Board approves roof engineering contract, municipal leases and small budget transfers; snow-removal dispute not acted on

Middletown's Board of Estimate and Apportionment handled several routine approvals and budget adjustments at its Feb. 27 meeting, including capital contracting for roof work, a zero-dollar office lease for a congressional office, a small fire-department reallocation, and a new mailing-equipment lease. A property owner's dispute over a snow-removal bill was discussed but no motion was made, so the item was not advanced.

The board approved a professional-services engagement with Clark Patterson Lee (CPL) for engineering and construction-administration services related to roof replacement or repair for the water department building and the Department of Public Works (DPW) garage. The city reported budgeted amounts of $225,000 for the water department roof project and $291,000 for the DPW building roof. CPL's construction-administration fee was described in the meeting as $20,667 per roof for a total of $41,334. Board members said the roof work is a capital project and that the roofing work itself will be bid; the professional services are not bid because they are a contracted professional service. The motion to accept CPL's proposal was moved by the presiding official, seconded by Alderman Massey, and the board approved the item by voice vote.

The board also approved a formal lease allowing Congressman Ryan's office to occupy shared office space on the city's third floor at no charge. The meeting record described the arrangement as a formality required by the congressman's office so they could move equipment in; the lease was described in the meeting as a $0 lease. The motion was moved by the presiding official and seconded by Alderman Rodriguez; the board voted Aye.

Fire-department budget adjustments were approved as an amendment to the 2024 budget: amounts shifted included transfers of small amounts from uniforms, fire recognition, and miscellaneous to cover office expense, training field and physical exams, with a total shift described in the meeting as $2,000. The motion was moved by Alderman Rodriguez and seconded by Alderman Massey and passed by voice vote.

The board authorized a 60-month lease agreement with Quadrant for a new mailing machine and mail sorter. The meeting record referenced the current lease with Pitney Bowes ending in April 2025 and stated that a competitive Sourcewell bid produced a rate described in the meeting as "$5.14 32 per month"; the board voted to proceed. The board recorded the motion and approved the lease.

Finally, a property owner disputing a snow-removal charge presented photographs and a letter describing the sequence of events. Members noted two pictures had been supplied and that the order of events was unclear; no member moved to sustain or overturn the charge, and the motion died for lack of a motion.

Where votes were recorded, the board's actions carried by voice vote or unanimous recorded votes (where noted). Several items were characterized in discussion as capital projects or administrative formalities rather than emergencies; the sanitation department garage roof was mentioned as in poor condition but was not included in the current capital request and was left for a future capital budget.