Budget panel backs $6 million for Central Middle School, splits on Havemeyer study
Other Committee · Meeting of May 12, 2026
Greenwich's BET Budget Committee approved $6 million more for the Central Middle School project but deadlocked on a Havemeyer study. Building committee chair Joe Rosetti said an Aquarian Water Company pressure test found only about 400 gallons per minute available, half of what the design required, forcing an unplanned $3.175 million fire-suppression pump house that helped push the project's original $5.7 million contingency to roughly $11 million in exposure. The panel approved the funding 4-0, conditioned on limits worked out before Monday's full board meeting.
A separate $250,000 request to study relocating Board of Education staff out of the 1892 Havemeyer building split 2-2. "Delaying this is not serving the town very well and should not happen," member Harry Fischer said. The committee also swapped $400,000 in unused ARPA funds for a new appropriation to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and approved a $49,536 tree-planting grant for Byram.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,033 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of May 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — May 12, 2026 — The Board of Estimate and Taxation's Budget Committee voted 4-0 Tuesday to recommend a $6 million interim appropriation for the Central Middle School building project, after project managers detailed how an inadequate town water supply forced an unplanned $3.175 million fire-suppression system and doubled the project's contingency fund.
The same meeting produced a 2-2 tie on a separate $250,000 request to study relocating Board of Education administrative staff out of the aging Havemeyer building, leaving that item's fate for Monday's full BET meeting undecided. The committee also voted 4-0 to swap $400,000 in unused federal pandemic relief funds held by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board for an equal interim appropriation, preserving the town's ability to keep supporting low-income housing loans to developers.
The Full Story
Joe Rosetti, chair of the Central Middle School Building Committee, told the committee that the project's original $5.7 million contingency, about 5 percent of the budget, had been eroded by roughly $7 million in known cost increases, driven largely by underestimated "soft costs" for the owner's representative and, more significantly, by a fire-suppression failure nobody anticipated. Peter, the project manager with owner's representative JLL, said water-pressure testing during design showed 700 to 800 gallons per minute available from Aquarian Water Company, but a required retest after construction began found only about 400 gallons per minute, roughly half what the sprinkler system needed. That forced the district to build a pump house with two 10,000-gallon underground tanks on the north side of the school, at a cost of about $3.175 million, all funded from contingency. Rosetti said the school building is on track for substantial completion Aug. 4 and occupancy by Aug. 24, but the pump house itself will not be finished until early October, adding roughly $200,000 for an extended firewatch. The existing school building is scheduled for demolition beginning July 7.
Budget Committee Chair Laura said she wanted a condition attached limiting how much of the $6 million could be released at once, and asked Budget Committee member Harry Fischer to work out the language with the building committee before Monday's regular BET meeting. The committee approved the appropriation 4-0 on that basis. A related $6 million bonding resolution for the project also passed unanimously.
"We probably underbudgeted soft costs," Rosetti told the committee, adding that the lesson should be passed on to future building committees.
The Havemeyer relocation study drew sharper debate. Superintendent Dr. Jones and Ben Brandon of the Board of Education administration asked for $250,000 to study building an addition behind Town Hall for board of education staff, citing failing heat and air conditioning, inaccessible offices and safety concerns in the 1892 building. Budget Committee members Doug and Leslie Tarkington argued the town should first complete a townwide space-utilization study before committing to a specific site. Fischer countered that the work has been delayed for years and should move forward now.
"I think it's time for us to look at the board of education staff that are in that building and be able to give them what they deserve for the hard work that they do for the town of Greenwich," Dr. Jones said.
"Delaying this is not serving the town very well and should not happen. We should just move forward. Now is the time," Fischer said.
The vote split 2-2, and the item's placement on Monday's agenda was left to town staff.
Bill Finger, co-chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board, and board member Anthony Tachetti told the committee they were returning $400,000 in unspent federal American Rescue Plan Act funds because they cannot be certain the money will be committed to specific projects by year's end, as ARPA rules require. In exchange, the committee approved a new $400,000 interim appropriation to the trust fund, which the town's finance department said would offset capital borrowing rather than draw down reserves. Tyler Fairban, who leads the town's Community Development Block Grant program, separately won approval for a $953,410.64 annual action plan combining a $751,441 federal grant with prior-year reprogrammed funds. The committee also approved a $49,536 state grant for a tree-planting program in the Byram neighborhood, presented by Beth Evans of the town's Conservation Department, and a $22,870 transfer for the Perrot Memorial Library to cover snow removal and an emergency boiler replacement, presented by library director Trish Tomlinson.
Why It Matters
The Central Middle School fire-suppression discovery illustrates a townwide problem: inadequate water pressure that Fischer said affects other Greenwich neighborhoods beyond the school site. With the existing school demolition starting July 7 and new-building occupancy targeted for Aug. 24, just before the school year begins, committee members pressed for financial guardrails rather than blocking the funding outright.
The Havemeyer tie vote leaves board of education staff, who described unreliable heat, no elevator and limited air conditioning, without a clear path forward. The full BET considers both items at its Monday meeting.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Community Development Block Grant annual action plan interim appropriation ($953,410.64) Tally: For: 4, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 - Vote: Resolution adopting BET report and recommendations for the FY27 CDBG budget Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Central Middle School $6 million interim appropriation, subject to a condition to be finalized before Monday's BET meeting Tally: For: 4, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 - Vote: Bonding resolution for the $6 million Central Middle School interim appropriation Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: $250,000 interim appropriation for a Board of Education/Havemeyer relocation feasibility study Tally: For: 2, Against: 2, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 - Vote: $400,000 interim appropriation to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, offset by a $400,000 return of unused ARPA funds Tally: For: 4, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 4 - Vote: $49,536 Conservation Commission appropriation for a DEP tree-planting grant in Byram Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: $22,870 transfer for Perrot Memorial Library electricity and maintenance costs Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approval of April 14, 2026 Budget Committee meeting minutes Tally: For: 4, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 4
Source
Greenwich Community Television: BET Budget Committee meeting, May 12, 2026