The West Haven ARPA Committee on July 1 approved multiple payments tied to firehouse renovations, protective gear purchases and training, and authorized city payment of a jointly funded study.

Committee Chair Ken Carney said the meeting included final and interim invoices for renovations at Allentown and West Shore firehouses and reimbursements for equipment and services. The committee voted to approve diversity/Versa construction invoices for Allentown and West Shore, payments for protective equipment and training, and a $10,000 payment to ESCI for a study the firehouses jointly commissioned.

Why it matters: The approvals cover renovations and equipment the city and its fire districts identified as operational priorities, including bunk rooms, annex work and personal protective equipment. The payments move work and procurements toward completion and reflect ARPA committee oversight of project invoicing and reimbursements.

The committee approved a Diversity Construction invoice for the Allentown annex work for $64,822.73 and separately approved a Diversity invoice for West Shore bunk-room work, Benham Hill Station, for $21,536.50. The committee also approved an invoice for Center District personal protective equipment totaling $125,009.28, which Chair Ken Carney said finance helped reconcile with purchase orders so the city could collect amounts owed from the firehouses.

The committee approved training and equipment items intended for firefighter readiness. A Northeast Rescue Systems invoice of approximately $59,000 for training-related equipment and services was approved. The committee also approved smaller vendor and reimbursement items for speaker systems and construction administration connected to firehouse work.

Committee members discussed retainage on final contractor payments. Member Mike (last name not specified in the transcript) asked whether retainage applied to a Painter Park payment; Carney replied there was no retainage on that flat-work contract, and that contracting circumstances had been negotiated down. For the firehouse invoices the committee approved payments leaving retainage where the contracts required it; Carney said some invoices represented final payments “not including retainage.”

The committee approved a payment of $10,000 to consultant ESCI for a study the city helped fund after each firehouse contributed roughly $10,500 toward the fee. Carney said the city collected the districts' shares and was paying the consulting bill on their behalf.

Decisions and next steps: All motions described above were approved by voice vote during the meeting. Committee members authorized staff to prepare updated approval forms reflecting the committee’s consent on the newly approved items.

Quotes: Carney summarized the Center District equipment batch and finance work: “finance was able to capture about a 150,000 that the firehouses owe the city,” and later confirmed the Center District equipment invoice for $125,009.28. On the Allentown and West Shore invoices, the committee approved the payments by voice vote.

The committee did not adopt new policy changes at the meeting; actions consisted of invoice approvals, reimbursements and acceptance of study and training invoices. Further paperwork will be completed by staff to record the approvals.