Newington council OKs town hall renovations
NEWINGTON – Despite a $2.8 million increase in the price tag for renovations to the town hall , the Newington town council voted to move forward with the project and set a guaranteed maximum price.
The project, which is now expected to cost $31 million, went to referendum in 2017, when the renovation was expected to cost $28.8 million. Voters overwhelmingly approved the proposal.
Architect Thomas Arcari said he reconfigured the plans for the town hall as many times as he could in order to keep costs down. Any further reductions to the building, he said, would no longer effectively serve the town’s needs.
“We’re at the threshold of how small we can make this building,” Arcari said. “If I make this building any smaller, we’re not going to meet the needs of the community. We’ve done our best to get it to the $28.8 million and meet all the program requirements of the departments.”
The current facility, built in 1950, was once the town’s high school but now houses the town’s central government offices, the Mortensen Community Center and the school district’s central offices.
A report from Hamden-based DTC engineering consulting firm said the building is well maintained but in serious need of modernization and upgrades, including improved wheelchair access, energy efficiency and new heating and plumbing systems.
The renovation plans call for more efficient use of office space and modernized, spacious meeting rooms, with the town council chambers attached to the Helen Nelson Meeting Room, where the school board will meet.
At a Tuesday night town council meeting, dozens of residents spoke in favor of moving forward despite the cost increase.
“I have no problem paying my taxes and I hope you guys do the right thing,” resident Donald King said.
Others questioned where the extra money would come from, and said the town shouldn’t move forward on a project that would cost more than what was proposed during the referendum.
Town councilors split on whether to move forward, voting 6-3 in favor of the project. The only councilors to vote against the increased cost were Republican Mayor Roy Zartarian and Republican councilwomen Beth Del Buono and Gail Budrejko.
“In my heart, I can’t vote yes because I need to respect the integrity of the referendum question. … I think people voted on the cost of $28.8 million,” Budrejko said.
Zartarian said an opinion from the town attorney, which said the new cost would need to go to a second referendum according to the town charter, was his main reason for voting against the increase.
“I’ve got that thing hanging over my head about the legal requirement that came from the town attorney,” he said.
Town councilors who voted in favor said they wanted to see the project done, no matter what the cost.
“You can interpret the referendum question anyway you want, but the people who called me, who stopped me in the grocery store, they all said they want this done,” Democratic councilwoman Carol Anest said.