Police HQ Completion Date Pushed Back to Late November

The new police headquarters will not be completed until Nov. 25, according to the construction company, and town officials emphasized that they’re disappointed that it’s been pushed back so far.

Frank Smeriglio, director of the Department of Public Works, shared an update with the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

He said that the construction company, A Secondino & Son, Inc., based in Branford, with which the town has experienced some disagreements and issues during the construction phase, asked for Nov. 25 as its completion date, which is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

“They’re well aware that we’re disappointed, we’re very disappointed, and they still have a lot of hard work to get to that date,” Smeriglio said.

History of Challenges

While the original plan had been to have the work completed by June or July, an update in April revealed a variety of issues in play. DPW assistant director/facilities manager Jeff Pardo, who was leading the project for the town at that time, told the BOS that Secondino wanted more time, asking for a September/October completion date.

“I don’t see it happening,” Pardo said in April. “I think it’ll be closer to November/December.”

At that time, Pardo also outlined cooperation issues with Secondino, pointing out its refusal to hold more coordination meetings with the team of subcontractors, which he said fostered delays. Pardo also criticized the architectural firm, Tecton Architects, based in Hartford, for having incomplete drawings and being slow to respond to change requests, which he said added to delays.

Concerns about the budget were also raised by town officials, including Selectwoman Kim Healy, who was vocal about incomplete and inaccurate numbers that were presented to the BOS regarding the $19-million project, as well as unplanned overages. Healy struggled to get more updates on the project from First Selectman Toni Boucher, who placed blame for issues with the project on the previous administration of former First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice.

Before leaving office, Vanderslice had left the project in the hands of Chris Burney, Wilton’s former facilities director and one-time DPW director, but Burney was asked to leave shortly after Boucher took office by Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker for reasons unknown.

Work to be Done

“To reiterate … there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Boucher said, echoing Smeriglio’s comments.

“And they understand we’re just not happy with them,” Smeriglio said.

Boucher repeated, “And you communicated that the town is not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long.”

Smeriglio, who provided a large packet of documentation on the project, gave an update on various aspects of the work.

“Getting into the nuts and bolts of the different parts of the project, inside the building, floor tiles are about 95% complete,” he said, noting that epoxy and carpet flooring still need to be finished toward the end.

The ceiling tiles are not up yet, as the Building Department is doing a preliminary ceiling inspection at this time, he said, but, “As they start punching out all the rooms, then they can put the ceiling tiles on, but there’s still a lot of work that they’re dealing with just inside the above-ceiling.”

“Millwork inside the building is probably about 50% complete, so you can really see that it’s shaping up,” Smeriglio said.

Metal siding on the outside of the building has been partially received, but the vendor is adding insulation at this time.

There was a delay in getting one contractor back on the site, but now this week light foundations and electrical conduits are being installed, Smeriglio said.

Public Invitation

According to a construction administrative report from Tecton dated Sept. 15, 80.13% of the project stands complete.

“Approximately 70.92% of the Total Contract Sum has been approved for payment to date,” it states.

“The current contractor schedule targets substantial completion of Phase 1 by November 25, 2025,” it states. “This date has not been substantiated nor approved by the project team at this time.”

Boucher made note of inviting residents and board members in particular to come and see the progress in person.

“If the public would like to see some of the progress on the inside, let us know in advance,” she said.