New London looks to state legislators to ensure full reimbursement for school demo project
Jan. 31—NEW LONDON — In 2020, the city began work on the $108 million reconstruction and expansion of New London High School.
But last year the state said it would not reimburse the city for more than $4 million in demolition and abatement work after it failed to seek public bids for that portion of the project.
City officials maintain they were doing what was recommended to them by former members of the Office of School Construction Grants & Review, which was to choose a firm from a list of pre-approved state contractors.
Local and state officials are now confident that the General Assembly will pass a bill in the current session to ensure the city will be reimbursed for the $4 million.
Mayor Michael Passero said Tuesday that his impression is the city does not have to pay the $4 million. He added the situation calls for a legislative fix.
"It was not a problem created by the city. The city cannot be expected to pay," he said.
The state is reimbursing the city 80% of the costs of most of the project and 95% of a $10 million portion added in 2019.
Passero said the city was not directly involved in hiring AAIS Corporation, the West-Haven-based demolition contractor, in 2020. He said the Office of School Construction directed Newfield + Downes, the construction manager for the project, to take the demolition contract off the list of work set to go out for public bid and to instead hire a company off the state-approved bid list. There were 25 other construction packages that did go out to public bid.
In a March 5, 2020 email to Diana McNeil, the city's senior manager of the project, Tom DiMauro of Newfield + Downes confirmed the demolition work would be purchased off the state bid list.
DiMauro said he was in contact with now-deceased Mike Sanders from the Office of School Construction, who worked under Konstantinos Diamantis, the former leader of the program. In the email, he said Diamantis "is recommending/favoring this option and will be very supportive."
Other towns and local leaders have accused Diamantis of encouraging the same in their local school projects. Diamantis has denied instructing any school district to choose a specific contractor for demolition and abatement work.
Following the bid selection, the city's School Building and Maintenance Committee as well as the City Council approved the demolition contract.
Brian Doughty, a member of the Board of Education and School Building and Maintenance Committee, said the situation was often discussed at the committee meetings. He said it was incredibly disappointing to hear the possibility of not getting reimbursed.
"I felt like we went about this contract the correct way through guidance from the state and now the state is in a sense washing its hands of the situation, although they appear to be giving us guidance moving forward," he said.
Doughty said the city and school district found out about the denial for reimbursement in June 2022 through a letter from the Department of Administrative Services. He said the department has vouched it would support legislation to "essentially rectify the situation."
State Sen. Martha Marx and state representatives Anthony Nolan and Christine Conley introduced a bill in the General Assembly in early January that states the city will "be provided assistance at the full reimbursement rate for abatement and demolition work performed during the period of 2020 to 2023."
Nolan, re-elected for his third term in November, said he doesn't think its fair the school is in this situation for listening to recommendations by the state. He said the legislators plan on talking with other districts facing a similar situation.
Marx said she is confident the bill will be successful.
Despite complications with reimbursement, construction on the project has never stopped.
The DAS in an email suggested the city stop construction and look for another vendor. But Doughty said the project was too far along in construction and in its contract with AAIS. He said it would cost more to go through the bidding process and hire a new contractor.
Doughty said the project is still on schedule and the school should be completed sometime in the fall of this year.
