Tolland board reviews capital requests, flags urgent fire‑door work and 'dirty power' damage to equipment

The Tolland Board of Education reviewed a multi-year capital request package and heard warnings that power-quality issues are harming newer equipment, facilities staff said.

Superintendent Dr. Willet and facilities director Pete Staba walked the board through the district’s capital list and timeline for submission to the town manager and Town Council, noting that final council decisions typically follow the board’s recommendation. The board was told the district’s fire-door inspection revealed multiple code violations that require immediate repair or replacement, and that those repairs are driving much of the near-term capital need.

Why it matters: Fire-door work was described by district staff as code and life‑safety work the district cannot defer; the board must finalize and forward its prioritized requests to the town manager in September so the council can consider them in the bond and capital process.

Staba described several priority items and cost estimates. He said an external consultant produced an estimate of roughly $2.5 million for conditioning and indoor‑air‑quality work at several large spaces — a figure the district intends to use in seeking competitive indoor-air‑quality grants. Staba also proposed equipment purchases, including an $88,000 autonomous floor scrubber for the high school to help offset recent reductions in custodial staffing. He said recurring compressor failures at Birch Grove have cost round‑figure thousands per failure and that protecting that equipment may be cost‑effective in the long run.

“...I inspected every single door,” Staba said when outlining the fire‑door findings, and he asked the board to treat the repairs as urgent. He also described tests and proposed safeguards for Rooftop VRF units after a pattern of compressor failures.

Dirty power and solar farm questions: Board members pressed staff on the cause of repeated equipment failures at the newer Birch Grove building. Staba described monitoring that suggests incoming power fluctuations are stressing components and said he has installed phase monitors and performed oil inspections on compressors to reduce damage and downtime. Several board members noted residents and staff have reported power fluctuations near the district’s solar array; Staba and others said town engineers and utility providers would need to investigate and that the council side will likely take the lead on those inquiries.

Budget treatment and process: The board discussed one‑time revenue from KERMA (the Connecticut interlocal risk management agency) and how the town has temporarily placed $10,000 for the board in a capital placeholder. Dr. Willet said KERMA issued an equity distribution of about $199,000 this year; the board’s share was described in the meeting notes. Board members agreed that detailed use of such funds should be considered by the Finance/Facilities Committee (FFC) before final board action.

Next steps: The board will review the FFC’s recommendations and finalize priorities so the superintendent can forward the capital request package to the town manager and ultimately to the Town Council, which approves bonding and funding allocations. Staff will add clear comments to the capital spreadsheet where items are already funded or reallocated so council members understand whether a request needs new funding or is covered by a reallocation.

The facilities presentation and capital discussion concluded with staff committing to provide clarifying paperwork, highlight funded items in the spreadsheet, and follow up with the council and engineering reviews where outside dependencies exist.