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06/20/2017 12:00 AMAfter numerous debates over policy, procedure, and fiscal responsibility, the Board of Selectman (BOS) voted on June 7 to go back to the original plan to complete the Arts Barn Roof Replacement project in one go rather than in two sections. To finalize the decision, the board voted in favor of a special appropriation totaling $25,139 to cover project funding.
The Arts Barn, which is home to—among other things—Madison Cable Television, has been in need of a new roof for at least four years. The roof was first slated for replacement in fiscal year 2013-’14 under the former LOCAP program, which became the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), for $85,000. After numerous bidding issues and review by an architect, the project to replace the roof was finally awarded to Streamline Roofing Services, LLC, in December 2016 for $89,000. At the time, only $75,000 was designated in CIP for the project and the bid was approved with the understanding that a special appropriation would likely been needed to cover the full cost.
However, in April, former selectman Joan Walker, who stepped down from the board in December 2016, brought the project back into the spotlight. She said while she thought the contractor and the project had been settled, she noticed via an ad in this newspaper that a new request for bid had been issued for the Arts Barn roof. At the time, First Selectman Tom Banisch said the initial project had exceeded the project funds and wanted to see if there was a way to bring the project in under budget.
The Arts Barn roof has sections that are flat as well as a slanted section. In late April, nine bids came in for just the flat portion of the roof, ranging from $22,936 to $56,450. Considering the new prices, some board members wanted to see if the new low bidder, Rivers End Construction, could be negotiated with to do the whole project and still bring it in under budget.
At the time, Selectman Al Goldberg said he was still uncomfortable with just moving forward with the flat roof portion considering that the board had previously been told the whole roof needs to be replaced. Additionally, Town Director of Engineering Mike Ott expressed concerned with the idea of turning down the initial bid for the full roof from December and then trying to negotiate with the new bidder to now do the whole project without going back out to bid, calling the move “not typical practice.”
Banisch said he would run the proposal by town counsel and at the special BOS meeting on June 7, it became clear that it would be legally necessary to go with the December bid if the town hoped to complete the roof in one go. Banisch said it had also become apparent that reconstructing the roof in segments would not save the town money.
“I thought it was worthwhile to try to find an alternative that was cheaper that would allow us to fix the roof and not have to spend this much money,” he said. “But going through the process and talking to the contractors and a few other guys and our attorneys and the architect who did the specs, it doesn’t appear we are going to be able to save any more money in the long run.”
The BOS approved the special appropriation to cover the anticipated extra cost, contingency, and funds that had been used to pay the architect when the project was put out to bid for a second time. The Board of Finance later approved the appropriation, but some selectmen still took issue with how the board ended up in this position.
“I am still having a problem with the process of how we got here,” said Goldberg. “I repeatedly asked to see whatever communication came from town counsel regarding the questions we had with how this bid was awarded the first time and the second time and it is not even clear from our agenda just who we are awarding this to…This has just been handled in an extraordinary fashion and I don’t want to see us handling future things such as this in this manner.”
Selectman Scott Murphy also took issue with all board members not being privy to communications with town counsel.
“I think all we are asking for is a bit more transparency,” he said. “We did ask to see that in writing from the attorneys just to make sure we are making an informed decision before walking in the room.”
With the special appropriation approved and the contractor selected in December, Streamline Roofing Services, LLC, still on board, Banisch said the project is slated for September 2017 and work will likely take a month.
“I think we avoid any problems going forward if we just do the whole job at once,” said Banisch. “This company seems very qualified and likely they will be very good to work with.”