In the wake of town-wide approval for a $1.65-million bond for renovation work at Middlebrook School, Superintendent Kevin Smith is now expressing strong concern over how the project is being managed.
In an email to the Board of Selectmen on Thursday morning, June 5, Smith called out Jeff Pardo, assistant director/facilities manager with Wilton’s Department of Public Works, for what he described as several “misses” in organizing the work at Middlebrook.
Along with roof replacements, the overall project includes approximately $3.8 million for replacement of an HVAC chiller unit, ventilators, lighting, and both floor and ceiling tiles.
“I am not confident that we have the best project management to ensure this project is done right, well and on schedule,” Smith wrote.
“Please accept this email as me registering a formal concern,” he wrote. “The stakes are too high to get the true scope and costs of these projects wrong.”
This email came less than two days after concern about the project was also expressed by Selectwomen Kim Healy, who noted the entire project was now $500,000 over budget.
That discussion followed more concern expressed regarding the management of the police headquarters project, which is also under Pardo’s purview and may now be facing overages as well as delays.
According to Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker, Pardo is the sole project manager on the $19-million police HQ construction project, which is drawing increased scrutiny from the BOS due to concerns about diminishing contingency funds, a six-month predicted delay, and what some BOS members have described as a lack of clear communication about progress.
Some of Smith’s comments came in response to Pardo’s explanation of Middlebrook’s progress, as he went before the BOS on Tuesday, June 3 to request approval for three separate related items, including labor costs for painting, installation of floor tiles, and money for the cost of control wiring for the chiller/unit ventilator.
“We are $500,000 over on this project,” Healy said before joining the other BOS members with unanimous approval. “I think that needs to be noted.”
Pardo explained that, for unknown reasons, a separate $600,000 was added into the bonding of the project, putting the total bonded amount at $3,861,014. Funding for some of these latest items, he said, following conversations with Smith, will be coming out of the BOE’s non-bondable capital operating account.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Pardo received unanimous approval for $64,500 for labor for a painting company called Inside Job to do painting in the Peterson Wing of Middlebrook.
“When we originally put those numbers together, painting was not considered,” Pardo said. “Kevin insisted that … if we’re gonna do the ceiling, the floors and everything else, he insisted it be painted, so now we have an additional expense.”
But Smith painted a different picture.
“I’d like to clarify a comment that Jeff Pardo made during your meeting,” Smith wrote in his email to the BOS. “He stated that I insisted that painting be included as part of the project and therefore it was an additional, unaccounted for, expense. The first part of that statement is accurate, the second is not.
“From the very first conversation with Jeff and Frank [Smeriglio, DPW director] about renovating the Peterson wing, we have discussed a complete project which included painting,” Smith wrote. “Our model for how to address Middlebrook is the way we addressed the interior of Cider Mill [School] several years ago (flooring/ceiling tiles/lighting/painting).
“To be very clear, this was not a late request by me,” Smith underscored in his email. “It was a miss by Jeff in the same way that the control and wiring cost was a miss. Now, we are going to be using old wiring to connect new machinery.”
At Tuesday’s BOS meeting, Pardo also got unanimous approval from the selectmen for $253,725 for control wiring for the chiller/unit ventilator at Middlebrook. He said the cost was omitted from the original project scope because the Board of Education already had an existing contract with a company that handled control wiring at the schools.
“Frank has pressed hard for the BOS and BOE to have an MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] that spells out specific ownership of these projects,” Smith wrote. “While I support the idea conceptually, had Jose [Figueroa, BOE plant manager] and I not been paying close attention, we’d have a project that is nowhere near complete and not done well.
“As another example,” Smith continued, “Jeff gave no consideration to the fact that we would need some kind of temporary cooling in late August when students return to school because that actual unit will not be installed until later in the fall.”
Pardo also received unanimous approval from the BOS for $278,164.77 for a company called Premiere Flooring Systems to install the tiling the town previously purchased.
“You don’t know the real cost until the project is bid and then you get proposals,” Pardo said. “It ended up being more than we anticipated.”
First Selectman Toni Boucher is currently out of state for personal reasons and was unable to respond on the matter.
GOOD Morning Wilton sought comments from the other four BOS members, but only received a response from Second Selectman Josh Cole.
“I am pleased that Dr. Smith has brought his concerns to the BOS,” Cole said. “On-site oversight from those in operations is always necessary, especially when the Town is performing work for the benefit of the school district.
“Since Dr. Smith’s email was only received today, no further details have been provided to me yet from DPW or the first selectman,” Cole said. “I would expect that the first selectman would meet with her staff, including Mr. Pardo and his supervisors, and provide additional information to address Dr. Smith’s concerns.
“Details matter when specs, bids, and construction drawings are being developed and reviewed,” Cole continued. “Errors can cause not only delay, but increased expenses for our residents — something I have tried to mitigate where possible.”
Cole noted that, while he expects to learn more about the situation in the coming days, the BOS is not responsible for personnel matters.
“The BOS is without authority to directly address personnel matters with Town employees,” Cole said. “That is solely in the purview of the first selectman.”
School officials provided Smith’s email to the BOS at the request of GOOD Morning Wilton, although he declined to offer further comment.
GOOD Morning Wilton reached out to Pardo late Thursday evening, but has not yet received a response to questions. GMW will update the story accordingly if he offers any comment.
Sounds like Pardo needs to find employment elsewhere.