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Old Saybrook Y&FS Staff to Move to Town Hall for Summer

A summer work project to abate lead paint on clapboard siding of 322 Main Street and then to replace the siding will once again force the staff of the Youth & Family Services Agency (Y&FS) to relocate to the lower level of Town Hall temporarily.

Bids from contractors interested in doing the work were due back to Town Hall by June 23. With bids in hand, First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., will then seek appropriations from the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance to do the work.

This is the second round of capital maintenance and remediation that 322 Main Street has undergone. The first round, starting in the fall of 2015, was work to remediate mold and was covered by the town’s insurance carrier. With Y&FS staff out of the building already, the town also completed additional needed repairs to the roof and foundation to prevent further mold and animal intrusions. Finally, some additional fixes were also made to bring the building’s interior staircase and other features up to code for a public building.

This new work project is focused on cleaning up and upgrading the building’s exterior envelope. Phase One of the project is to remediate the lead paint coating on the building’s clapboard siding and trim. Phase Two would begin once work to remove the old paint and siding is done. In the second phase, the existing wood siding would be replaced with clapboard siding made of a more durable material similar to cement-board called Hardiboard.

Also planned is the replacement of aging and rotting trim boards, railings, and decking materials with a more durable product than the current wood. Once installed, the new siding and trim would be painted.

The town released a request for bids in May for the two phases of the planned project. Last week, Old Saybrook Facilities Director Dan Moran met contractors seeking to bid the work at a pre-bid meeting and walk-through. Bids for both phases of the project were due in Town Hall by June 23. Once the bids are opened, Fortuna would seek approval from the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance for the funding necessary to complete the project.

If abatement work at 322 Main Street begins as expected in early July, Y&FS staff would relocate from their current home to a new temporary home in the lower level of Town Hall. At press time, Y&FS Director Heather McNeil said the agency planned to relocate about five to seven staff members and agency operations to the Emergency Operations Center in the Town Hall’s lower level. Essential equipment and supplies for Y&FS programming would be moved off-site until the project was completed.

With the support of the town’s IT Coordinator Larry Hayden, all routine and emergency calls for Y&FS agency staff would automatically transfer to Y&FS’s new location in the Town Hall’s lower level as soon as staff settle in their temporary space.

“Luckily, [the work] is in the summer when most of our activities take place outside,” said McNeil. “These exterior projects will address rot, seal up cracks in the basement foundation, and abate lead paint issues.”

McNeil said she was told by Moran that the first phase would take about 30 days once it begins and the second phase would immediately follow and take about another six weeks. So depending on the start dates for each phase, the agency’s staff could be working in the lower level of Town Hall from the first of July through the middle or even the end of September.

Moran said that the interior of 322 Main Street would be sealed off during the lead paint removal process to prevent any dust from penetrating into it. Then, once the lead paint has been removed, a contractor would perform an air quality test to confirm that there is no lead dust present in the interior.