Greenwich board adds $700,000 for nursing home pipe repairs
Other Committee · Meeting of February 24, 2026
Greenwich adds $700,000 to fix corroded Nathaniel Witherell pipes, nearly doubling project cost. The Board of Estimate and Taxation voted 11-0 for the additional appropriation after crews found the 1976 building's interior piping "severely corroded," with 131 water valves needing replacement at a cost of $143,783. BET member Fischer questioned whether B2R Consulting Engineers, whom he called "part of the problem," remained on the project; Nathaniel Witherell staff said the firm had been dropped.
The board also settled Matt Shore v. Town of Greenwich for $13,795.50, and Town Assessor Laura Elliot reported nearly 500 residents have filed appeals of the 2025 property revaluation. Controller Lynch reported the town's recent bond sale closed at a net interest cost of 2.1049 percent, with the retirement portfolio valued at $742.7 million.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 960 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — February 24, 2026 — The Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation voted 11-0 Tuesday to approve an additional $700,000 for an emergency plumbing overhaul at Nathaniel Witherell, the town-owned nursing home, after board members learned corroded pipes and broken water valves had driven the project's cost well past its original estimate.
The board also approved a $13,795.50 settlement in the case of Matt Shore versus the town of Greenwich, accepted the town assessor's report on the 2025 property revaluation, and heard that the town's most recent bond and note sales closed at some of the lowest borrowing costs in the state.
The Full Story
The Nathaniel Witherell appropriation was the biggest-dollar action of the night. The project began as two separate jobs, a $225,000 sewer drain replacement and a $477,000 galvanized pipe replacement, in a building constructed in 1976. Budget Committee Chair Ericson told the board that once crews opened the walls, they found conditions far worse than expected: corroded and clogged interior piping, water valves that had seized and broken off, and framework studs compromising the structural integrity around toilets. The budget committee had voted 4-0 to recommend the additional funding.
John Matronardi of Nathaniel Witherell, joined by finance director Kelly Nardone and operations administrator Zach Cissier, told the board that roughly 131 water valves had to be replaced during off-hours shutdowns, at an added cost of $143,783, and that a masonry chase had to be partly removed to reach the drain lines, a step not included in the original scope. BET member Fischer pressed the team on B2R Consulting Engineers, the firm that had worked on the project's design. Nardone said B2R is no longer involved; the team has since completed five of the plumbing stacks and is working through a sixth using FNF Mechanical for plumbing and Livingston Builders as construction manager. The board approved the $700,000 appropriation on a roll call vote.
Town Assessor Laura Elliot told the board the 2025 grand list was signed January 30, with final assessment notices mailed January 23. The window to file with the Board of Assessment Appeals closed February 20, and Elliot said the town had logged more than 400 appeals, with the total likely to reach closer to 500 once counting is complete, down from 638 appeals filed after the prior revaluation and more than 1,000 after the 2015 revaluation. Elliot said the town's coefficient of dispersion, a statistic comparing assessed value to sale price, came in below 10, under the state's 15-point threshold. BET member Tarkington noted assessments are running more than 20 percent below the strength of the current market and congratulated Elliot on being appointed to a legislative committee by the governor and on an invitation to teach revaluation at the University of Connecticut in June.
Controller Lynch reported that the town's bond and bond-anticipation note sales closed February 5. JPMorgan Chase won the note sale at a net interest cost of 2.295 percent, narrowly beating Bank of America's second-place bid of 2.296 percent. FHN Financial Capital Markets won the bond sale at 2.1049 percent. Lynch also reported the town's retirement portfolio held a composite market value of $742.7 million as of January 31, with a fiscal year-to-date return of 7.12 percent, and that the general fund's invested cash position stood at $232.9 million, about $18 million higher than a year earlier.
"The interior piping is severely corroded, and that's been over the course of several years, causing persistent and ongoing blockages and repairs."
— John Matronardi, Nathaniel Witherell
"As I recall at the budget committee, I asked about B2R consulting engineers, who I recall being part of the problem on this project. Are they still on the project?"
— BET member Fischer
"This job has become remarkably easy, and the reason for that is that the committee structure we have has been extremely well handled by the chairs and by all the members of the different committees."
— BET Chairman Weiss
Why It Matters
The Nathaniel Witherell repair, now budgeted at roughly $1.4 million combined, nearly doubled after crews found the building's half-century-old plumbing in worse shape than engineers had scoped, a pattern town officials said is likely to recur in other aging municipal buildings. Meanwhile, nearly 500 residents have formally challenged their new property assessments, a signal of how sharply the 2025 revaluation moved values in a strong real estate market. The board's next major decision points come fast: budget consolidation day is February 26, decision day is March 3, and a public hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget is set for March 26 at Town Hall, with remote participation available by advance sign-up.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Enter executive session Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Add Matt Shore v. Town of Greenwich settlement to the agenda Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve $13,795.50 settlement in Matt Shore v. Town of Greenwich Tally: For: 11, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 11
- Vote: Accept assessor's report on the 2025 grand list revaluation Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve $700,000 additional appropriation for Nathaniel Witherell galvanized pipe and sewer drain replacement (item NW3) Tally: For: 11, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 11
- Vote: Approve routine budget adjustments PD6 ($9,810, Police) and HD7 ($72,825.23, Health) Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Accept controller's report Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Accept treasurer's report Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Appoint Sally Bednar and Elliot Alcheek to the OPEB trust board Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Accept fiscal year 2024-2025 parking services internal audit report Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve minutes Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Board of Estimate and Taxation meeting, February 24, 2026