Review of Waterford municipal complex on hold, with silence from Fletcher Thompson
Waterford — After the architecture firm hired to redesign the town’s dilapidated municipal complex stopped responding to messages and letters from town officials, the committee charged with planning the renovations is turning to the Board of Selectmen for guidance.
The committee planned to hire a third party to review the plans that Bridgeport-based Fletcher Thompson developed for the complex, which was built more than 50 years ago and includes offices, the town’s transfer station and a garage for town vehicles and equipment.
But in order to hire a third party to review the plans, the committee needs the most recent version of the plans.
And Fletcher Thompson’s subcontractors can’t submit updated plans because Fletcher Thompson isn’t paying them, according to Cheryl Larder, a Waterford Board of Finance member who is also on the Municipal Complex Building Committee.
“We as a committee can’t do what is in our charge,” Larder said.
The committee plans to submit a memo to the Board of Selectmen asking First Selectman Daniel Steward and the board’s two other members to advise them on how to proceed with the project, which has been in the works for many years.
Fletcher Thompson did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. The Connecticut Post reported in April that the firm was facing eviction from its Bridgeport headquarters and has been the subject of multiple lawsuits over unpaid bills.
An initial effort to develop renovation plans for the out-of-date Route 85 facility was put on hold in 2012 while the town undertook a multiyear school renovation project. Town officials reformed the building committee last year and has paid Fletcher Thompson more than $30,000 to update the architectural plans to meet current building codes.
One of Fletcher Thompson's subcontractors, Glastonbury-based Anchor Engineering Services, already submitted its remediation, traffic and parking-related engineering plans, which were approved by the town’s Conservation and Planning and Zoning commissions.
"They have what we've done," said Scott Atkin, a principal owner and one of the founders of Anchor.
The other engineering subcontractor, Hamden-based DTC, has not yet submitted its plumbing, mechanical engineering and structural plans because Fletcher Thompson has not yet paid them for the work, Larder said.
The building committee's plan to hire a third-party firm will be on hold until the updated plans for the municipal complex are delivered, Larder said.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
