The Fairfield Building Committee on Jan. 7 heard updates on mechanical and controls work at three school projects, approved two Authority to Proceed requests and multiple invoices totaling more than $2.3 million, and re-elected its officer slate for 2025.

Committee members heard that ductwork installation is under way at Fairfield Woods, Usborne/Osborne Hill and North Stratfield and that ceiling tile installation will wait until summer when schools are not in session. The committee also was briefed on a controls and building-management integration problem at Fitz House that staff said is being troubleshot.

The committee’s action items included approval of ATP 24 for North Stratfield — a fixed-price, $5,706 work order to reinstall domestic water pipe insulation removed during earlier abatement — and ATP 25, an approximately $2,500 charge for a pole-holding truck needed when crews encountered an unstable utility pole during shallow excavation. Members approved five vendor invoices, including Gilbane’s December pay application and smaller invoices from Savemore, BNL Company, Colliers and Vinselm. The committee also nominated and approved its 2025 officers: Jeff Galdensi as chair, Ronnie Van Heusen as vice chair and Joe Valley as secretary.

Lede/context: why it matters
Fairfield’s school construction and renovation projects affect class schedules, summer work windows and district budgets. The committee’s approvals release relatively small contingency-funded items that keep construction moving and authorize pay applications that fund contractor progress.

Key construction updates
- Ductwork and ceilings: Tim (staff member) reported that all three schools have shifted into the ductwork installation phase, with about half of the ductwork installed in the currently active corridors. Ceiling grid installation may proceed when MEP work is complete in the full Phase 2 area, but ceiling tiles are planned for summertime installation to avoid dust and disruption while schools are occupied.

- Fitz House controls: Mark (staff member) and Sal (technical consultant) said the new unit package controls and the building management system are not interacting as expected. Sal described the problem as a “sequence of operations” issue and said the teams — contractor, commissioning agent and engineer — are working through trial-and-error testing and believe they have a final solution forthcoming.

Tomlinson design and bid schedule
Committee members reviewed two proposals to develop construction documents to the con/ bid stage: one from Gilbane (estimate through start of construction) and one from BL (construction documents plus construction administration and closeout). BL told the committee it needs roughly seven to eight weeks to complete construction documents; the committee agreed to prioritize internal review so bidding can happen in spring and enabling work can proceed in summer 2026. The committee tabled final approval of the Tomlinson Phase 2 proposals to the Jan. 17 meeting to allow Rodney (committee member/staff) and others time to review the packages.

ATP items and site safety
ATP 24 (North Stratfield, RFI 73): Approved as a fixed-price item of $5,706 to reinstall domestic water line insulation removed during abatement work. Committee discussion noted the cost will likely come from contingency or hazmat accounting; Mark said accounting will be checked and clarified.

ATP 25 (North Stratfield, utility pole holding truck): Approved (estimate $2,500). Tim said crews noticed a new utility pole shifting about 3 feet into excavation; UI (utility) recommended a pole-holding truck to stabilize the pole while conduit work proceeded. The work was performed and the committee recorded the ATP as a contingency line item run through the construction manager/contractor.

North Stratfield transformer and temporary outage
Tim said conduit work was completed and the transformer was scheduled for delivery the following Tuesday. The committee was told the project plans a temporary utility shutdown on Saturday the 11th to disconnect and reconnect service to the new transformer; a temporary generator will support kitchen storage and boilers during the single-shift outage (estimated morning to mid-afternoon).

Invoices and budget notes
The committee approved the invoice packet presented: Gilbane pay application (dated 12/31/2024) and invoices from Savemore, BNL Company, Colliers and Vinselm (dates in November–December). Mark said the project remains generally under budget and that updated budget reports were expected this week. The committee flagged one spreadsheet date as an Excel error; staff clarified approximately $5,000 for BL’s construction-administration portion of the Osborne vestibule work, to be summer work.

Officer elections and administrative items
Jeff Galdensi made the motion to nominate the 2025 officer slate and members approved the nominations. The clerk requested email addresses for committee records; Joe Valley confirmed an address to provide to the clerk.

Votes at a glance
- Approve Dec. 6 meeting minutes — passed by voice vote.
- Officer slate (Jeff Galdensi chair; Ronnie Van Heusen vice chair; Joe Valley secretary) — passed by voice vote.
- Table Tomlinson Phase 2 proposals for further review — decision: tabled to Jan. 17.
- ATP 24 (North Stratfield domestic water insulation, RFI 73) — approved, $5,706.
- ATP 25 (North Stratfield utility pole holding truck) — approved, estimate $2,500 (contingency-funded line item).
- Gilbane invoice (12/31/2024) — approved (amount as presented to committee).
- Savemore invoice (11/30/2024) — approved $14,012.50.
- BNL Company invoice (11/29/2024) — approved $15,506.63.
- Colliers invoice (12/05/2024) — approved $11,639.14.
- Vinselm invoice (12/17/2024) — approved $4,831.16.

Discussion vs. decisions
Discussion points included schedule coordination for field visits and walkthroughs as design documents move from DD to CD; controls integration troubleshooting at Fitz House; and logistics for the North Stratfield transformer shutdown. Directions given included: staff to circulate Tomlinson proposal packages for focused review before Jan. 17 and to confirm accounting for ATP 24 (hazmat/contingency coding). Formal decisions were approvals noted above; several items were informational only.

Context and next steps
Committee members emphasized minimizing in-session disruption for students by scheduling noisy or dusty work for summer. BL and Gilbane are on the project critical path for Tomlinson design documents; staff will ask Rodney and others to prioritize review so bidding can occur in spring. The committee’s next regular meeting is Jan. 17 at 9:00 a.m.

Ending
Members adjourned after confirming the Jan. 17 meeting date. No executive session was recorded.