The Town and Schools Needs Assessment/Priorities Committee (TSNAP) struggled with getting its own priorities in order at its Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 23 meeting.
Creating a list of town building-related repairs and renovations in order of their priority, according to some committee members, is close to impossible without knowing the specific costs and the amount the town will be willing to commit.
Yet First Selectman Toni Boucher is specifically asking the committee she appointed — which includes members of the Boards of Finance and Selectmen, as well as town employees — to provide that information to her board.
“I feel like we’re just kind of like chasing our tails here a little bit in this conversation,” Superintendent of Schools Kevin Smith observed as the disconnect unfolded.
Boucher arrived late at the meeting at Comstock Community Center to find members slightly stymied by what information they’ll provide to the Board of Selectmen next month following their request relayed from TSNAP member Selectman Bas Nabulsi that the committee share some insights.
“I hope this didn’t devolve into a financial discussion, because that’s not what we’re here for,” Boucher said shortly after arriving.
She said the committee needed to, at the very least, prioritize a list of items it reviewed at its last meeting, which was provided by the Department of Public Works (DPW). At $11.4 million in total, the list includes $2 million for road restoration, $2 million for roof replacement at the Wilton High School library, $1.5 million for facility repairs at Cider Mill School, and “various areas floor tiles, lighting, ceiling tiles,” estimated at $1 million, along with several other items.
“I think it might be a little bit easier if we just focus on this year for right now …. Right now we need to build a budget and we need to let (DPW) know what projects need to unfold,” Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker said.
His words echoed comments from DPW staff, who implied that no recommendations could or should be made beyond next fiscal year, as spending approval, they said, will dictate each subsequent year.
Nabulsi said his board was hoping to get priority recommendations in November, however.
“There is a hunger, I think, at the Board of Selectmen to receive an update on how the committee is doing,” he said, “what the timing is likely to be on advice for the Board of Selectmen.”
He said the BOS is frustrated with a short-term outlook on capital spending, hoping to “get out of a one-year planning cycle” and have a three- to five-year plan in place at minimum.
“I think that the Board of Selectmen is hoping that this committee, given that we’ve given it a lot of thought, will come forward and say, ‘This is what we think should be done over the course of the next three to five years.”
Assistant Director of DPW Jeff Pardo echoed Knickerbocker’s assessment.
“Until you understand what’s going to be approved in (fiscal year) ’26, it’s really up on the air,” he said.
DPW Director Frank Smerglio pointed out there were several different tasks that had to be undertaken by this committee, including a 15-year plan and a space-needs assessment.
“This committee is definitely not going to finish our duties during this budget,” he said. “It’s going to continue.”
“I don’t know if we can take it any further without seeing what the funds will be appropriated for it,” he said of the wish list.
TSNAP Chair Patti Temple said that wasn’t their charge.
“It’s my understanding that Toni doesn’t want us to be stuck on the dollar amounts,” she said.
Board of Finance Chair Matt Raimondi acknowledged that but disagreed. “I thought that was expressed and that was expressed strongly,” he said.
Raimondi, however, citing concerns expressed to him by Wilton residents, spoke for a more direct focus on the costs.
“People have been reaching out to me about this committee and the numbers … I understand there are others on this committee that think we shouldn’t be thinking about cost. I will be thinking about cost,” he said.
“I think the fiscal guardrail is an important thing to keep in mind … I consider that a prerogative and an imperative and I think the people in town want to see that,” he said, calling $11 million too much additional money to bond.
“As we start getting above $7 million, my eyebrows start to go up a little,” Raimondi said, noting that some of the items on the list needed to be pushed back one or two years.
But in which order the town should be addressing those items — something the committee was formed to answer — is still undecided.
“There are disagreements on the committee about the role that costs should play in determining the list … If we’re going to set that aside, what’s the other criteria that we’re going to make decisions against?” Smith asked.
Boucher answered.
“I think more than anything for me, what is the most critical [need] from a wear-and-tear, and health-safety issue,” she said.
Meanwhile, following concerns that were expressed by a GOOD Morning Wilton reader regarding potential conflicts of interest among committee members, Temple added the topic as an agenda item to be discussed.
Singled out for her role as the board president of Ambler Farm, Temple called it “a completely understandable and legitimate question.”
Several members said the issue could be smoothly addressed by members recusing themselves from any votes that might relate to their particular areas of interest.
“I think that it’s important that we have transparency,” Nabulsi said. “I’m glad that was put on the agenda and put out there in this way, (but) the issue of recusal can be addressed at different points in time.”
Temple pointed out that the committee serves merely in an advisory capacity.
“This committee will only be making recommendations to the Board of Selectmen,” she said. “We will not be making any decisions.”