Rutland select board hears extensive problems at new public safety building; clerk of the works named

The Town of Rutland Select Board spent the bulk of its Jan. 28 meeting reviewing systems and construction problems at the town’s new public safety building, and appointed a single clerk of the works to coordinate fixes.

The board heard detailed reports from Ed Dumas, town police chief, and Chris Clark, town fire chief, who described multiple mechanical and electrical items discovered during recent inspections and punch-list reviews. "When the power goes out ... the generator comes on, the fire pump is not energized, and it will not run," Dumas said, describing that the sprinkler control panel was installed without the required transfer switch and that the currently installed fire pump does not meet required flow. "They're going to have to get a new fire pump," he said.

Those issues, Dumas said, leave the building reliant on temporary measures—an on-site truck-fill pump—that the state allowed for short-term occupancy but that town officials said is not an acceptable long-term solution. The police chief also said the fire-pump wiring and transfer-switch arrangement will need corrective work and that responsibility for incorrect or incompatible components is likely with the sprinkler contractor and their suppliers.

Clark, the fire chief, listed other items found during recent walk-throughs: a three-phase 600-amp electrical service for the building, a generator sized to the service but with excess capacity relative to actual load, lighting controls that dim and brighten in ways that have frustrated staff, and questions about exterior sign lighting and motion-sensitive circuits. He confirmed routine punch-list items—door locksets, exterior lighting adjustments and paint touch-ups—remain to be finished before full turnover.

Town Administrator Bill Sweet and Town Clerk & Treasurer Gary Clark provided financial context and said the town is tracking costs and outstanding orders; Sweet noted remaining interior outfitting and equipment costs are being accounted for in the capital fund. At the meeting the board authorized procurement of furniture and interior items from the funded interior-outfitting budget lines and directed departmental staff to code prior purchases to the capital appropriation where appropriate.

The board also addressed a sewer-related infrastructure problem discovered during maintenance work on South Main Street. Public works personnel and a contractor attempted to jet the sewer line but encountered a collapsed or shifted pipe roughly 70 feet from the uphill access point; they recovered a $4,000 nozzle and reported they could not clear the obstruction with cutting or piercing bits. "This is starting to get to the verge of emergency because we're discharging raw sewage out of a manhole lid every single day," a highway/public-works speaker said. The town will request a meeting with VTrans and other state contacts next week to plan a repair that may require opening the Route 7 roadway.

To streamline communications with the contractor and the project manager during the final inspections and remaining punch-list work, the board voted to appoint Select Board member Joe DiNardo as the town’s clerk of the works for the project; the motion passed unanimously. DiNardo and staff will act as the primary point of contact between VMS (the construction manager) and town officials.

The board was told the State Fire Marshal/Department of Fire Safety will conduct an owner walk-through and the code/certificate-of-occupancy inspection during the originally scheduled Friday inspection; several department heads said they plan to attend that site visit. Dumas and Clark urged the board to resolve the sprinkler pump and transfer-switch incompatibilities promptly because the present temporary arrangements are not satisfactory for long-term building protection.

What happens next: the contractors will return for the Friday inspection and to address items on the punch list; the town will pursue corrective work on the sprinkler and fire pump systems and follow up with VMS and subcontractors on responsibility for any change orders or costs. Town staff also said they would notify insurers and the League of Cities and Towns when occupancy and certificates are finalized.

Speakers who provided direct first-hand detail during the building discussion included Ed Dumas, town police chief; Chris Clark, town fire chief; Joe DiNardo, Select Board member; Bill Sweet, Town Administrator; and Gary Clark, town clerk and treasurer. Several contractor and inspector names were referenced in discussion but not formally identified on the record.