Ansonia Aldermen awarded a $1 million construction contract to rebuild the city’s transfer station Nov. 10, more than two months after Mayor David Cassetti signed the document and gave the OK to proceed with work at the site.
The mayor’s signing violated the city’s charter, which mandates any contracts of more than $25,000 must be awarded by the Aldermen, not the mayor.
Officials said the oversight was an accident that won’t happen again.
“It was a mistake,” Cassetti said. “We forgot to bring it to the Board of Aldermen.”
The Project
The rebuilding of the transfer station off North Division Street, which was damaged by a 2008 fire, has been on the drawing board for years.
In 2013, voters approved a bond resolution that included $255,000 earmarked for the work. In March 2015, Aldermen voted to allocate another $650,000 toward the project.
The refurbishment “will make solid waste collection more efficient and reduce overall transportation costs, air emissions, energy use, truck traffic, and road wear and tear,” according to a prepared statement issued by Cassetti’s office last month.
That’s because residents currently leave items like leaves, brush, and metal directly on the ground be picked up later, sorted, and taken away. The new transfer station will have containers allowing for easier pick up and transportation.
In addition, Public Works Director Doug Novak has added a “Give and Take Center” where residents will be allowed to drop off items they no longer want and others will be allowed to select and take them at no cost.
Click the play button on the video above to see Cassetti and Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley talking about the transfer station.
The mayor said he expects construction to be complete next spring or summer.
Whoops
The city received six bids for the work in June. The lowest bid was from Hartford-based Associated Construction Co., for $995,745.
Associated Construction was chosen, and Cassetti signed a contract Aug. 19 authorizing them to begin work on the project.
But he did so without having gotten approval from the Board of Aldermen, which is required by the city’s charter.
City officials were unaware of the oversight until the Valley Indy asked about it in response to the city’s press release. O’Malley then asked the Aldermen to approve the contract at their monthly meeting that night.
John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, said the Aldermen’s vote solved any problems that could have come up as a result of the mixup, adding that the error would not be repeated.
“All Charter provisions were followed with the exception of the aldermen formally awarding the low bid,” Marini said in an email. “However, it should be noted that the Board of Aldermen and public were at all times aware and informed of the process.”
The topic of work related to the 2013 referendum became an issue during this year’s municipal elections after Tara Kolakowski, the Democratic candidate for city treasurer, wrote a guest column wondering what kind of oversight the city was focusing on the projects.
Lorie Vaccaro, a Republican Alderman representing the Second Ward who chairs the board’s finance committee, responded two days later with a guest column of his own comparing Democrats to Rip Van Winkle.
Given the contract snafu, wasn’t it the Republican-dominated Board of Aldermen that was asleep at the switch?
“It looks like that got by us,” Vaccaro said. “I have to say that.”
Vaccaro said he stands by the statements he made in the column, and has visited the transfer station several times since work started there in early September to check up on the work.
The contract mix-up won’t be repeated, he said.
“There was a lot of things going on,” Vaccaro said. “This one just got by us. I will assure you I will do my best that it doesn’t happen again.”
He went on to note a report presented by William Nimons, the city’s comptroller, at Tuesday’s meeting showing the city had a $4 million surplus in its last fiscal year as proof the GOP has a watchful eye on the city’s purse strings.
Cassetti also lauded Nimons, who he said is “doing a phenomenal job” keeping track of the referendum projects.
“It just didn’t get to the Board of Aldermen,” Cassetti said. “We just forgot to do it … It won’t happen again.”
Marini said after the vote that the project won’t be jeopardized going forward because the Aldermen quickly fixed the problem.
“The charter says (the Aldermen) do need to vote on approval of the low bidder. So they did that tonight,” Marini said. “Better late than never.”
