If it comes from MUNIS, the City of Norwalk accounting system, it is a fantasy number. With this startling response to queries by Fran DiMeglio and Torgny Astrom, DPW director Hal Avlrd set the tone for the DPW part of the capital budget review last Wednesday night.

Granted, to some extent the way in which projects get executed play a big role in when funds disperse from the city coffers–but, the problem here wasn’t that commissioners didn’t understand that — after all they’ve collectively been approving capital budgets for years. This is why some specific line item requests seemed to stick in the craw.

The play by play:
DPW budget

Fire alarm and suppression at the garage.

OHSA and safety related stuff are in the garage. Hal claims he only got $15 k out of $631k on the safety issues from last year. The commissioners drilled Hal on the last year versus this year funding.

DeMiglio questions the $15k.

Alvord insists that they only got the $15k on the bollards.

DeMiglio says it doesn’t sound right, Alvord and Hebert wave budget sheets.

The specific $78k line item Alvord claimed was a safety issue. Which is why DiMeglio and Astrom remembered it from the previous budget. So what happened?

Well with the DPW director claiming that the commissioners are looking at fantasy numbers, and commissioners skeptical of the numbers Alvord is requesting, the issue is hanging out there. This in the not unlike the question and parry situation that transpired last year between the Mayor and the Alvord over tree removal funds and vacuum trucks. Gee what a surprise that a vacuum truck appears on this years budget too.

Straightforward, in context, transparent financial statements don’t seem tot be part of the capital budget review process. In the budget book that I reviews, the YTD spending vs prior year line item allocations wasn’t available. I think the Mayor would be on safe ground requesting that Alvord provide this level of documentation. Meanwhile the planning commission will be holding its public hearing on February 6th and Tom Hamilton made his recommendations on the capital budget in today’s Hour.

Alvord did a nice job outlining the energy conservation success they’ve had. He said that when he started, there was no energy conservation plan in place at city hall. Since then, the hours have been throttled back, lighting changes, variable frequency drives controlling the air coming into the building, qualified for $150k of energy rebates with CL & P, and they have an aggressive plan put in place and are looking for continued progress in this area.

After identifying when peak demand was (daytime 12pm -8pm) they have reduced that demand by 11.5% on average. Unfortunately the city doesn’t see any dollar savings because of all of all the rate increases. DeMiglio asks about the $48k of unexpended funds. Hal said they are imaginary numbers if they came form MUNIS. Wrinn says they came from the comptroller. Alvord says look at the available funds from MUNIS that it will say there’s $4.6 million dollars left. Alvord said that they can’t give you monthly reports so they don’t know the real time fund status. He explains that that when the grant money is used they can’t figure out what the used funds versus the unused funds.

DeMiglio says this, pointing to the budget book, is the record of the city. She’s referring to MUNIS here.

Alvord explains that there are encumbered funds.

DeMiglio says the encumbered line item shows zero.

Again an impasse at credibility gulch. They moved onto discuss bridges.

The Perry avenue bridge, according to Alvord, was supposed to be 80% state and 20% local. The $450k they are asking for is the local part. There is no additional property takings that are part of this. Leigh Grant says that CVS should have had a better traffic study. They are planning to add a third lane. There’s some discussion of CVS, the traffic and the lane solution.

Alvord describes the situation with the Tokeneke Bridge removal, they are looking for $350k. They think it may fall in at any moment. The center pier is disintegrated, nothing is holding it up and it is closed to pedestrians.

This is not a new topic. $650k would have restored it as a pedestrian bridge. There are no grants to restore a pedestrian bridge. Lee Levy confirms that Darien will nto contribute to the money. Alvord says that Darien’s DPW will not do anything about this bridge. Briggs suggests the has influence with Evonne Klein. DiMeglio suggests that it should be mayor to first selectmen. DiMeglio says it important to talk to Darien, Dick Linartz says its basically a waste of time. Alvord says at the DPW level the staff in Darien have no interest. Leigh Grant asks if there are notices to prevent people from using the bridge. Alvord and Linnartz agreed to check to see if the signs are still there. Briggs jumped in to say that he will approach Darien since he was instrumental in solving the the thru truck/rotue 136 issue. DiMeglio says she doesn’t think Briggs should be talking to Dairen. Briggs retorts that’s how we got the truck situation resolved.

Meanwhile following the meeting, I spoke to someone in Darien about the issue, and they promptly informed me that Darien was pissed off because Norwalk’s DPW staff never informed Darien’s DPW staff that the bridge was dangerous, that Norwalk was going to put up barriers, and just went ahead at did it. Hrmm, where have I heard this type of story before. Typical in the he said/she said department. You would think that maybe there’s some official memo out there that would clear this up right? So far, none has turned up. The gist though is that Darien put up a white picket fence and made a park on their end of the bridge. It seems silly that Norwalk tax payers should have to shoulder the complete cost of whatever happens to this bridge.

We then get to the vacuum truck request for $270k. Vacuum trucks are used to remove stuff form storm drains. Apparently the fleet of vacuum trucks was so antiquated that no storm drain cleaning was taking place previously, so something like that. Last year DPW was going to replace them all. This year Alvord explains that there are no snow plows on the list and that the fleet replacement has been a plan which has worked, and that they staggered the requests for a reason. Alvord says that have 1 new one, they are about a second one and they want to get this third one this year.

Alvord has consistently said that it takes about $5 million a year to keep up with road paving. That means, maintaining the status quo, and not increasing the number of roads repaved or repaired. At current asphalt prices and the wear of the roads there is a limited amount of work that $5 million will accomplish. Alvord explains the process for street evaluation and then plans out what roads to pave. Crack sealing, contingency, traffic marking, and the consultant have to come up out of there. Interesting the traffic marking is the safety cones etc, you know the ones that weren’t there when they had fort point street redone. Astrom asks about Connecticut ave. Alvord explains that the CL & P has rights to dig up Conencticut ave. Alvord explains that there is a two year moratorium on street digging and that DPW has to approve any emergency conditions.

Lee Levy asks about whether the transmission lines work will require the rods to repave. Alvord says that DOT said that CL & P only had to a temporary patch because DOT was planning to repave the road. The only city street that will be dug up as part of that project is main street at cross to New Canaan Ave. CL & P agreed to provide new curbs and sidewalks on main street and a bicycle path on main street.

Asphalt went up 41% last year. There was no increase this year. (calendar) Alvord explains the cost containment they have done. By explaining the cost containment, Alvord is demonstrating that DPW is working hard at maximizing each dollar spent. Alvord explains that the city puts the permanent patch after the temporary patching has settled.

Walter McLaughlin asks about man hole covers are 1 to 2 inches below the road. Alvord says they do that on purpose because they used to paved over. They have 200 manholes backlogged that they need to replace collars in order to adjust the height of the manhole.

Norwalk River Valley Trail needs $1.5 million to continue the path, there are no grants left. This is from union park to New Cannan avenue. There are no questions.

For the 140 miles of sidewalks that the city owns, DPW is requesting the usual annual $150k. Is that it? Apparently so.

The big ticket items fall under storm-water management. The total amount requested is 7,105 million. $3.4 for Buckingham/Lockwood drainage improvement and $2 million for watercourse dredging for streams and retention ponds. The $2 million just gets them started for one year, which is them overseeing a contractor to do the actual work. There’s extensive permitting and environmental issues on all these. Alvord says that the 5 mile river project is one that they don’t know what the solution is there. Alvord says the DEP will do a watershed stuffy of the 5 mile river, and says nothing would be spent this year.

Alvord says he ahs been seeking $3 million from Senator Joe Lieberman to do the culverts and pipe in the Keller Brook drainage improvement. He says that the $500k and really a grant to give to the DEP. They haven’t spent the $50k from last year but they plan to add that to the $275k form this year to actually fix the problem on the Noah’s lane drainage project. Same issue with the Mary Austin drainage project.

The $850k requested is all for local funds that are not covered by grants.

Torgny and DeMigliio ask why there’s $100k for document management, which Linnartz explains is just to scan maps and files in the capital budget. “It belongs in the operating budget,” says Torgny.

ANother big ticket item is the Haviland Deck project. The need the whole $1 million to fix the deck, and can’t do it piecemeal.

The 14 year old building that is the Sono Railroad facility needs some maintenance. The design ahs already been done. Eastbound and westbound need bathroom improvesment and painting. Same with the Yankee Doodle garage. Repair work has been done over the last 3 years, including stairs and roofs. It’s a 40 year old structure, they are looking for

Torgny asks for the revenues, Kathryn Hebert says that 25 cents an hour doesn’t bring in much revenue. Alvord says that they run the parking lots as a system and not all ltos are self sufficient. They will review rates and plans as economic conditions change in the Wall street area.

Yet another big ticket is the $11,635 million for the Water Pollution Control Department. But Alvord says that $10 million is loans and grants, and $30 million from the clean water fund money. This is for the 145 million water treatment plant upgrade which would be completed in 2012. Norwalk is one of the top 3 nitrogen dischargers into the sound in the state. New Haven and Norwalk has to move forward in order that the state makes its numbers in an agreement with new york. We went form a surplus status to a buying mode of nitrogen credits. (Why?) Right now 14 million gallons on a dry day.

In the 1800’s the system was a combined sewage and stormwater drainage. In the 1970’s it was designed to separate it. There is no plan to do further separation. The big threat to the water in the sound is storm water run off. The waste water is not the cause of the sound water problems.

Briggs asks about the odor issue. They say it’s a standing item. The improvements listed incorporate odor control. They implemented a number of things. Alvord says they are no calls to the hotline. Wow, I’ve watched people make those calls. I smell the smells often at 10-ish through 11ish at night crossing the Stroffolino bridge, often at high tide. No one answers the customer service line at those times.