Danbury Board of Awards approves contracts and renewals for airport, police, technology and infrastructure projects

The Danbury City Board of Awards on Wednesday approved a set of procurement actions, renewals and contract amendments covering airport infrastructure, police technology, city telecommunications, highway materials, street‑improvement engineering and water‑system design work.

Purchasing agent Chip Volk opened the meeting and read the roster of department representatives in attendance. For the first item, Volk said the board reopened bids on regulators in the vault at Danbury Municipal Airport and received three offers. Airport administrator Michael Safranick moved to accept Rizzo Electrical Contractors’ low bid of $171,752; the motion was seconded and carried.

The board approved a 36‑month renewal for the police department’s Clear ProFlex investigative software. Volk reported the police submitted the requisition and a sole‑source justification; he said the initial monthly cost for year one is $4,715.46 and that the net cost is expected to increase by about 5% in each of the following two years. Volk moved to approve the purchase order and the board carried the motion unanimously.

Volk also presented the police department’s annual service renewal for its Motorola communications system with a total contract value of $51,269.67. He said the police identified Motorola as the original equipment manufacturer and sole source for continued support. The board voted to approve the renewal as a sole‑source award.

On behalf of the highway department, Volk requested an amendment to an existing purchase order issued under the state contract with Telecom Connecticut, increasing the current $5,000 ceiling by $40,000 so the department can meet needs through the remainder of the fiscal year. The board approved the amendment.

The board amended an on‑call engineering services award with BL Companies to add $33,600 for additional construction inspection and administration related to the White Street and Locust Avenue intersection improvement project; the original award amount was $349,000. Volk said the additional funds will be charged to account 20‑20‑3407‑00519.

Frank Gentile, director of technology services, asked the board to authorize a letter allowing the city’s voice‑over‑IP reseller to coordinate with Frontier, the city’s phone carrier, to inventory and convert analog circuits to digital across city facilities and assess how circuits are paid for. Gentile said converting analog circuits is now required by the phone company’s transition and that converting to digital will create savings that could be applied toward purchasing a new police phone system. The board authorized execution of the letter; Gentile said there is no upfront cost for the authorization itself.

Volk said the board previously approved emergency work at the Beaverbrook Pump Station after a pump failure with an initial estimate of $65,000; public utilities later provided actual repair costs of $82,066. A motion to amend the August emergency award to cover the additional amount was seconded and approved.

Finally, Volk presented a July 23, 2025 proposal from Tatum Howard seeking $20,700 in additional engineering services for Kenosha Wellfield work related to PCE and PFAS design requirements from the state DEP. A board member moved to award the additional services and a second followed; the transcript records at least one member saying they were "not in favor," and the final detailed vote tally is not clearly recorded in the meeting transcript.

The board spent roughly one hour on the eight agenda items and adjourned after completing the listed actions. Several items were approved unanimously; where vote tallies were announced, Volk read names in support, and one item toward the end of the agenda shows disagreement that could not be fully resolved from the transcript record.

Quotes

"It's going to be converted to digital — right now it's analog," said Frank Gentile, director of technology services, describing why the city needs to convert phone circuits and how conversion could generate savings for a future police phone system.

Next steps

Most approvals authorize procurement staff to finalize purchase orders and contracts under the described terms. For the Kenosha Wellfield design amendment, the city will proceed with Tatum Howard for the additional DEP‑driven services unless further procedural steps are required; the transcript does not record additional administrative steps or a complete roll‑call vote for that item.