Council votes down Kegwin School grant motion after members say the resolution references the wrong program

A special meeting of the Middletown Common Council on May 19, 2025 ended with council members rejecting a motion to authorize a Board of Education grant application for a building‑management system upgrade at Kegwin School after the motion’s sponsor said the text referenced the wrong grant.

Councilman Kovac formally moved that the Board of Education be authorized "to apply to the state commissioner of administrative services and to accept or reject a grant for the building and management system upgrade project at Kegwin School" and to establish a renovation committee. The motion was seconded by Councilman Lofredo. Before the council voted, Kovac told members he was asking them to vote the item down because "it references a grant that...it shouldn't be referencing, and so this isn't actually correct information. So I would just ask us to vote it down so we can bring forward a resolution that is actually accurate at our next meeting" (Councilman Kovac).

Dean Nocera, identified in the meeting as council president, said the correct grant and application "will be coming back...in June," indicating staff will return with revised paperwork. The presiding official called for a voice vote; the motion was rejected and the council agreed to bring the item forward again with corrected information.

The record does not include a roll‑call tally; the meeting used a voice vote and the minutes state the motion was rejected. The council did not take substantive action on Kegwin School funding at this session; members said the item will return for formal consideration after the grant language is corrected.