FARMINGTON — Farmington's new Town Hall, in the 1928 wing of the old high school, is "99.9 percent done," its architect said Oct. 27. Russ Arnold, the town's director of public works, said the biggest job left is mortaring the joints of the west gym wall.
Until the last fixes are finished, the town is holding back $50,000 from the builder, KBE Building Corporation.
Change orders, the priced changes to a contract, brought KBE's contract to $13.36 million, $586,749 more than at signing, the committee's Oct. 22 budget summary shows. The town's contingency, its cushion for surprises, has $102,049 left of the $705,000 it started with. Staff moved into the $16 million renovation in February, and the ribbon was cut in May.
On Oct. 27, the Ad Hoc 1928 Building Committee approved KBE's 16th bill, $155,107.98. That brings the builder to 99.6 percent of its contract, said Mason Coudriet, the town's project superintendent. The site work came in slightly under its budget, he said, and the design fees are paid in full.
'Rather do this by the book'
Nobody could say when KBE would finish its punch list, the end-of-job fixes. "I wish I had that in my crystal ball," Arnold said.
So Arnold offered to have staff release the last $50,000 once the work is done, without another committee meeting. "We're not going to change the number. The number is the number," he said.
Jean Baron, a resident member, offered to make that motion. Daniel Kleinman, another resident member, objected. "Don't we have an oversight obligation here?" he asked. "I trust the staff implicitly," he said, but with Zoom, "there's no reason why we can't" meet.
"I don't know what kind of clout I have as chair here," said Peter Mastrobattista, the committee's chair. "But you know what? I kind of agree with Dan." He would "rather do this by the book," he said. "It would be literally a five-minute meeting via Zoom."
"That's fine. I agree," Arnold said.
The committee penciled in two Zoom dates and expects to use only one. As of Tuesday evening, the town had posted no agenda for the first, Nov. 10. The other is Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 9 a.m., the day the committee had already planned a get-together to celebrate its work.
KBE is not the last bill. The commissioning agent, the firm hired to check that the building's systems work as designed, still has a final visit, report and bill to come, Coudriet said. In June, members said what happens to any money left over depends on how much of the project the town borrowed.
Baron, who will be at school on Nov. 17, offered to step out and vote if the committee is short a quorum. Mastrobattista promised not to keep her long. "Oh, you can keep me as long as you want," Baron said.
This coverage is supported by Farmington Storage, 155 Scott Swamp Road, the only storage facility in Connecticut with Museum air. The town is holding $50,000 until the punch list is done. Farmington Storage holds everything else, at institutional grade. 860.777.4001 📦
Jack Beckett has reported on the 1928 building since the brick orders and now understands what an allowance credit is, which he did not ask for. He is on his third coffee and has heard about five-minute meetings before. ☕
The Farmington Mercury covers Farmington from the records up: town government, the police log, zoning and development, the schools, elections, community and business, and the $50,000 a town holds back until the builder is finished. We publish slowly, deliberately and without apology. Our motto is "Always last to breaking news," and we stand behind it. Find us at farmingtonmercury.com and tell your neighbors. 📰