By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE
The Middlebury Land Preservation and Open Space Acquisition Committee (LPOS) elected Ray Pietrorazio its chairman and Ted Mannello its vice-chairman at its Feb. 4 meeting. Members also discussed several ongoing Fenn Farm maintenance projects.
An election of officers held Jan. 7 had ended in a tie between Pietrorazio and then-chairman John Cookson. A follow-up vote was tabled until February, when more members were expected to be present. However, Cookson announced he would not seek to continue as chairman because, as a member of the Region 15 Board of Education, he expected to be in lengthy teacher contract negotiations and because an employment opportunity in Southbury would take him away from his work on the LPOS. Members elected Pietrorazio and Mannello in a unanimous voice ballot.
In Fenn Farm structural masonry work, Pietrorazio said he finally received a third written proposal to repair the collapsing horse barn walls, a topic discussed at many 2014 meetings. According to those discussions, the west wall needed to be supported by jacks so loose stones and dirt could be removed and the stones cemented back in place, a repair likely to cost less than $5,000 and thus not requiring competitive bidding. Pietrorazio had two quotes as of November but had been unable to get one more. Cookson instructed Pietrorazio to prepare a masonry specification package for member review at the March meeting.
In Fenn Farm roof repairs, Pietrorazio said he had prepared a specification package for cow barn re-roofing for member review using information from two vendor quotations. Pietrorazio took on the job Nov. 5 when members agreed the work, expected to cost more than $5,000, was not sufficiently urgent to bypass the town’s bidding process, but still needed to be done quickly so repairs could start before the more expensive spring busy season. He said the specifications would ultimately be incorporated into a formal bid package to be published by the town.
During discussion, members questioned sheathing thickness, use of existing support planking, the warranty of roofing materials, whether specific brand names should appear in the package and also whether town- or vendor-supplied dumpsters were to be used for waste disposal. Pietrorazio said he would discuss the package with Public Works Director Dan Norton before bringing it to First Selectman Ed St. John and then to Building Inspector Ollie Leduc and Town Engineer John Calabrese.
On the topic of Fenn Farm asbestos removal from furnace pipes in the farm house basement, Cookson said he had discussed the matter of unwrapped pipe elbows with Public Works Director Dan Norton and was told Norton would check with BriCo, the contractor performing the work. At the Jan. 7 meeting Cookson said Norton had spoken to BriCo and was told elbows did not radiate enough heat to justify the additional expense of wrapping. Pietrorazio said the Department of Energy required all the pipes, including elbows, to be insulated to an R-value of R-3 and Cookson agreed to follow up. Cookson said he asked owner Rob Fenn to count the number of elbows needing to be wrapped.
In electrical repairs, Cookson said Mark Electric of Middlebury was ready to go with all the necessary parts ordered, but was waiting on CL&P because of the weather, adding the Mark Electric work needed to start from outside to inside. The repairs will upgrade old and brittle wiring from the service entrance into the farmhouse, increasing electrical service to 200 amps from 60, connecting to a manual backup generator transfer switch. The work had been projected for completion in January if weather cooperated.
In procedural matters, recording clerk Tracy Graziano told Pietrorazio the Dec. 3 minutes had not been amended to include his comments on election of officers made at that meeting. She told him the January minutes included his comments on that matter, but said rules of minutes-keeping did not allow her to change minutes already recorded with the Town Clerk.
Editor’s Note: Town Clerk Edith Salisbury said changes in minutes are usually made as an amendment when the minutes come up for approval at the next meeting. The amendments then appear in the minutes of the meeting at which they were made.
The next regular LPOS meeting will be Wednesday, March 4, at 6 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.
