Key Points
- The Board of Selectmen approved three Middlebrook School project agreements totaling nearly $584,000 before final contracts were completed by town counsel.
- Officials said the approvals were needed to keep a tight seven-week summer construction schedule on track once school ends.
- Several selectmen supported the approvals but stressed they should remain an exception rather than a precedent.
Why It Matters: The vote highlights the continuing tension between meeting project deadlines and maintaining oversight procedures, an issue that has generated debate among Wilton officials over the past year.
Despite not having finalized contracts in hand to review, the Board of Selectmen on Monday, Jun. 15, unanimously approved three agreements related to renovation work at Middlebrook School, after they were told a narrow summer construction schedule made it imperative to start the projects immediately.
Jeff Pardo, who is now serving as interim DPW director, asked the selectmen to approve the agreements so that work can begin as soon as the school year officially ends on Friday, Jun. 19, even though town counsel has not yet finalized the documents — and won’t be able to before work at Middlebrook needs to start.
While the four members of the BOS in attendance unanimously approved the agreements, several BOS members stated that the situation should remain an exception rather than standard practice. [Editor’s note: First Selectman Toni Boucher was not in attendance at the meeting.]
“For myself, I’m prepared to vote in favor of this,” Selectman Matt Raimondi said. “I would just ask that this is a special circumstance. This was not the plan.”
The request to set aside established procedure for urgent project deadlines comes months after concerns were raised about unauthorized payments and questions about oversight.
Over the past year, selectmen have questioned instances in which work proceeded or payments were made before receiving required approvals, prompting calls for stronger board oversight of town operations.
Last year, former Department of Public Works Director Frank Smeriglio authorized a roughly $50,000 payment connected to another Middlebrook School renovation project before obtaining required BOS approval. Some selectmen later praised Smeriglio for keeping the project moving, while others questioned the departure from established procedures.
More recently, former Selectman Kim Healy urged stronger board oversight of town operations and contracting practices, arguing the BOS should play a more active role in monitoring how projects are managed and approved.
Pardo appeared Monday before the BOS to get approval for First Selectman Toni Boucher to sign agreements totaling $583,850.65:
- Premiere Flooring Systems to replace floor tiles in the original wing of Middlebrook in the amount of $299,943.65
- TRC Environmental Consultant for $34,532 to perform hazardous material abatement design, monitoring and inspection
- Stamford Wrecking Company to perform asbestos abatement for $249,375.
Funding for the work was approved by voters as part of the Annual Town Meeting bonding referendums, but Pardo said the actual funds had not yet been borrowed.
“So we’re floating it and we’ll just replenish our cash reserves,” Raimondi acknowledged.
Pardo said he didn’t have final agreements in hand for the BOS to review prior to its vote because town counsel Doug LoMonte was on vacation and lead town attorney Ira Bloom did not want someone else drawing up the agreements.
“Doug LoMonte is on vacation,” Pardo said. “Ira Bloom was very concerned about having another attorney review and rewrite the contract who is not familiar with the town and not familiar with the contract.”
At the same time, Pardo said that the agreements were standard boilerplate contracts that largely required an attorney to insert project descriptions and pricing.
Regardless, he said he needed to have the approvals as soon as possible.
“The Monday after school closes we want to start … We only have seven weeks. It’s a very, very narrow window,” Pardo said, with the floor-tile replacement work involving eight classrooms, adjacent hallways and an art room.
Ultimately, all four selectmen in attendance voted in favor of the agreements, while making clear they did not want the process to become a precedent.
Selectman Rich McCarty said he understood the situation but also didn’t want it to be a precedent.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time we should be able to see the contracts ahead of time, but we’ve had experience with the school contracts before and having to make Friday night decisions, so to speak, to get the work done on Monday.”
