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12/18/2016 05:59 PMWith a unanimous vote on Dec. 14, the final hurdle was cleared to appropriate $12.1 million in bonding to upgrade and expand the 54 year-old Community House as Branford’s new Community/Senior Center.
The bi-partisan Dec. 14 vote by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) followed a marathon discussion. The entire meeting can be viewed in the BCTV video archive at www.vimeopro.com/branfordtv
The night’s discussion also involved a presentation from Rep. Marc Riccio (R, District 6), who noted he’d come away from a Nov. 30 RTM overview of the project realizing “a few individuals, including myself,” had questions. Riccio boiled the questions down to “...is the right location?” and “...are we rushing to judgement because we don’t have all the information?” as well as “...is this the right price tag for this project?” Riccio said over 30 community meetings were held to gather input and share information over a two and half year period. Results included pinpointing the Community House for the project due in part to it being at a centrally located site. Riccio said information from many of the meetings had been made available online and as videos posted by BCTV. Regarding whether the vote should be delayed beyond Dec. 14, as some Democrats contended, Riccio said, “The town has been talking about this for six years and in the last two and half years has held regular meetings. There’s nothing to wait for. It’s time to move forward.”
“I was the first person (who) questioned costs,” Riccio added. “With $12 million we’re solving (needs of) two departments – the recreation department and the seniors, and we are going to gain long-term savings by having one joint building. We get to use an existing piece of property which saves money and we’re going to generate new tax revenue by selling the existing (senior) center, and get that back on the tax rolls.”
Riccio said he felt the project showed “smart management” not only by First Selectman James B. Cosgrove but also by Finance Director James Finch.
“It’s a community center, it’s community decision (that has) gone through a community process,” Ricco concluded. “I highly recommend you vote yes, and let’s give the citizens of Branford, young and old, a Christmas present.”
Rep. Adam Hansen (D, District 4) was vocal about conveying what he said were residents’ concerns about the cost, especially given other infrastructure projects underway or on the horizon. Branford is currently going forward with a project to renovate Walsh Intermediate School (WIS), estimated to cost the town $58 million after state reimbursement. He also noted other projects that will need to be bonded in the near future, including finding a home for Public Works (estimated cost, $10 million); renovations to the Blackstone Library (estimated $4 million) and Sliney School improvements (estimated $3.5 million). Hansen added he’d “applauded” the concept of combining the Community House and Senior Center, back when the project’s estimated cost was $8 million.
In June 2016, Branford’s Planning & Zoning Commission approved a design concept to allow for a combined Senior/Community Center to be constructed by renovating and expanding the Community House at 46 Church St. Then, as the First Selectman explained during a special meeting of the Board of Finance (BOF) on Oct. 3, an opportunity take advantage of some additional options increased the estimated project cost by some $4 million. They included an option to purchase land adjacent to the site, which will increase parking and access; and plans to construct the facilty so it can withstand flooding and act as a designated shelter. With a unanimous vote on Nov. 28, the BOF recommended the RTM vote to appropriate $12,115,000 and authorize bonding the amount to cover planning, design and renovation expenses to create a multi-purpose facility for the town’s senior center and the recreation department.
“Now that we’re up towards $12 million, it scares me a little bit,” said Hansen. “I’m hearing from a lot of constituents...we’re spending a lot of money in Branford.”
“I think everybody in this room, myself included, is concerned (and) mindful of budget impacts,” Cosgrove told Hansen. “That is why we have taken steps, in as far as restructuring our debt (and) aggressive debt pay-downs and other budget issues, recognizing that we are going to be moving forward with these projects; and we want to be able to control the impact.”
Hansen was also persistent in asking Cosgrove whether the project price tag could increase again. Cosgrove said the $12.1 million figure is “...what we feel is a comfortable number to move this project forward.”
Cosgrove also said Finch has been a champion of sound fiscal policies which put Branford in the position to handle taking on the new debt. He said Finch has been “mindful” and has used “care and planning” to limit impacts. Cosgrove also pointed to rating reports praising the town for sound fiscal policies and good debt management strategies.
“That is there. That is not going to change,” said Cosgrove. “We have put ourselves in a position where we can move forward and address these needs.”
Cosgrove added he felt the project was an “...overall an efficient use of space and efficient use of tax payers’ dollars. We are also mindful of the taxpayer. That is something I have not lost focus on, since Day One.”
Rep. Peter Black (R, District 3) discussed the paces the project has been put through to date, from completing 40 percent of the design phase to going through town regulatory bodies and completing a traffic study and Phase III environmental study. Black also noted the project needs to move forward to allow the recreation department to vacate the building during construction, and temporarily move programs into gym at WIS; before the WIS renovations get underway.
“How far down the road do you come in design before you come to this body?” Black asked, saying the project has, “... gotten pretty far down the road; so the First Selectman is coming to you with a high degree of confidence that this is the number. There’s also contingencies built into it.”
The plan currently has $700,000 in built-in contingency money.
Black also noted that the Town of Branford has “...paid down, in the last two years, roughly $13 million in debt.”
“Construction costs will be escalating; as well as interest,” Black added. “If we went back and had to re-design, any savings from value-engineering would be eaten up.”
Project architect Tom Arcarri of Quisenberry Arcarri Architects LLC noted the remaining 60 percent of project plans will be executed under the guidance of Branford’s Public Building Commission. He said the commission will have a “...significant impact on final project that will go to bid.”
The RTM’s lengthy discussion also included a bit of drama as Rep. Robert Imperato (R, District 4) made a motion to call the question before the item could be opened to public input. That motion failed 15-13. Rep. Maryann Amore (D, District 4) said she resented the inference RTM Democrats were “grandstanding,” about the issue of cost.
“This is illustrative of what my objections are. I’m a good Democrat, I think we can afford $12 million, it was not my issue; so I resent being accused of grandstanding on something that was not an issue for me and for many of us.” Amore said her concern revolved around “.... consistent feedback that seniors and citizens have felt left out of this process. People felt that they weren’t heard.” Amore said there may have been meetings but more could have been done to reach out. She said the motion to call the question, “...illustrates what people fee the problem was... no matter what you say, people still feel shut out of the process.”
Following the vote, Minority Leader Chris Sullivan (D, District 6) asked Moderator Dennis Flanigan (R, District 5) to allow members of the public to speak. Flanigan said the meeting would proceed with RTM members being allowed to speak first, followed by the public. The RTM heard from Riccio, who restated that 30 meetings had been held and that he saw what had been a case of “grandstanding” on behalf of the Democrats; and also said he wanted to hear from the public. Majority Leader Ray Ingraham (R, District 5) then said he would take his perogative as a member so that any member of the public wanting to speak could use his time. Ingraham had also voted against calling the question.
Several members of the public, including some senior citizens, spoke in favor of passing the bonding resolution. One senior said she felt the town’s older generation deserved a stand-alone new senior center. Third Selectman Jack Ahern (D) also spoke, (D) asking the RTM to “...please, don’t ever move on without allowing people from the public the opportunity to speak.” Ahern said of the project,”...if I was voting tonight, I would vote for it, 100 percent (but) that doesn’t mean we still can’t have differences...there were valid, very good questions asked.”