Concerned that Town Hall and the Department of Public Works lack the capacity and expertise to properly manage school building projects, the Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to press town officials to appoint a dedicated school building committee and hire an owner’s agent to oversee capital improvements to district facilities.

At a special meeting held at noon on Aug. 17, the BOE agreed to formally request that the Board of Selectmen take both steps as soon as possible. The action came after BOE Chair Ruth DeLuca said First Selectman Toni Boucher did not put the BOE’s proposals before the selectmen in the form DeLuca requested.

With the unanimous support of her board, DeLuca plans to present the requests directly to the selectmen during public comment at Monday night’s BOS meeting.

DeLuca expressed her disappointment with Boucher’s response to her request for a BOS discussion about forming the committee. She said Boucher advanced a different version of the proposal that omitted specific concerns DeLuca wanted the selectmen to address.

“The idea and the understanding of it is clear,” DeLuca said. “It’s about getting projects done right and well with maximum reimbursement in a way that is, you know, most efficient and productive as possible.”

DeLuca and other BOE members pointed to the success of the building committee that oversaw the Miller-Driscoll School renovation project and said a similar group should be in place as the district looks ahead to the renovation of Cider Mill School and later, Wilton High School.

An owner’s agent would provide specialized expertise and represent the district’s interests throughout the planning, design and construction process.

Concerns about Capacity

Striving to be diplomatic, Superintendent Kevin Smith also expressed his concern about DPW’s ability to keep up with the necessary processes and procedures, while emphasizing the department’s workload.

In April, shortly after Boucher had sought to create a new higher-paying administrative position for a capital planning, facilities and real estate manager, DPW Director Frank Smeriglio resigned. Boucher had sought unsuccessfully to increase Smeriglio’s $166,000 salary after the new manager position was posted with a higher compensation.

In arguing for Smeriglio’s salary increase, Boucher said DPW and Smeriglio were stretched thin by the workload. Since his departure, however, and despite never filling the manager position, Boucher has said other department employees have stepped up and that matters are under control.

Smith said he raised the idea of hiring an owner’s agent during a meeting earlier this summer with Boucher, Board of Finance Chair Tim Birch, BOF Vice Chair Rudy Escalante, Wilton Chief Financial Officer Dawn Savo and Interim DPW Director Jeff Pardo.

“I made it clear that I thought an owner’s agent was the way to go in terms of facilitating, just given all that was on DPW’s plate looking forward, both on the school side and town side,” Smith said.

Smith said Pardo pushed back on the idea, however, because he did not want to be left out of the loop as he was the person responsible for appearing before the BOS to make funding requests and provide progress reports.

“I relented and thought, ‘All right, fine, as long as things are going to move forward and he’s going to be on top of it,'” Smith said.

Smith has butted heads with Pardo in the past on issues relating to management of school projects, including work at Middlebrook School.

Seeming to refer to past experiences, Smith told the BOE he felt “deja vu all over again,” when an RFP draft prepared by Pardo omitted a significant component related to the planned Cider Mill work and the hiring of an architect.

Smith said he was puzzled when he asked about the omission and Pardo responded that it would be too expensive. “We’ve got to follow what the town authorized and do the whole project,” Smith said. 

He added that he did not want to cast blame and emphasized that Pardo had a lot on his plate in trying to manage the town’s workload.

“At the end of the day, this is not about any one of us here,” Smith said, pointing out that more third-party expertise was needed. “This is about getting the work done right, getting it done well, making sure that, to the extent that we’re eligible for reimbursement, that we’re checking all the boxes that need to be checked.”

DeLuca emphasized that both the committee and the owner’s agent would augment, rather than replace, the existing process.

“It’s additive,” she said. “It’s supportive. It’s filling a capacity gap.”

Why DeLuca to Heads Directly to Selectmen

DeLuca said that unspecified complications involving the Cider Mill School project came to her attention on July 29, potentially jeopardizing both government reimbursement and the project timeline, with work expected to start next summer. 

She did not specify the nature of those complications during the meeting.

DeLuca noted that the BOS agenda for the following Monday, Aug. 3, listed only a discussion of a building committee for Town Hall and the Town Hall Annex. That discussion expanded to include the possibility of creating a permanent town-wide building committee, an idea the selectmen said they would examine more closely at their Aug. 17 meeting.

“The school buildings were not specifically discussed and addressed,” DeLuca said. “On Aug. 5, I went and I talked with First Selectwoman Toni Boucher about the needs of the schools and the need for a separate school building committee and owner’s agent. I walked away from that meeting thinking that my proposals would be discussed at the August 17 meeting, and I committed to sending draft proposals accordingly.”

The next day, however, DeLuca was disappointed to be told by Boucher that a different draft proposal would be submitted to the BOS — a version DeLuca said omitted many of the BOE’s concerns, although she said Boucher maintained those issues were being addressed.

“At this time, I think the best path forward is for me to bring the draft resolution and motion directly to the Board of Selectmen with public comment,” DeLuca said, “explaining the reasoning and asking for consideration and discussion at their table.”

Other BOE members expressed support for both proposals, describing them as opportunities to add expertise and focused attention to the process.

BOE member Lori Bufano stressed the importance of ensuring procedures are followed properly so the district remains eligible for state reimbursement.

“The reimbursement process is foremost,” she said. “You’ve got to make sure we get our reimbursement, our money, whether it’s state or possibly federal.”

“I feel that these owner’s agents are very well versed in all aspects of the building process, so I’m in favor of this,” Bufano said.

BOE member Pamela Ely also supported the proposed dedicated committee, citing the Miller-Driscoll project as a successful model.

“We already have a template of how this should go,” she said. “We’ve already done this for one big project.”

“It seems to me Ruth’s proposals are pretty reasonable and thoughtful,” Ely said.