Danbury City Board of Awards approves 14 procurement items, declares emergency for pump-station repairs

The Danbury City Board of Awards unanimously approved 14 procurement and contract items at its Nov. 6 meeting, covering vehicles, infrastructure repairs, software implementation and an emergency valve replacement at the Shelter Rock Pump Station.

Purchasing Agent Chick Volpe said the police department requested four 2024 Harley-Davidson FLHTP Electra Glide motorcycles and that the city received a single bid from Seacoast (transcript: "Seacoast Charlie Davidson") at $19,609 per motorcycle. "We only received one bid," Volpe said. The board moved to award the motorcycles (police request for four at $19,609 each, requested total $78,436); the motion carried unanimously.

The board approved related outfitting work for those motorcycles — a Fleet Auto Supply quote at $10,359.24 per unit (total $41,436.96) — and multiple other ARPA-funded vehicle and equipment purchases: a JCB compact backhoe for $109,000; a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 4x4 truck with plow for $51,936.86 from Ingersoll Auto (Danbury); and an annual renewal for street sign materials with National Highway Products including a 5% price increase.

For the fire department, Volpe said the city received two bids for a new fire training tower. The apparent low bid from All In Construction totaled $937,706.32; with two alternates (alternate 1: $38,485; alternate 2: $23,360) the board recorded a low-bid total of $999,551.32. The board voted to award the work contingent on contract finalization and ARPA compliance.

The board declared an emergency for repairs at the Shelter Rock Pump Station after a utilities official described routine maintenance that revealed corrosion on control-valve bodies and fittings. The official said the valves "must be replaced as soon as possible to avoid actual structural failure, which would result in us having to take the pump station offline." The board approved a sole-source award to Harper Haines for the valve portion (transcript-listed sole-source portion $28,005.81) and noted a vendor quote of $20,581 for valves plus an estimated $10,000–$12,000 for additional piping; city personnel will perform the labor. The emergency declaration and award were approved unanimously.

Other awards included bridge repairs on Casper Street to Hemlock Construction (budget proposal $77,229), Crosby Street clearing and related work to Hemlock Construction (approx. $126,098.16 plus a $5,000 bond allowance), and McKinney Mechanical for intermediate boiler repairs (transcript shows a quoted cost $18,708 and a contract-based payment of $15,780). The board also approved increases for technology services: an additional $21,000 to Tyler Technologies (sole source for the city's ERP system) for implementation work and an ARPA increase of $36,480 for payroll and financial systems integration work with the contractor referred to in the record as "Create a Financial Resource." Finally, the board approved a three-year maintenance/support and licensing arrangement with NewMind Group Inc. for Google email and apps, with a performance period noted in the record as 11/24/24 through 11/23/27.

All recorded motions during the meeting carried unanimously. Several items were described in the record as ARPA-funded and were approved contingent on consultant review or contract finalization. No items in the transcript show a recorded dissent or amendment to an award.

The board adjourned after completing the agenda.