings that will be put into the Town’s Infrastructure Fund. Like the assessment that is being done for Wilton schools, the municipal building assessment will provide a comprehensive 10-year plan for municipal building facilities.

• Vanderslice asked the selectmen to give some thought to the idea of changing the board’s agreement with the Wilton Athletic and Recreation Foundation (WARF) regarding stadium banner sales revenue. “With the defeat of the proposed turf field and the uncertainty of the future of turf fields, [there is a] question as to whether the proceeds from the sale of banners should continue to be put in a fund for turf fields or instead be used for more immediate recreational repairs and improvements,” Vanderslice wrote in the Sept. 18 memo to the board.

• The BOS voted unanimously to re-appoint Jeffrey Boehme to the Area 9 Cable Council, a state-mandated council made up of volunteers from ten municipalities and whose mission is “to advocate the best possible service for Optimum [Altice USA] cable television customers and to promote the utilization of program services through Public, Education and Government Access (PEG).” 

Editor’s Note: this article was updated to clarify that bidders presented their alternative costs as part of their bids, rather than town officials soliciting additional deductions after bids were submitted.