Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY November 12, 2020 TIME: 6:30 P.M. Via WebEX.com MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Ed McKeon Councilman Philip Pessina Councilman Darnell Ford Councilman Ed Ford Jr Members Absent: Staff Present: William Russo, Director of Public Works Christopher M. Holden, P.E., Deputy Director of Public Works Catherine Lechowicz, Director of Recreation and Community Service Paul Pizzo, Landmark Architect Others: Councilman Nocera opened the Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting at 6:30 P.M. Councilman Nocera requested a motion to approve the minutes dated October 14, 2020. Councilman Pessina made a motion. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. Councilman Pessina made a motion to amend the agenda by moving up Old Business A. Harbor Park Boardwalk update, B. Multiuse Trail Update and C. Vets Pool and Splash Pad Update. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford and passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: None CORRESPONDENCE: None NEW BUSINESS: a. Landmark Proposal for the Recreation Center- Paul Pizzo from Landmark Architect explains to the commission that the last study has been done. It will be broken down into phases. Phase one Catherine Lechowicz expressed the need for a large communal space with a kitchen as soon as possible it was very close to our initial budget that was in the bond. Paul is going to get a schedule of when Catherine can use the communal space and the office spaces in the front .Demolition is scheduled to start as soon as school is done for the year which is in June of 2021. Further discussion ensued. A motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford and passed unanimously. b. Standing Building and Projects Committee. Ordinance for Standing Building and Projects Committee was presented to the Public Works Commission. The standing building and projects committee is established for any City projects having a total of $ 500,000.00 or more involving the construction or renovations of buildings. The Mayor with the consent of the Common Council shall appoint the committee. Further discussion  ensued. Councilman McKeon made a motion. The motion was seconded by Councilman Pessina and passed unanimously. c. $15,000.00 Appropriation for the Middlesex Pool and Tennis Laurel Grove Road- Public Works is seeking $15,000.00 to cover the acquisition costs associated with the purchase of 432 Laurel Grove Road, a 6.31-acre parcel to be used as a public park. Cost not to exceed $15,000.00. The funds will come out of the General Fund. Councilman Pessina made a motion. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford and passed unanimously. 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. Harbor Park Boardwalk Update- Michael Doherty comes before the Public Works Commission to give an update on the Harbor Park Boardwalk. He states that we had eight bids. We are now in the process of negotiation with the lowest bidder, which is Diversity. There seems to be some stipulations regarding the materials. Diversity has been given until November 18, 2020 to respond. Further discuss ensued b. Multiuse Trail Update- Michael Doherty has come before the Public Works Commission to give an update on the Multiuse trail. Phase one Flight is getting ready to go for next week. They have been waiting for the leaves to all drop. The reason for the flight is to cover that whole area once we have a defined route they can go ahead and digitize just that piece instead of trying to field survey that entire almost a mile of area, which can be very costly. Further discussion ensued. c. Vets Pool and Splash Pad update- The pool designer has shared some of the designs with Catherine Lechowicz and Kathy Nocera. In the next few weeks, they hope to have a meeting to share the ideas and designs to give the Commission time over the holiday break to review. Michael Doherty hopes that by the next meeting we will be ready to turn over to construction. Further discussion ensued. d. October 2020 Public Works Overtime- the Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their monthly reports. There were no questions as the overtime has been at a minimal due to the Covid-19 pandemic. e. October 2020 Building Permits- the Commission reviewed their Building Permits. Building continues to be busy. As of today, we have generated $447,000.00 in building permits. OTHER: a. October 2020 Monthly Reports- Highway Division- the Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their monthly reports for the Highway Division. There were no questions. b. October 2020 Overtime Reports-Parks Division – The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their monthly reports for the Parks Division. There were no questions. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: As there was no further discussion, a motion was made to end the meeting by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and approved unanimously. The Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting adjourned.