Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY March 10, 2021 TIME: 6:30 P.M. Via WebEX.com MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Ed McKeon Councilman Philip Pessina Councilman Darnell Ford Members Absent: Councilman Ed Ford Jr 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 Services Others: Michael Doherty- Milone and Macbroom Paul Pizzo- Land Mark Architect Jill Billingsley-Director of Youth & Family Learning Councilman Nocera opened the Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting at 6:30 P.M. Councilman Nocera requested a motion to approve the minutes dated February 10, 2020. Councilman Pessina made a motion. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. Councilman Nocera asked to amend the agenda by adding item F. Setting up a meeting with Wesleyan for safe products for maintaining our grounds and fields. Councilman Pessina made a motion. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: None CORRESPONDENCE: Fields of Excellence Pioneer Athletic Award- In a year that challenged us all, Pioneer Athletics is honored to announce 73 winners to their 2020 Fields of Excellence awards. Pat Kidney Field was one of the winners announced. NEW BUSINESS: a. Roof replacement Veterans Park Picnic Area Section A – Director Russo asked Bill Lardi, the Assistant Building Official to do an evaluation inspection of the Veterans Park upper section A. Walnut Grove Road. 1. Pavilion roof and associated structural framing over picnic area. 2. Roof and structural framing over barbecue grill. 3. Bathrooms serving the above. Bill Lardi’s evaluation states the first 2-listed structures are in a dilapidated condition and need full replacement, the bathroom structure requires a new roof and some sheathing repair, clean floors and paint, replacement of all plumbing fixtures, clean the masonry exterior, and repaint. The sidewalk that leads up to the pavilion would be removed and replaced with a new one and  the concrete pads along with a new masonry grill enclosure. Councilman Nocera asked if we could have gravel added to the parking lot. Councilman Pessina made a motion. Councilman Ford seconded the motion and passed unanimously. b. Approval for Coleman’s Carnival April 15, 2021- April 24, 2021- Coleman’s Carnival would like to come into town from April 23, 2021 through May 1, 2021. Director Russo states that between the Health Department and the Fire Department they will come up with the restrictions that need to be put into place due to Covid 19. He also stated that they would also determine the maximum amount of people allowed into the carnival area. Councilman Ford made a motion. Councilman Pessina seconded the motion and passed unanimously. c. Russell Library Book Walk- Jennifer Billingsley, Director of Youth & Family Learning comes before the Commission to present the Middletown Story Walk idea. Russell Library would like to apply for a grant to cover construction of the two walks at one or two city parks. The grant could potentially cover construction, but we would need to match it with in-kind contributions, and was hoping that transportation and installation by the public works department could make up part of that contribution. The story walk will display poetry from students from the public schools in Middletown. Councilman Pessina made a motion. Councilman Ford seconded the motion and passed unanimously. d. Mattress Ordinance- The department shall establish a separate fee to pick up mattresses and box springs from the residences. The fee shall be per unit and shall be set by the Public Works Commission based on projected expenses for the service. The Public Works Commission shall report the amount of the fee to the Common Council. The Common Council may act to revise the amount of the fee. IF the Council does not act on the matter, the fee shall remain as set by the Public Works Commission. Councilman Pessina made a motion. Councilman Ford seconded the motion and passed unanimously. e. Little League Phase One- During February 10th, 2021 meeting, Russ Cormier, President of the Middletown Baseball and Softball came before the Commission to suggest and request a few things that would help the Baseball and Softball League. Director Russo was asked by the Commission to put together a plan to present to the Commission at the next meeting. Director Russo has made a plan and is presenting to the Commission phase one of the plan. A storage container for the Hubbard Park Field, along with a safety net to by the concession stand to protect the parents and spectators from any oncoming balls. At Snow School, the fencing that is leaning and broken will be repaired and we will be adding 2 batting cages. Some of the other request made by Russ are going to be handled in house with the Public Works crew and the Parks Crew. Director Russo also explained that the big-ticket items, such as adding field lights at Lawrence School would be discussed in Phase 2 of the plan. The cost for the phase 1 items would come to $ 28,153.00. Little League has funds designated in the park bond for this. Councilman Pessina made a motion. Councilman Ford seconded the motion and passed unanimously. f. Setting up a meeting with Wesleyan for the safe products for maintaining or grounds and fields- Councilman Nocera stated that he will be reaching out to Wesleyan and report back to the Commission at the next meeting April 8, 2021. OLD BUSINESS: a. Recreation Center Update- Paul Pizzo from Land Mark Architect explains to the Commission that they are currently working on Phase 1 of the project. They are also working on an analysis of the energy needs for the entire building. Further discussion ensued. b. Vets Pool Update- Mike Doherty from Malone and McBroom explains to the Commission that they had a good site visit last week where they marked out limits of the project. Mike Doherty  and Catherine Lechowicz discussed having six lanes in the pool instead of the four lanes that was previously discussed. Mike suggested reducing the size of the activity pool to gain the additional two lanes for the lap pool. The next phase of the project would be to compile the design and development through the construction phase proposal to present to the Commission. Once accepted the lane change for the lap pool can be revisited at that time of the presentation. Further discussion ensued. c. Multiuse Trail Update- Mike Doherty states that we are still waiting for the survey to come back. He has requested an update from the company, which he is currently waiting for. He anticipates having the documents by the end of next week. Further discussion ensued. d. Harbor Park Boardwalk Update- Things are moving along. We are waiting for a preliminary schedule from the contractor to coordinate the schedule for the work to start. e. Saybrook Road Paving- Deputy Director Holden states to the Commission that the final plans have been received. We are currently reviewing them and we have meet with Stop & Shop regarding the easement that needs to be obtained for a little work on their property. We have some edits that we are discussing with Cardinal. Once edits are incorporated into the plans, they will go to the State DOT for review. We are looking at a start time around mid-summer. Further discussion ensued. f. January 2020 Public Works Overtime- the Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their monthly reports. There were no questions. g. January 2020 Building Permits- the Commission reviewed their Building Permits. There were no questions. OTHER: a. January 2020 Monthly Reports- Highway Division- the Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their monthly reports for the Highway Division. There were no questions. b. January 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 Ford. The motion was seconded by Councilman Pessina and approved unanimously. The Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting adjourned.