By Jarret Liotta
Egged on by Board of Finance (BOF) concerns, First Selectman Jim Marpe is recommending creation of a new facilities manager position in part to help oversee the care of Westport’s school buildings.
Discussion at tonight’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting centered around its five-year capital plan and how more than $60 million in recommended repairs from a consultant might play into it.
Elio Longo, chief financial officer for the schools, shared about a new working group that includes himself, the school facilities director, and representatives from both the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Marpe’s staff.
The group is examining the findings of the facilities report from Antinozzi Associates, which recommended close to $100 million in repairs to seven of the eight school buildings over the next 10 years.
“Sometimes you need to step back and let the professionals do their work,” said Marpe, dissuading the idea of seeking public volunteers for more committee work, as was done with the Coleytown Middle School (CMS) project, as well as elected officials.
“It’s not to dictate anything to anybody,” he said, but town employees, including Gary Conrad, finance director, and Sara Harris, operations director, will use their expertise to help determine a priority list in relation to the needs of the town juxtaposed those of the school buildings, in the process assessing what will be realistic for the town from a finance standpoint.
“I feel that my direction from the Board of Finance is that I find a way to work with you as much as possible,” he told the BOE, calling the group the Consolidated Facility Staff Working Group.
Several BOF members in attendance expressed their “frustration” with the BOE because the Antinozzi Report, which was completed three months ago, has still not found a clear purpose in its objective.
“I know how much you guys have on your plate, but it’s been three months since we got this report,” said BOF Vice Chair Andrea Moore.
“I am a little frustrated,” she said.
“We haven’t made any progress on it,” echoed BOF member Jim Foster, who said he hoped to work cooperatively with the BOE but was likewise frustrated by this.
While she said she shared the frustration that things haven’t happened faster, BOE member Lee Goldstein said her board faced conflicting messages.
She said that on the one hand it is told to ask for items to improve the schools, including its facilities, but on the other hand it is told to keep budget increases below 2 or 3%.
“I feel like we take hits from both ways,” she said.
Peter Ratkiewich, director of DPW, explained that a facilities manager could begin as a contracted position but might eventually require a fulltime employee. The role, he said, would center on examining each town-owned asset and determining its maintenance requirements over time.
“To break it down by asset is the only way I know to do it,” he said.
“That decision-making process is where we want a facilities manager to provide a comprehensive analysis of the eight schools,” he said, which might take two or three years to complete but would ideally ultimately put a process in place for going forward.
While Ted Hunyadi, school facilities director, said there were no real surprises in the Antinozzi Report in terms of maintenance issues, BOF member Nancie Dupier asked why they recommended close to $100 million in repairs over the next 10 years, and close to $65 million of that in the next five—amounts much higher than the school’s previous maintenance assumptions.
Hunyadi said he felt some of the numbers they reported were too high, but added he felt some of them were also too low.
“It’s still a work in progress,” he said of the report.
“I’m envisioning it’s going to raise more questions for me,” he said.
