Greenwich panel approves $700,000 more for nursing home pipes
Other Committee · Meeting of February 18, 2026
Greenwich budget panel approves $700,000 more for nursing home pipe repairs, pushing the project past $1.4 million. The BET Budget Committee voted unanimously to add the funds after Nathaniel Witherell Executive Director John Masterardi said crews found rotted studs and seized valves once walls were opened, adding $143,000 in unplanned costs. "The interior piping is in bad shape, and leaks continue to spring up as we go along," Masterardi said.
The panel also approved $9,810, drawn entirely from asset forfeiture funds, for a police "information network" platform Captain Patrick Smith said will centralize crime data and add a public dashboard. Given the size of the pipe request, the committee flagged it "non-routine," sending the full Nathaniel Witherell team before the full Board of Estimate and Taxation.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 926 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — February 18, 2026 — The BET Budget Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an additional $700,000 for a galvanized pipe replacement project at the Nathaniel Witherell, the town-owned skilled nursing facility, pushing the total cost of the project to roughly $1.4 million.
The committee also approved $9,810 in Police Department funding, paid entirely from asset forfeiture accounts, to build a new police information-sharing platform, and signed off on a Health Department request to shift federal grant money toward staff training coordination. All three items passed on voice votes with no dissent.
The Full Story
Executive Director John Masterardi told the committee the Nathaniel Witherell's original piping appropriation of $477,000, later increased by $250,000, needed another $700,000 to finish replacing 12 vertical plumbing stacks in a building that dates to the 1970s. He said contractors have found extensive hidden damage once walls were opened, including rotted toilet-mounting studs and seized shutoff valves that broke when staff tried to turn them, adding an unanticipated $143,000 in costs. Bathroom demolition and rebuilding scope also grew, adding $177,600 more, he said.
"The interior piping is in bad shape, and leaks continue to spring up as we go along," Masterardi said.
Committee member Doug pressed Masterardi on how much of the cost growth reflected new scope versus a bad original estimate. Masterardi said the $143,000 and $177,600 figures were legitimate scope changes discovered once walls came down, but acknowledged the prior facilities director's original per-stack estimate of about $50,000 was "really way off" compared with the $92,000 to $93,000 the facility is now averaging per stack, based on five completed stacks and a sixth underway.
"How much of that is scope change versus how much of that is price change?" Doug asked.
A staff member identified by the chair as Kelly told the committee a 5 percent contingency built into the request represents "our most conservative estimate." Committee member Laura asked whether conditions had improved as more stacks were opened; Masterardi said no, but that project turnaround has improved from 8 to 10 weeks per stack to about five weeks, aided by newer facilities staff Larry Vanderpool, Glenn Siginger and Zach Cissier. The committee learned the engineering firm that originally scoped the project, referenced in a April 29, 2024 letter in the meeting packet, is no longer involved. Because of the dollar amount, the committee designated the item "non-routine," meaning the full Nathaniel Witherell team must appear before the full Board of Estimate and Taxation rather than receive automatic approval. The committee also asked Nathaniel Witherell to consider funding a similar $700,000 request expected in the fiscal 2027 budget through a roughly $900,000 testamentary gift intended for resident-room improvements, rather than new appropriations.
Separately, Captain Patrick Smith told the committee the Police Department's $9,810 request, plus an ongoing annual subscription of about $9,360, would fund a "police information network" platform to centralize crime data, training materials and department policies, along with a public-facing crime statistical dashboard on the department's website that updates on a one-day delay to protect privacy.
"It's designed specifically for law enforcement agencies and includes some very unique features which will allow officers to share information amongst themselves," Smith said.
Committee member Harry Fischer asked about cybersecurity given the platform's acronym, PIN; Smith said the department has coordinated with the town's information-technology staff. A committee member identified as Joe said the three asset-forfeiture accounts funding the purchase held $263,000 before this appropriation.
Health Director Caroline Basley and an operations administrator identified only as Deborah told the committee a federal workforce-development grant, unaffected by recent federal grant cuts and set to expire in November 2027, is being restructured to shift about $67,000 into temporary staffing coordination after the department found many required trainings are free or low-cost. Basley said the change does not affect the department's proposed operating budget.
The committee also reviewed a year-to-date financial report showing building permit revenue had already reached its $5 million annual budget by December, hitting $5.233 million, up $2.1 million from 2025, driven partly by a roughly $900,000 permit tied to a project at 19 Benedict Place. Healthcare spending totaled $39 million through seven months of actual payments, an unfavorable variance reflecting about 11 percent growth, in line with budget assumptions.
Why It Matters
The pipe project's growth from an original $500,000-range estimate to roughly $1.4 million reflects deteriorating 1970s-era infrastructure at Greenwich's only town-owned nursing home, where residents have had to be temporarily relocated during repairs. A similar $700,000 request is expected in the fiscal 2027 budget, and the committee's push to fund it through a nursing home gift fund, rather than new taxpayer appropriations, will be a key question when the full board reviews that budget in the coming weeks.
The police platform, by contrast, is being funded entirely outside the tax levy, through seized-asset proceeds, and includes a public dashboard meant to give residents faster access to crime data in their neighborhoods without exposing exact addresses.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: PD6, Police Department $9,810 appropriation for a police information network platform, funded by asset forfeiture accounts Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: HD7, Health Department transfer of grant funds for workforce development training Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: NW3, Nathaniel Witherell additional $700,000 appropriation for the galvanized pipe replacement program Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approval of BET Budget Committee minutes for January 13, January 27, February 3 and February 5, 2026 Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Greenwich Community Television: BET Budget Committee meeting, February 18, 2026