Trumbull finance committee approves $166,066 emergency appropriation for building repairs

The Trumbull Finance Committee voted unanimously Jan. 5 to appropriate $166,066 from the town’s fund balance to pay for urgent maintenance and safety upgrades at three municipal facilities.

Public Works Director George Estrada told the committee the supplemental spending addresses several unanticipated failures identified during inspections and service calls. The appropriation allocates $61,671 to the emergency medical services (EMS) building for a fire-panel upgrade and door work needed to meet code, $82,800 for repair and replacement of two failing roof appendages at the Police Department, and $21,595 to replace a failed fire panel at the Senior Center.

The funding request was introduced as Resolution TC31-18. Committee member Richard Wolf moved the resolution and Vice Chair Mary Isaac seconded. Estrada described the EMS facility as a garage for ambulances with a central training and staff area and said the fire marshal’s office flagged the EMS doors and panel during a walk-through inspection; multiple system components, including exit signs, sensors and pull boxes, required upgrades. Estrada said the UPS battery system did not require replacement.

Estrada said vendor service visits on Nov. 3 and 4 and a certification walk-through on Nov. 18 documented the Senior Center panel failure and subsequent replacement; technicians pulled and replaced wiring and components over multiple days to restore the system. He told the committee the Senior Center is a critical facility because evacuation can be difficult for some users and the building houses a food pantry and congregate lunch service.

On the Police Department roof, Estrada said two appendages or bump-outs experienced water penetration and are failing; those sections were not the center portion identified for full replacement in the town’s five-year capital plan but needed immediate work. When asked about inspection cadence, Estrada said there is an annual service agreement that covers extinguisher and panel inspections, but he did not have the exact prior inspection date at the meeting. He estimated the useful life for panels is roughly 8 to 10 years and said the EMS upgrade was driven by current code requirements and multiple component failures rather than a single event.

The committee approved Resolution TC31-18 by unanimous voice vote. The minutes record the result as “Motion CARRIED unanimously.” The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m.

The appropriation funds were described in the meeting backup materials as maintenance and repair — building & equipment (account 01030200-578802). Individual invoices and daily technician tickets for the Senior Center replacement were noted as included in the backup but some supporting material was described as having not made it into the written backup packet; Estrada gave verbal details about the dates and technician counts during the meeting.