Contract Leads to Heated Council Discussion
By David Huck | Correspondent at October 17, 2023 | 10:45 am | Print
Town officials are reevaluating security improvements at town hall after a tied Town Council vote led to stalling the project.
A seemingly minor vote to waive bid procedures and award a $12,000 contract to a local architect during the Town Council’s meeting on Oct. 7 led to some heated discussion between Democrats and Republicans.
During the meeting, Democratic council member Peter Rosso was absent, allowing for an even number of members from both political parties.
A task force committee recently recommended that town officials make security upgrades at both the town hall complex and adjoining Peck Memorial Library. Some of the work includes new doors and an improved key access system.
Because of the timing of the work, town officials recommended waiving standard bid procedures and asking the council to award a contract to local architect Jacunski Humes to aid in designing the plans for the work. The work is expected to cost between $100,000 and $150,000.
The firm would assist the town in creating bid documents to get the doors and hardware needed for the project.
Town Manager Denis McNair described the project as a “high priority.” She said the replacement of each exterior door at both the library, town hall, and community center could cost as much as $10,000 each. She said the current front door to town hall is in need of a replacement and said it needs to be done “sooner rather than later.” Some of the recommendations for the security enhancements come from suggestions police made after they assessed the building.
However, all three Republicans on the council objected to waiving the bidding process. The vote was 3-3, causing the motion to fail and forcing town officials to look at alternatives.
Jacunski Humes, the architectural firm that is located on Massirio Drive, has been involved in the design process for the proposed police station on Farmington Avenue. They have also been awarded a contract in the past to be a consultant to the town’s facade and landscape grant program.
Town Engineer Arthur Simonian explained that Jacunski Humes previously did design work for the town hall complex and has CAAD designs already created—architectural documents that would take time and additional money for another firm to produce.
During the discussion, Democratic council member William Rasmussen said that it’s “important” to note that waiving the bid process was just for the consulting phase, not the actual work. He said he “can’t imagine we’d save a penny if we went out to bid.”
But for some council members, including Republican David Evans, that argument wasn’t enough.
“If Jacunski Humes is strong on this, they will come in strong on a bid,” Evans said.
Mayor Rachel J. Rochette replied by saying it’s “unfortunate” that Evans felt that way. She later commented that the town will now have to spend time and money to “end up with the same result we have tonight.”
Democratic Council member Margaret Morelli asked town officials to provide a presentation in the future on how much it costs to go through a bidding process. The process involves paying for legal advertisements in publications such as newspapers.
McNair said that officials are now in the process of reevaluating the project to see if the consulting work could possibly done for less than the $10,000 bidding threshold or what needs to be done to undertake a formal bid process. She said the project may be scaled back and a decision will be made shortly.
