Councilman Shares Thoughts on Memorial Day in Middletown

Resident Ed Dypa rides in an antique fire truck in the Westfield Memorial Day Parade this past weekend,
 Photo Credit :Jean Dypa Newman

To all the Veterans who are home today, those that are on duty and those who have made the supreme sacrifice, I salute all of you with my prayers and thoughts for your safety.

This weekend my heart is heavy for my Uncle Peter who died on the beaches of Normandy and my Nephew Victor who was a wounded Vietnam War Veteran who died much to early!

I am so proud of our Middletown Veterans who have chosen the Vietnam Veterans as the theme of Monday's Parade.

I will be marching with pride as a Veteran of the Vietnam War Era and as a City Councilman dedicated to ensuring that we never forget our American Heroes, who contribute so much to our City of Middletown, State and Nation!

Sincerely,
Councilman Phil Pessina,(R)

Wilson FOI Results: Alternative Senior Center Bill 90 Days Later

Over a 3 months ago Republican Town Committee Vice Chair William Wilson sent an FOI request to the City of Middletown asking for answers to a variety of public information questions. His letter was sent on
December 18, 2012.
Wilson's Original Letter and list of questions can be found here:
http://www.middletowninsider.com/2013/01/we-need-your-help.html

Although the Senior Center Committee had already engaged an architect to do schematic studies and analyze statistical data about program usage to determine the best location and program for the proposed Senior Center in Middletown, and concluded that Eckersley Hall would fit the bill, Mayor Dan Drew chose to hire another architect and do his own study. Mayor Drew proposed that an addition be put onto City Hall and with a "new council chamber overlooking the river" be included. The senior center location at Eckersley Hall and subsequent bonding for the project passed by an overwhelming majority by referendum.  Maybe Drew was jealous of the Community Health Center's glass pent house?

 Prior to this, but after the initial determination of adaptive reuse of Eckersley Hall was determined to be the best location for the senior center, taxpayers paid $3,600.00 for the schematic design and report investigating a City Hall location. 

We don't know what was concluded; as the report has never seen the light of day, however, after 3 months the bill atleast is public. Something to remember come election season!
Read the bill here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUwZWpSVmxxMnlnSEU/edit?usp=sharing

Local Social Activist Turns 80!

Happy Belated 80th to Middletown distinguished citizen Mr. Ed Dypa! By. your 81st the new Senior Center at Eckerley Hall should be open, consider it a belated gift to share with all. Thank you for your hard work as an advocate for Middletown's seniors and future seniors.

Mr. Dypa serves on the Eckersley Hall Senior Center building committee and has been an ardent supporter of human and particularly human senior rights.

Dypa was a Westfield Fire District for 45 years. He was a commissioner for 36 years and and has been member of the ARRP Chapter 3310 for almost two decades. Dypa served as a board member of the Middlesex Association of Retarded Citizens and is currently a member of the Police Advisory Council, Knights of Columbus, the Elks, Civitan International and the Polish Falcons. He has also served on the Board of the Eastern Area Agency on Aging.

From all of the Staff of the Middletown Insider, happy birthday Mr. Dypa! Middletown is blessed to have you!

Eckersley-Hall Building Committee Minutes 11/16/2012

Eckersley Hall Building Committee Minutes 1
November 26, 2012
ECKERSLEY-HALL BUILDING COMMITTEE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2012
POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY ROOM
6:00 PM
Members Present: Ron Klattenberg, Ed Dypa, Augie DeFrance, Ryan Kennedy, Phil
Pessina, Annabelle Malone, Ed Monarca, Larry Riley, Bill Wasch
Members Absent: Trevor Davis
Others Present: Beth Lapin, John Marion (Senior Center), Bob Dobmeier (Public Works),
Jim Salemi (Middletown Press); Matthew Crescimano (Baldwin Pergolas)
Guests: John Ireland (SP+A); Jan Cunningham (Historic Preservation Services)

1.0 OPEN MEETING
Chair Klattenberg opened the Eckersley Hall Building Committee meeting at 5:59 PM at the
Police Department Community Room.

2.0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Klattenberg asked for approval of the November 12, 2012 minutes. Ed Dypa made the
motion to accept, seconded by Annabelle Malone. The vote to approve was unanimous.
Beth provided a revised draft of 2013 meeting dates based on room availability. Because of the
number of non-Mondays, Beth will go back and try to get 2nd and 4th Mondays starting in May.

3.0 FINANCIAL REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
There was none at this time.
PROJECT COST PROJECTIONS
Ron introduced a Projection of Project Cost table to track future expenses and confirm
availability of funds. Currently, the projected total would close the project with a $13,784 excess.
Considering that several of expenses are high estimates and SHPO grants and tax-credits are not
included, Ron felt the project was in good financial shape. This table would be updated as actual
costs are incurred, and reviewed periodically.
BUDGET ITEMS

SP+A submitted an invoice for $5,940 to cover ~30% of the amended amount of the construction
document phase. Augie DeFrance made the motion to approve payment, seconded by Bill
Wasch. The vote to approve was unanimous.
Ed Dypa moved to approve payment of a $1,000 retainer invoiced by Historic Preservation
Services/Jan Cunningham. Seconded by Augie DeFrance, the vote to approve was unanimous.
4.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS

Matthew Crescimano (Baldwin Pergolas) expressed his interest in bidding on the pergola for the
senior center. He presented information and some building specifications that the committee and
SP+A would need to consider.
Eckersley Hall Building Committee Minutes 2

November 26, 2012

5.0 OLD BUSINESS
JAN CUNNINGHAM CONTRACT
Jan Cunningham reported that SHPO Restoration Funds, if received, would not be excluded from
the SHPO tax credit application. She discussed the tax credit application schedule and clarified
that approval of Part II was necessary prior to any construction. She also indicated that a mockup
masonry sample with pointing was necessary; she would check with SHPO to clarify
specification and when these would be needed. Bob Dobmeier agreed to coordinate the masonry
mock-up by contacting three local masons for bid estimates once Jan is able to provide the
needed specifications.

LEED CERTIFICATION PROPOSAL
John Ireland updated the LEED document based on discussion from the previous meeting. He
assessed it was likely the project could reach 59 points, which would qualify for silver status
(gold certification requires 60). Beth will distribute this update to the committee.

Eckersley-Hall Building Committee Minutes- 11/12/2012

Members Present:
Members Absent: Others Present: Guests:
Ron Klattenberg, Trevor Davis, Ed Dypa, Augie DeFrance, Ryan Kennedy, Phil Pessina, Annabelle Malone, Ed Monarca, Larry Riley Bill    W asch Beth Lapin, Ron Organek
Chris Nardi, John Ireland (SP+A)
ECKERSLEY-HALL BUILDING COMMITTEE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012 POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY ROOM 6:00 PM
1.0 OPEN MEETING
Chair Klattenberg opened the Eckersley Hall Building Committee meeting at 6:19 PM at the Police Department Community Room. He congratulated the committee for successful passage of the referendum to fund the next stages of the Senior/Community Center.
2.0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Klattenberg asked for approval of the October 10, 2012 minutes. Ed Dypa made the motion to accept, seconded by Augie DeFrance. The vote to approve was unanimous.
Beth provided a draft of potential 2013 meeting dates. Ed Dypa made a motion to approve these dates, Ryan Kennedy seconded, and approval was unanimous. Beth will check with Police Department to confirm that the meeting space is available.
3.0 FINANCIAL REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENT Beth summarized the expenses since the last financial statement in October. She had noted the encumbered amounts to show an actual amount available. However, the SHPO project amount of $438,619 was not officially encumbered. If that is taken into consideration, the bond issue account has $27,178.44 remaining. Augie DeFrance made the motion to accept the statement, seconded by Ed Dypa, and the vote was unanimous.
BUDGET ITEMS Two Suburban invoices totaling $19.49 related to grant application expenses were received. Augie DeFrance motioned to approve, Larry Riley seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
SP+A submitted an invoice for $6,700 to cover 100% of the amended amount of the schematic design phase. Larry Riley made the motion to approve payment, seconded by Trevor Davis. The vote to approve was unanimous.
SP+A also submitted an invoice for $6,763.66 to cover 5% of construction documents ($2,488.50), 15% of construction documents amendment ($2,900.55), posters ($1,300) and reimbursable expenses ($74.61). Augie De France made a motion to approve payment, Larry Riley seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
4.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS
Eckersley Hall Building Committee Minutes    1 November 12, 2012
Ron O. asked again about the mechanics of transferring $300K from the state and $75K from the city for the veterans’ museum. Ron K. said it would be handled through Bill Russo. Ron O. also asked about a timeline: John Ireland indicated the sequencing for Senior Center construction needed to be parallel to the Museum’s move, hopefully by the end of 2013.
Continued:

Drew does Damage Control regarding Senior Center

Hours before the meeting to discuss the senior center last night Dan Drew does damage control claiming "I never wanted to change the location of the proposed senior center from Eckersley Hall." Apparently, Drew called media at the Press and Patch to make this statement known. He also repeated it at the beginning of the Common Council special meeting held Tuesday where the plans were to have been unveiled.According to Councilmember and building committee member, Phil Pessina  not even the building committee got to see the alternative plans that the Mayor had drawn up. Why these plans never saw the linght of day we do not know, however, the Insider takes issues with the fact that tax payers paid $3,600  for these extra drawings by the direction of Mayor Drew and they were not even disclosed to the building committee! Drew discussed the alleged findings of the extra design study in an article on Patch, yet it is unclear if the documents really show a cost savings at Drew claims because the documents were featured in the article either The architect hired by Drew is a friend of Councilmember Bob Santangelo.; hiring of this architect fell under the grey area "professional services" and did not have to go out to public bid, but could be hired at will by the Mayor.Former Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, who spearheaded the studies for a new senior center location during his terms in office, congratulated the building committee who had worked for 2 years meeting multiples times per month to come up with a feasible plan on a job well done. Building Committe chairman Ed Dypa, who himself worked tirelessly on the concept of a senior center to meet the needs  Middletown's" growing senior population also thanked the crowd for coming out. Earlier in the month, he had been quoted by the Middletown Press as being "blindsided" by the plans Drew had commissioned in secret and suggestion by Mayor Drew that the Eckersley Hall idea be scrapped.
      Over 100 people, mostly seniors, packed the Chambers last night in support of the plans presented for Eckersley Hall, attendants spilled over into the lobby. Councilmembers Serra & Berch squabbled over a possible $1 million difference between schematic plans and plans presented by new architectural firm Silver Petruccell that was hired to complete the design &; construction documents, but no one cares about the $1 million  ex superintendent Mikey at the BOE blew. At least this time the audience did not have to hear Councilmember Berch make his frequent boast he has made many times at various Council Meetings  of his "like the equivalent of  six ph.d's in construction"; he did question  why the abatement of the Eckersley Hall project was a separate line item -  no included in the 10% of total construction cost being a budgeted contingency. The Architects presenting corrected the Councilman and explained that the contingency was ample for un forseen conditions not already documented by their team as visible areas that would need abatement. An estimated cost for abatement as a separate line item separate from a 10 % contingency cost is standard practice with a public project as was reiterrated by the architects presenting.. Councilmembers Phil Pessina and Ron Klattenberg fielded questions from the audience, which mainly focused on transportation to the new center from downtown areas. Pessina assured the crowd that he and committee members where speaking directly with Middletown Area Transit - the local bus company- to come up with a plan to allow for a more stops on bus routes that would accommodate residents going to the new senior center. Did Drew finally see the light and acknowledge seniors or was the threat of loosing this voting block really the issue? Seniors are human beings Mr. Drew. Referendum to pass the project coming in November.

Friday night's episode of "The Variety Hour" hosted by

Jon Pulino and William Wilson

on Comcast channel 15 will have on Ed Dypa of the Senior Center Building Committee who will talk about & show the design for Eckersley Hall.  
Gail Patricia Whitright will be on as well to discuss "Welcome Home Veterans May 19th in Shelton, Connecticut- Veterans Park 11am to 6 pm"Othesurprise guests TBA!

Please call us live at 860-613-3031 from 8-9P.M. to ask questions!