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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
APRIL 5, 2006
A Special Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Tallarita in the Enfield Room of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m.
ROLL-CALL – Present were Councilmen Edgar, Hilinski, Lee, Mangini, Maxellon, Nelson, Peruta, Ragno, and Tallarita. Councilman Crowley entered the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Councilman Kaupin was absent. Also present were Acting Town Manager/Town Attorney, Christopher Bromson; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne Olechnicki; Director of Public Works, John Kazmarski; Assistant Director of Public Works, Colleen Brand
Present from the Enfield Board of Education were Judith Apruzzese-Desroches, Donna Corbin Sobinski, Joyce Hall, Albert Harrison, Charles Johnson, Susan Lavelli-Hozempa, Samuel McGill and Chairman Sharon Racine. Also present from the School Department were Superintendent of Schools, Dr. John Gallacher; Assistant Superintendent, Anthony Torre and Director of School Facilities, Arthur Pongratz.
DISCUSSION RE: ATHLETIC FIELDS COMMITTEE REPORT
Present for this discussion were Committee members Chairman Dan O’Connell, Vice Chairman Larry Tracey, Gregory Strich, and John Hogan. Also present for this discussion was Director of Public Works, John Kazmarski.
Mr. O’Connell stated the Committee is present to make a recommendation to the Council. He explained they’ve just finished their first process with a request for qualification for part of the project that would include up to 30% of the design to create the proposal that will go to the design bid firm that will build this facility. He noted that firm would act as the consultant at the site throughout the duration of the project. He emphasized this is a very important step. He noted they came to the understanding that they need this support to get the job done well. He stated about a month ago, they put an advertisement in the newspaper for request for qualification, and that process was concluded last night with an interview. He noted the Committee came to a unanimous decision that they would like to recommend the firm of Malone & McBroom to run the first phase of this project.
Chairman Tallarita requested clarification for everyone of what a request for qualification entails and how the Committee got to that point. Mr. Kazmarski stated the purpose of the request for qualification was to get a firm that was qualified to assist the Committee in the initial preparation of the 30% design leading up to the eventual bid documents, and when the design build request for proposals does go out, this firm would continue to act as the Committee’s “right-hand person” and provide technical guidance on various aspects of the project as required. He noted this firm would also act as the Clerk of the Works or supervisor of construction activities going on by the design/build firm.
Mr. Kazmarski explained the reason it was suggested that they entertain a design/build method of constructing the projects was that these are very complicated projects due to the relatively newness of the synthetic fabrics vs the old astro-turf. He noted these new products are continuously evolving, and they need someone with expertise in this type of installation, as well as the building up of a turf field in the other various areas where there will be a non-synthetic playing surface, i.e., baseball diamonds, etc.
He pointed out since synthetic fields are relatively new technology, not many people have enough expertise. He noted a lot of things are very critical, the most prominent being the preparation of all the base and sub-base materials, getting the proper drainage, proper compaction and the installation of the fields themselves at the proper time of the year. He stated they cannot do installation during rainy or hot periods of time, and there’s a limited window when this installation can occur.
Mr. Kazmarski stated the request for qualifications went out, and about 20 firms took out the request for qualification documents, and the result was only one submittal from Malone & McBroom. He noted they were informed by several firms that they were more interested in the second phase, which is the design/build phase because they would hook up with a contractor to do the installation of all of the work, and that is why they refrained from submitting a qualification statement for this aspect of the work. He pointed out it was specifically noted in the qualification statement in the advertisement that whatever firm was selected to act on the Town’s behalf during this part of the project could not engage in the design/build contract because it was deemed it would be a conflict of interest because that would mean they would be working for the Town as a preliminary designer and then a construction inspector and then being involved in the design/build aspect. He stated Malone & McBroom accepted this, and they have been a known factor in Enfield since 1994-95 when they were first selected for the first attempt at the school projects.
Mr. Kazmarski stated it was generally agreed upon by everyone present at last night’s meeting that the staff that Malone & McBroom was proposing to utilize were well qualified to handle the task and had the necessary expertise to bring this project to the stage the committee wanted and also to be the construction supervisor during the project.
Mr. McGill pointed out the team that Malone & McBroom put together has been together for six years on these types of projects, i.e., they worked on Suffield Academy, Norwalk and a number of sports facilities.
Councilman Maxellon requested an overview of the schedule within the request for qualifications. Mr. Kazmarski stated the schedule starts with the design/build RFQ-April 3rd, which is the date the Committee selected the firm. He noted Malone & McBroom stated their belief this is an extremely tight schedule, but they felt they could comply with that schedule unless there are major stumbling blocks. He stated the schedule calls for the completion of the 30% design by mid-May of 2006 and advertising the design/build RFQ within a week or so after that. He noted the due date would be the latter part of June, and an award of the design/build contract around July 14th. He stated the anticipated groundbreaking and start of construction is around October 26th. He pointed out they do not yet know how the pesticide issue will impact this schedule. He stated Malone & McBroom did mention the remediation effort last night, and they are aware of this.
Mr. Kazmarski stated after the recent public informational meeting regarding the pesticide issue at Fermi, the State DEP and State Department of Public Health spoke with him and stated they would try to work with Enfield to try and meld both the remediation effort and the start of the construction of the new athletic facilities at Fermi. He stated they hope to have all of the results back from GeoDesign, which includes the remaining soil samples and the water samples. He noted they are hoping to have something by the early part of next week.
He stated any work done on the fields will have to be reviewed by DEP and the Department of Public Health before the Town is allowed to proceed with anything.
Councilman Maxellon stated the Committee the Council selected is a very dedicated group of people, and staff has done a wonderful job.
Councilman Nelson stated the Council advised the Committee not to veer to far off course of what was originally proposed. He noted the plans don’t appear to be very ADA compliant, therefore, they may have to install some type of maintenance road to access the back fields. He feels they may have to alter these plans somehow to make them ADA compliant. He added during the process, it was discussed possibly in the future having storage lockers or a bathroom. He noted perhaps the contractor could possibly drop some pipes under the fields so that in the future it would be possible to add these items. He stated possibly these items could come about through a corporate donation.
Councilman Nelson stated he was a little concerned that only one firm responded to the RFQ. He added his belief this firm is very well-qualified. He stated his hope that when it comes to the actual build, they’ll receive more than one bid.
Chairman Tallarita questioned why there wasn’t any consideration for ADA requirements. Mr. Kazmarski stated the new bleachers could be built to be ADA compliant. He noted it was agreed they should look at access to the fields during the preliminary design phase. He pointed out Malone & McBroom had a couple plans at the meeting last night, particularly for Fermi. He noted this was not the exact same plan that was initially shown in that it showed some re-orientation of the fields. He stated if there was going to have to be a massive remediation at Fermi, which could result in the leveling of all the field areas, Malone & McBroom came up with a reverse plan, which would have to be reviewed by bond counsel. He noted this plan showed the football field relatively close to the school and parking lot.
Chairman Tallarita stated the project scope has to be based on what was put out to referendum. He noted the major criteria is that they stay within the budget criteria that was put out in the referendum.
Councilman Ragno stated his impression plans for Fermi could be much different than what they were, and Mr. Kazmarski stated there’s a possibility of that at Fermi High School, depending on the amount of remediation that has to be undertaken.
Councilman Mangini thanked the Committee for this report. She stated her hope the Committee will keep the Council updated as the schedule moves forward.
Councilman Hilinski questioned how the Committee feels about the progress they are making and do they need additional help from the Council. Mr. O’Connell stated his belief things are going very well. He noted the Committee is very confident they’ve made a good choice last night, and this will insure the project will go well. He added good communications between the Committee and Council will be very helpful.
Mr. Kazmarski stated one issue that will need to be resolved is where the monies will come from for the remediation. He stated his understanding there are efforts to possibly get monies from the state. He noted Mr. Pongratz has been talking with the State School Facilities Unit, and that agency indicated this remediation effort could be considered a correction of a code defect, and the Town might be eligible for a 60% reimbursement. He commended Mr. Pongratz for following up on this.
Chairman Tallarita stated the Council has already had conversations with Senator Lieberman, and they’re looking to see if there are any funds available from the federal government.
Councilman Maxellon questioned the results of the soil testing at Enfield High School, and Mr. Kazmarski stated those tests came back clean.
Mr. O’Connell stated he had raised the question of whether the remediation requirement at Fermi could actually move up the project schedule, and he was told that is a possibility.
Councilman Hilinski questioned whether there is a date by which they need to have a decision on the remediation, and Mr. Kazmarski responded the sooner, the better because the preliminary design can go several ways. Mr. Pongratz stated his belief they have to have a plan in place by June 30th.
Chairman Tallarita questioned the anticipated cost for this portion of the contract, and Mr. Kazmarski responded $341,300 with reimbursable expenses. He noted this is subject to negotiation. He stated if the Council accepts the Committee’s recommendation to go with Malone & McBroom, his first step tomorrow will be to contact Malone & McBroom to request a breakdown of how they arrived at these fees.
Chairman Tallarita questioned if the cost will escalate with an attempt to meld the remediation work with the project itself. Mr. Kazmarski responded yes, but they don’t know how much more. He noted one of the fortunate things is that they are using GeoDesign as their soil and groundwater consultants, which is good because it’s the same firm that the Town used to do the preliminary work, therefore, they have that much of an advance. He pointed out the Town is proposing to use GeoDesign to come up with the remediation plan. He noted the additional fee probably wouldn’t be from Malone & McBroom, but rather from GeoDesign to come up with the remediation plan, and that would be melded in with whatever Malone & McBroom is going to develop as the preliminary plan.
Chairman Tallarita stated if the Town is eligible for the 60% reimbursement, there will have to be a clear delineation between the work that’s taking place for remediation and the work that’s taking place for the design. He stressed the importance of keeping those separate, even if they have the same contractors and engineers doing this work. He noted they will have to keep very good records of this work. Mr. Kazmarski strongly suggested the remediation effort be kept as a separate contract with a separate account. He noted the Director of Finance has ways of coding the accounts so that he can come up with just the funds designated for remediation vs. the other funds. He stated he would also ask that the firm bill the Town separately for each type of work.
Chairman Tallarita questioned how the Council needs to act on this recommendation, and Mr. Vindigni recommended a resolution for the next Council meeting that authorizes entering into a contract, signed by the Acting Town Manager, as well as it being subject to a review by the Town Attorney’s office.
Mr. Kazmarski questioned if that is done, can it be retroactive to tomorrow with a consensus from the Council. Chairman Tallarita questioned the Town Attorney as to whether this can be done, and Attorney Bromson responded yes.
It was the consensus of the Council to go forward.
Chairman Tallarita thanked everyone for their hard work on this.
Mr. Kazmarski commended this Committee. He stated this is a great group of people to work with. He noted the two young representatives from the high schools are doing an excellent job.
BUDGET OVERVIEW
The Enfield Board of Education presented their FY06-07 budget to the Town Council.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION #8744 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Ragno to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #8744 adopted 10-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 9:40 p.m. |