Police HQ Controversy: Vanderslice, Burney Dispute Claims and Address Burney’s Abrupt Removal

Editor’s note: This story was published on Thursday, June 12. GOOD Morning Wilton reached out several times to Matt Knickerbocker and Toni Boucher for comment, starting on Monday, June 9. GMW received statements on Friday, June 13 at 4 p.m. They have been added at the bottom of the story.

With Wilton officials taking a closer look at delays, cost overruns and management issues on at least two town construction projects, the questions of ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ also carry with them another inevitable ask: ‘Who?’

The discussions have been pointed, especially in light of unfolding issues and uncertainty related to the $19-million police headquarters construction project.

During the most recent Board of Selectmen meeting on June 3, First Selectman Toni Boucher put the responsibility on the previous administration of First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice — despite Vanderslice’s term ending 19 months ago on Nov. 30, 2023 — and Chris Burney, Wilton’s former facilities director who Vanderslice had positioned to be the link between her administration and Boucher’s as the lead on the Police HQ project.

But soon after Boucher took office at the beginning of December 2023, Burney was abruptly removed from the project and leadership was handed over to Jeff Pardo, DPW’s assistant director/facilities manager.

Pardo has been put in the hot seat with the recent BOS scrutiny and criticism of the project’s management since then, with concerns about budgets, timelines and general management. Adding fuel to the fire, last week, Superintendent Kevin Smith expressed more concerns about Pardo’s management of the Middlebrook School bonding renovation project, which is also drawing concerns from the BOS.

To date, the BOS is still confused as to its own role in the PDHQ project, and is still waiting for clear budget numbers as well.

GOOD Morning Wilton spoke with both Vanderslice and Burney about their take on what occurred.

In comments sent to GMW this week, Vanderslice disputed statements made at the recent Board of Selectmen meeting relating to Burney and the BOS’s role on the project.

Burney also told his side of the story, including details about his sudden and inexplicable removal from the PDHQ project oversight job shortly after Boucher took office, and his interactions with town officials before his employment with Wilton ended for good in June 2024.

Why Burney was Chosen to Lead

Burney worked as Wilton’s Director of Public Works and Director of Facilities and Energy Management from 2015 until February 2022, when he transferred the DPW leadership to Frank Smeriglio. On July 1 of that same year, (after Pardo had been hired to take on facilities oversight for Wilton) Burney transitioned to part-time status, with a focus on major building projects.  

While he had intended to retire, Burney was asked to stay on in a part-time capacity as Director of Construction Management in order to see the project through. Although Boucher had said Vanderslice designated Burney to be the PDHQ project manager, Vanderslice said it was a “collective decision” made by the entire BOS — first in executive session and then publicly.

“The Board of Selectmen made the decision to engage Chris rather than hire an outside construction manager,” Vanderslice said last week.

“Chris had at least, or more, experience than any consultant we might engage,” Vanderslice said, noting his 40-plus years of experience in construction management prior to coming to Wilton.

“Chris had been the town employee responsible for the $50 (actual $43) million Miller-Driscoll [School Renovation] project,” Vanderslice said. “He earned high praise from those involved in the project and the community. He reported directly to me in that role, so I saw firsthand, as a hands-on manager, the high quality of his work.”

Vanderslice took issue with a claim by Selectman Ross Tartell that she ended the Police HQ–Town Campus Facility Building Committee, saying she never had the authority to do so. Instead, she said, she recommended to the BOS that it act as the PDHQ building committee during its construction, with Burney taking on the role of project manager.

“The BOS collectively agreed,” she said, with the same four current seated selectpeople in place at that time. “The building committee chairs were notified of the BOS discussion and decision.”

“The PDHQ project was much less complex,” Vanderslice said, than the Miller-Driscoll project, with a general contractor also expected to oversee the the construction work.

“The building committee had done an excellent job prior to the construction phase, but with a GC and the reduction in invoices, change orders and decisions, the BOS could handle the work,” she said.

Vanderslice said she was confident that when she left office in Nov. 2023, having Burney in place would help Boucher’s new administration transition the project, and she expected Burney would continue to manage it after her term ended.

“Chris was the construction manager when I left office,” Vanderslice said. “Toni had Chris fired as the construction manager shortly after she took office.”

The move left no one who had experience working on a major construction project in Wilton, including Boucher, the new town administrator Matt Knickerbocker, DPW Director Smeriglio and Pardo the facilities manager.

Why was Burney removed from the project?

To this day, Burney said he does not know why he was taken off the project.

“I was fired from the project in December of 2023, before construction began, and I have never had a discussion with Toni Boucher about the project or anything else,” Burney said.

On Dec. 14, 2023, Burney, who was on a part-time schedule, said he got a message from Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker asking him to come to Town Hall the next day, his day off.

“Since I had not met with Toni, I assumed that this was to be a getting-to-know-you meeting,” Burney said.

“When I arrived, Matt invited me into his office and told me that Toni Boucher would not be attending, even though I saw her in her office when I walked into the receptionist’s area,” he said. “He told me that Toni Boucher did not want me to work on the Police Headquarters project and that effective immediately I was fired from the project and to cease all related work.”

“I remember offering to participate in handover meetings so that the project history could be understood but I was told that wouldn’t be necessary,” Burney said.

Burney said he had already scheduled the first “all-hands” construction meeting for the project for the next week, which would include the design team and the major contractors. 

“I intended to use the meeting to establish the ground rules for the project, present what my expectations were, and make sure that all participants understood not only their roles, but also everybody else’s,” he said.

Burney said Knickerbocker nixed his participation.

“I offered to attend the meeting, but Matt told me that he would chair it with Jeff Pardo and Frank Smeriglio (DPW director), and that I would not be attending,” Burney said. “That was my last involvement with the project.”

Boucher was asked to comment on the matter, but citing health reasons, she did not issue a response. She stated briefly, “Since it is a personnel issue, a lot of it is confidential.”

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, GOOD Morning Wilton obtained an email Boucher sent on Friday, June 6, which appears to outline some of her reasoning for taking Burney off the project. Although she does not directly mention Burney by name, the email is in response to a resident’s communication suggesting the town hire a project manager “who knows how to put the pedal on deliverables. Someone like Chris Burney…”

In response, Boucher wrote, in part:

“The person mentioned was the only one allowed to estimate and manage this project, from the beginning of the police project prior to 2022 and until December 2023 and failed to do it. When I arrived December 2023 the project had ground to a halt, as he had not followed up on it. By then, it was six months behind… “

In actuality, the project’s budget had initially been prepared by Tecton Architects, with earlier versions involving Colliers International. Tecton Architects presented the budget to the Board of Selectmen and later to the town at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. There was also an active building committee in place before the BOS assumed that role once construction started.

The project also hadn’t ground to a halt, according to BOS meeting minutes and GMW reporting:

• Initial bids from contractors were opened on June 22, 2023.
• On Sept. 6, 2023, Burney explained at a BOS meeting, in consultation with town counsel, the recommendation to disqualify the first lowest bidder
• On Sept. 19, 2023, Burney recommended to the BOS that they accept a bid from Secondino and Sons to be contractor, and the BOS voted 5-0 to do so
• Simultaneously, Burney and another Town Hall employee applied for a STEAP grant to support construction of a garage and carport; Burney appeared at the Oct. 2, 2023 meeting for discussion when it was announced that Wilton had been awarded the grant
• At that same meeting, the BOS voted to give Burney authority to approve change orders of up to $50,000 in “emergency” situations during construction.
• The contract with Secondino was signed in October and Wilton officials broke ground on the construction project on Oct. 26, 2023.
• Burney scheduled the first meeting for the construction team for Dec. 18, 2023 — but was pulled off the project three days before the meeting.

Ironically, Boucher offered a much more positive assessment during the 2022 Annual Town Meeting when the Police Headquarters bonding proposal was on the ballot. That evening she said she was there “to enthusiastically support” the current proposal, and that the town “is very well served with this project, I think it’s been very well planned, analyzed, vetted, it’s time we do this. It’s incredibly necessary.”

Knickerbocker said he had “prepared a full rebuttal to the claims” made by Burney about his being taken off the project. On Tuesday, June 10, Knickerbocker told GMW his response was being reviewed by town counsel, but it was not provided as of Thursday morning, June 12.

Knickerbocker, who requested on Monday that this story be held until after the attorney weighed in, said that the request to do so was being made “strictly to protect Mr. Burney’s privacy.”

He said that the crux of the information related by Burney was “incorrect,” stating that the related questions posed by GOOD Morning Wilton contained “significant misinformation.”

Several BOS members refrained from commenting, citing it as a personnel matter.

Cost Management

Vanderslice went on to say that it was her expectation that at least once a month during construction of the PDHQ the BOS agenda would include an update on budget, project status and change orders, and feature a detailed budget.

She took exception with Tartell’s assessment that she would have expected CFO Dawn Norton to handle “running the money.”

“I expected the architects, who developed the budget presented at the ATM to maintain the detailed budget vs actual vs forecast and detailed status of the contingency. I expected Chris Burney to be part of that and know the status. I expected one or the other to be able to present monthly to the BOS. I did not expect Dawn to have the same in-depth knowledge, but expected Dawn would be engaged and ensure the forecasts were consistent with available funds and that all change orders and invoices were properly authorized before payment of invoices,” Vanderslice said.

On June 4, an email from Selectman Ross Tartell to the BOS and Knickerbocker helped highlight the confusion on the matter, with asking who the official project lead was, their responsibilities, and the responsibilities for financial tracking.

Tartell’s email was in response to one from Selectwoman Kim Healy, inquiring of Boucher about budget numbers and who would be presenting them.

“I had informed Frank at our last meeting that all financial activity should be presented by Dawn (Norton) as she is the CFO and is responsible for all of the funding and expenditures that are made,” Healy wrote.

Norton, however, was not in attendance at the last meeting, with Boucher explaining she was currently out of the state.

Burney’s Final Thoughts

Burney did remain in the town’s employ through June of 2024, he said, working on other tasks and using up accumulated holiday and vacation time.

“Since I was fired from the project before construction started, I have no comments regarding the contractor’s performance,” Burney said of Secondino & Son, LLC, which came under strong public criticism from Pardo in April.

Pardo placed the blame for delays in the project on the contractor, noting that, while the project was originally scheduled for completion this summer, it may be as long as another six months before the work is finished.

Pardo also criticized Tecton Architects for its early designs, which he said were incomplete, and also cited its slow response in attending to corrections requested by Secondino.

Burney shared a different view of Tecton.

“I spent many hours working with the design team … In my experience, Tecton was one of the best architectural companies that I have ever dealt with,” he said.

Burney said that, based on his own experience, the PDHQ project should be manageable by one individual.

“Based upon previous projects in my career, this is not a large project,” Burney said. “I think that having an experienced, competent project manager with good communication skills should be sufficient for the day-to-day management of the project.”

“Regular meetings with the BOS to allow for updates from the project manager and the leaders of the design team would be essential to the success of such an arrangement,” he said. “Under this process any problems that arose would be dealt with on a timely basis.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story stated that the BOS decided to end the Police HQ Building Committee and take on the role itself in 2021. That did not happen in 2021.

UPDATE — Statement from Matt Knickerbocker (received Friday, June 13, at 4:02 p.m.):

“Mr. Burney was a part-time employee, working three days per week, often on a remote basis from his home. It had become apparent that the extensive demands of managing a large-scale project like the Wilton police headquarters would require a full-time, onsite project manager, a work schedule that Mr. Burney was not able to accommodate. He was then re-assigned in December 2023 to a different project that was compatible with his part time work schedule, with no loss of income or benefits. Mr. Burney retired in June of 2024, without completing the assignment.

“Mr. Burney was asked to attend a meeting with the Town Administrator, not the First Selectman. The meeting was conducted by the Town Administrator.  Mr. Burney did not ask to speak with the First Selectman either during or after the meeting.”

Regarding Burney’s offer to take part in handover meetings after being removed from the project, Knickerbocker responded: “To repeat, Mr. Burney was reassigned to a different project. Mr. Burney was thanked for his offer and was informed that the DPW staff would reach out to him if they required his assistance.”

Statement from Toni Boucher (received Friday, June 13, at 4:03 p.m.):

“Notwithstanding the lengthy statements by the past town administration officials, here is what happened:  On the morning of the first day I took office in the beginning of December 2023, our Police Department came to see me. I assumed they simply wanted to say hello and wish me well. In fact, they wanted to tell me that the construction of the new police station had ground to a halt and that there were serious issues that needed to be immediately addressed.  From that very first morning, I have worked to correct the problems. I do not wish to comment extensively on the performance of past or present town employees. I will simply note that Chris Burney was a part-time employee, and we needed a full-time project manager for this construction. I am pleased to say that we are back on track for the new police station and we are looking forward to its completion.”