Commission says Bethel High HVAC project short on paperwork; $200,000 remain unpaid

The Bethel Site and Building Commission voted July 8 to continue withholding final payment on the Bethel High School HVAC contract while the town waits for missing documentation and completion of punch-list items.

Mark, a town project staff member, told the commission the town's building inspector walked the site with SaveMore and Mazzotti Electric and found the work largely acceptable on inspection but that the inspector was seeking paperwork rather than corrections. "I took a bunch of pictures," Mark said, and he agreed to share the photos and a list of the remaining items with the commission.

Mark said application No. 16 for payment was rejected by the engineer of record and that application No. 17 will not be accepted until No. 16 is resolved. "We would not accept application number 17 because we've never approved or received officially received application 16," he said. He reported roughly $200,000 remained due on the contract.

Commissioners pressed for specific documentation. One member noted they had not received operation-and-maintenance manuals or confirmation that asbestos transmittal paperwork was submitted; another observed repeated fault trips on a DOAS unit have been reported to the HVAC vendor but the commission had not received Trane's field report. A commissioner said: "This project won't close if they don't have that" asbestos paperwork.

Mark said he had emailed the town attorney and asked her to advise on next steps and suggested the attorney draft a "strongly worded letter" to SaveMore and, if appropriate, that the town consider back-charging for delay. He also said several punch-list items appear complete in the field but not recorded in contractor closeout documentation.

Jennifer, a town staff member responsible for reimbursements, told the commission the state reimbursement request requires all invoices and payments to be in the town's files before the grant closeout can be submitted; she said the town has a little extra time but needs the project closed by the end of the summer to meet state timelines.

The commission requested Mark circulate the punch-list, the folder with his inspection photos and any field reports received from vendors. They also discussed contacting SaveMore's owner rather than its on-site representative if the paperwork is not delivered promptly.

The commission did not take a formal enforcement action at the meeting beyond directing staff to pursue legal counsel input and to withhold payment processing until the records and required asbestos transmittal are provided.