Wilton’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) held a special meeting last night (Monday, March 17) to discuss the status of the new police station headquarters, currently under construction.

In recent months, Selectwoman Kim Healy has been particularly vocal about the need for such an update. Since November — the last time the status of the project was publicly discussed at a BOS meeting — and on several occasions since then, Healy has urged First Selectman Toni Boucher to include an in-depth project update on a BOS meeting agenda, with the project’s architect (Tecton Architects) in attendance.

With the project roughly 45% complete, Boucher is now promising monthly updates on the project’s status.

The meeting began with an executive session, out of public view, to discuss a contract negotiation pertaining to abatement work at the former police department structure.

The ensuing public meeting centered on a spreadsheet touted as the “running budget“, which summarized all of the funding sources and project expenses — both estimated and actual, to date.

Department of Public Works Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio and Assistant Director/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo walked the selectmen through the numbers.

Roughly $19 million in funding has been earmarked for the project, including:

Pardo methodically reviewed the cost components, including five change orders totaling about $83,000 which were previously approved. Rebecca Hopkins, one of the architects on the project, noted change orders to date are less than 1% of estimated costs, versus a more typical 5% for a project like the police station.

After reviewing all of the expected costs versus the original estimates, Pardo concluded by saying the running budget is on track, even after some unanticipated expenses.

“At the moment, we have a balance of $413,209 left,” Pardo said. “So the project is in the black, which is a good thing.”

One sticking point appears to be the budget for “FFE” — furniture, fixtures, and equipment. In December, the BOS approved FFE purchases of roughly $274,000 despite some uncertainty as to precisely what amount was originally budgeted. Healy remains unsatisfied after her attempt to reconcile the approved purchase with earlier budget numbers, which she says could put the FFE estimate as low as $106,000. Hopkins said she was confident the final estimate was $231,000 (still making the approved purchase $43,000 over budget) but indicated she would work with Healy to resolve any discrepancies.

Healy said her intention is not to quibble about furniture choices, but to understand where overspending might be happening and why — and ultimately, to avoid any unexpected cost overrun at a time when the BOS is under extreme pressure for next year’s budget.

“I don’t have a problem with furniture, but I have a problem with spending money that’s not in the budget,” Healy said. “I want to know going into this budget that we don’t need any money in fiscal ’26.”

Smeriglio emphasized the thoroughness of the cost review that his department had prepared for the meeting, but cautioned that in any large construction project, some issues can inevitably arise.

“There’s going to be other unforeseen things that come up that we don’t know about [yet],” he stold the selectmen. “If there are things that come up, we’re going to have to come back to the table, and we’re going to have to deal with it.”

Boucher advised Smeriglio and Pardo to bring any cost issues to light “as soon as possible, rather than later.”

Jeff McElravy, Tecton’s lead architect on the project, echoed Boucher’s point, saying “it’s never too early” to identify potential cost increases.

Information Technology (IT) costs are another potential concern for the budget, with some cost estimates still emerging for what is expected to be a critical aspect of the new headquarters. Boucher referred to the IT planning for the new headquarters as “a heavy lift” for Wilton’s relatively new Information Systems Director Nick Cataldo.

Tartell turned the discussion back to what he felt the key takeaway was.

“We’re not in the red… That’s the first thing the community needs to know. We are in the black,” Tartell said. “The second thing, as we look at every single penny, is that we are stewards of the community’s money, and that if we can bring it in a little lower, a little cheaper, then we will do that… the community should feel fairly, I think, comfortable that we are paying attention and that right now we’re in the black.”

Police Chief Tom Conlan said a fundraising group was being organized to help offset the $75,000 cost of gym equipment. Conlan encouraged residents who wished to donate or support the fundraising to contact him.

Boucher thanked the Tecton team and DPW leadership for the detailed update and noted that follow-up questions would be pursued.

“This is such an important project, and there’s much yet to do until we get to the finish line,” Boucher said.