Finance board funds the full project through Charter Reserve following selectmen’s questions about repairs and additional improvements
Key Points
- Water damage forced school district staff to relocate to temporary offices, adding an unbudgeted rental expense.
- Selectmen questioned how much of the proposed work addressed damage versus additional improvements.
- The BOF approved approximately $125,000 entirely from Charter Reserve, changing the proposed funding arrangement.
Why It Matters: The project affects when displaced staff can return and how much taxpayers ultimately pay, with insurance recovery still unresolved.
The Board of Finance approved a request of $125,118.87 on Tuesday, Oct. 13 for repair and renovation work at the Board of Education’s Central Office following excessive water damage that forced some staff to relocate to temporary office space in Wilton Center.
The approval followed a Sept. 29 special meeting of the Board of Selectmen, who, while raising concerns about whether all the work needed to be done, still unanimously recommended to the Board of Finance that the funding be allocated to address damage.
The BOS had proposed dividing the cost between the town’s Capital Non-Recurring Fund (CNREF) and Charter Reserve. The BOF instead approved the entire amount from Charter Reserve.
BOF member Kim Healy recommended that approach, citing unfinished financial closeouts for FY2025 and FY2026 and uncertainty about available fund balances.
“I’m going to just recommend that we just use charter for the whole thing. I think it’s cleaner. I think it’s easier,” she said.
Water Damage and Temporary Relocation
School officials described significant water intrusion during August, when roofing work being done by Barrett, Inc., coincided with several concurrent rainstorms. The damage impacted office space to the point where those with second-floor offices at the building had to relocate to 23 Hubbard Rd. in Wilton Center.
“Before we can reoccupy this space, we need to replace the flooring, insulation around sections of the HVAC system above the ceiling, ceiling tiles, sections of sheetrock, some shelving and other furniture,” Superintendent Kevin Smith wrote in a project funding request to the BOS on Sept. 15. “We also intend to repaint and replace lighting with 2×2 high efficiency LED lights.”
After voting unanimously on Sept. 17 to request funding through the CNREF, the BOE sought to have the matter placed on the BOS’s Sept. 22 agenda. First Selectman Toni Boucher indicated that it was already a crowded agenda, and the BOS instead arranged a special meeting, held virtually on Sept. 29.
Repairs and Additional Improvements
At the Sept. 22 BOS meeting, Boucher cautioned that when emergency-type events warrant repairs, it’s non uncommon for people to ask that additional work be completed as part of the project — something she said the BOE has done in the last couple of years regarding work at both Middlebrook and Cider Mill Schools.
“Sometimes when the project gets started it’s an awful good idea to replace things that they’ve always wanted … saying, ‘Well, we’re there already. Let’s do it,'” Boucher said. “But on the other hand, it adds quite a bit of funding to the project.”
Selectman Ross Tartell also questioned the scope of the work, noting that the analysis report provided by the BOE described the humidity at the site as being at a “benign” level.
Speaking to the BOS at its Sept. 29 meeting, Wilton Public Schools Facilities Manager Jose Figueroa said that only about 35% of the work for which the district was requesting funding resulted specifically from the water damage. He emphasized, however, that there would be cost savings in the long run from doing related repairs to ceiling tiles and other improvements, as the work was ultimately needed.
“This is definitely something that we need to do,” Figueroa said. “We have a perfect opportunity to do it. We’re saving a lot of money by doing it in house. Our electrician is going to do all the electrical. We’re going to do all the ceiling tiles. A majority of the work is going to be done by our maintenance team.”
“I think this is money that’s going to be well spent,” he said.
Selectman Matt Raimondi suggested dividing the project’s expenses between the CNREF and the BOS’s Charter Reserve: $80,658.42 for flooring and $14,257.95 for ceiling tiles funded through the CNREF; and the rest — $2,502.50 for LED fixtures and $27,700 for painting — through the BOS’s Charter Reserve.
At the Oct. 13 BOF meeting, the district presented a proposed split of $83,160.92 from the CNREF for flooring and LED lighting replacements, and $41,957.95 from Charter Reserve for painting and ceiling tile replacements.
The BOF’s decision to use Charter Reserve for the entire project came amid broader discussion about the CNREF’s purpose and the town’s available financial information. Healy said using Charter Reserve would be simpler while the prior fiscal years remained unclosed.
Schedule and Insurance Recovery
In his initial request, Smith estimated that the entire project would be expected to take 10 to 12 weeks. He said that the district would continue leasing the office space downtown, which he said was an expense that had not originally been budgeted.
Smith also noted that insurance reimbursement was being sought through the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, and that the claim was being handled by the Town and Chief Financial Officer Dawn Savo.
“They are trying to recover some of the costs of the damages from the roofing company,” WPS CFO Laila Rudinas told the BOS on Sept. 29. “As far as I know that’s still an ongoing discussion. I haven’t heard any updates on that.”
