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First Selectman pushes CIF application for 25 Old Farms Road; committee okays up to $3,000 for plan updates
Summary
The Willington Emergency Services Facilities Building Committee agreed to add a Community Investment Fund (CIF) agenda item and approved a recommendation to release up to $3,000 to update existing plans for 25 Old Farms Road, while members raised concerns the timing could appear to pre-empt committee deliberations.
The Willington Emergency Services Facilities Building Committee voted to recommend that the town allocate up to $3,000 to update architectural plans and pricing for 25 Old Farms Road to support an application to the state Community Investment Fund (CIF).
First Selectman (speaking as the town’s chief executive) told the committee the CIF ambassador had identified 25 Old Farms Road as a strong construction-side candidate because the town owns the land, a Fitch station-location study supports the site and programmatic drawings already exist. "As the first selectman, I'm applying for it and I'm not passing up an opportunity to get eight or ten million dollars for the town," he said. He asked the committee to approve a small expenditure so QA and M (Quesenberry, Arcari and Mallock) could update CAD files, pricing and the supporting narrative to align the plans with the Fitch report.
Chair moved the formal request that the committee recommend drawing up to $3,000 from the committee’s design and engineering allocation. The committee debated timing and the potential optics of moving on a large grant application before the public presentation and further internal deliberations. One committee member warned the action "has a potential appearance to the public of circumventing the entire process that we're going through." The First Selectman and other members countered that applying does not commit the town to accepting funds and that the CIF process may award partial funding, in which case the town could choose its next steps.
The motion to recommend the expenditure passed after a voice vote in which one member registered a no vote (identified in the meeting as Tyler) and the remainder supported the recommendation. No formal dollar-by-dollar budget was adopted at the meeting; the committee said any larger or additional expenditure would require Board of Finance approval.
The committee also discussed updates on a separate USDA-related grant for 426 River Road (Station 13). Members said USDA guidance appears to allow soft costs—design, abatement, materials—rather than full reconstruction, and that Gordian and Millennium need to separate the work scope so USDA staff can identify eligible elements. The committee noted the federal grant amount discussed in the meeting was $525,000 for remediation/soft costs but said further clarification is still pending.
The committee confirmed logistics for the public presentation of the Fitch study (a meet-and-greet and a presentation followed by Q&A) and agreed to record and attribute public questions so staff can follow up. The public presentation was scheduled for the week’s special meeting on Wednesday the 27th. Committee members asked that executive-summary copies and a single full report be available for attendees and that the town website and a QR code be used for broader outreach.
Next steps: QA and M will be asked to prepare the limited updates to plans and pricing; the committee will forward its recommendation to the Board of Finance for any required approval; and staff will continue coordination with Senator Gordon’s office and congressional staff on related property and grant matters.
