Police Station Project on Pace to Finish On Time, Within Budget

Anyone who has driven behind Monroe Town Hall lately has seen the frames for the police station's new communications center and sallyport. The steel beams are up and the framing and roof work is well underway under the direction of Dolphin Construction Co.

"As you can see, we've made significant progress," J.P. Sredzinski told fellow Town Council members at their meeting last week.

Sredzinski is chairman of the building committee for the $4.1 million renovation and modernization of the Monroe Police Department, a building project that includes the two small additions in the back.

"This is ahead of schedule," Sredzinski said. "We've had good weather. We have a good contractor and a great team in place. We're on schedule to be within the budget that the Board of Finance and Town Council had authorized."

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Though the project is progressing relatively smoothly, there still have been some problems to deal with along the way.

Sredzinski said an old iron pipe for the septic tank had ruptured while being brushed during a routine excavation, adding the small spill was quickly contained and cleaned up.

"Captain Flick, Chief Salvatore and the clerk of the works, Frank Bent, quickly identified the problem and got my attention and it was fixed the same day for under $2,000," Sredzinski told the council. "The communication worked well."

He said the line, which went from town hall to the septic tank, was replaced with a new one, so it now meets Trumbull-Monroe Health Department standards.

Another minor mishap occurred when the wind blew off the covering over a section of roof being worked on and water leaked into the Assessor's Office at town hall, according to Sredzinski.

He said there may be a change order request for new outdoor lamps if the building committee finds that replacing them will be cheaper than refurbishing the old ones. Sredzinski also noted that the wiring is old.

The committee will go the opposite route with the existing doors inside the building. Sredzinski said workers will refurbish the solid oak doors to like-new condition, which will be less expensive than buying new doors.

Among the work that has already been done, Sredzinski said electricians have installed new electric panels.

The committee hired Multi-Vista, a company that provides an extensive photo documentation to assist the town in ensuring that the building is completed according to plan and to protect the town from any potential legal liability.