Selectmen Approve $2.6 Million in School Repairs

Board of Selectmen · Meeting of June 15, 2026

Guilford selectmen approved more than $2.6 million in school building work and appointed Jim O'Keefe to the Board of Ethics over objection. The board unanimously awarded a $1,241,418 roof contract to Silktown at Adams Middle School and approved a $1.35 million piping replacement at Melissa Jones Elementary School after three pipe failures tied to an undersized 1980s installation, also shifting $478,000 in surplus bond funds to cover the gap. Selectman Jonathan Trotta cast the lone "no" vote on O'Keefe's appointment, arguing a Republican-recommended applicant, Gina Foster, had never been scheduled for consideration: "I see a pattern where our party ... is obscured from these boards." First Selectman Matthew T.

Hoey III and Selectman Louis Federici countered that the charter's "bare majority" rule does not guarantee any minority party a seat. The board also tabled an updated personnel policy manual for a second time and heard, without voting, a revised business tax incentive policy.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,164 words

Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of June 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Public Hearing: 2026 Neighborhood Assistance Act Program

Guilford's board holds an annual public hearing before deciding which local nonprofit projects to recommend to Connecticut's Neighborhood Assistance Act program, a state system in which businesses receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits for contributions to approved local projects. The town contributes no funding itself; the board's role is to vouch for the applicants' legitimacy to the state Department of Revenue Services.

Two organizations presented. A representative of Sarah Foundation described a roughly $100,000 project to convert the unfinished lower level of an existing group home near the North Madison Road area into a two-bedroom apartment, adding housing for individuals the organization serves. Selectman Susan Renner questioned why a build-out of that scope qualifies under a program meant for energy efficiency. "That $100,000, I know it's not a large square footage. It seems like a lot, especially if that's only for the energy-efficient system," she said. The representative said the full conversion, including insulation, appliances, doors and windows, will meet current energy standards, and that the figure is a rough estimate that anticipates unforeseen costs. Renner also confirmed the organization understood it would be subject to a mandatory audit for grants at the $100,000 threshold.

Joe Mooney presented for the Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps, seeking NAA backing for a mini-split HVAC installation and moisture-proofing at the group's Seaside Hall property at 215 Thimble Island Road. Mooney said the organization typically applies through Branford, which is taking a hiatus from the program this year; a new Branford selectman, he said, favors reinstating it next year. Hoey noted the NAA program allows any nonprofit to apply through any participating town.

The board later voted, item five on the agenda, to recommend both projects to the state program. No town funds are at stake; the vote simply allows the applicants to solicit matching business contributions statewide.

Public Forum and Economic Development Commission Preview

During the first public-comment period, a Guilford resident identified in the transcript as Debbie, who gave her address as 18 Sugarloaf Road and described herself as involved with the town's boards and commissions process, asked about an upcoming agenda item to appoint Jim O'Keefe to the Board of Ethics, noting the town had previously been told a different nominee's seat would not open until a sitting member's term expired in July. Rich Evans, chairman of the Economic Development Commission, also spoke to preview the evening's tax incentive policy item, thanking commission members for a unanimous vote to send the revised policy forward and crediting John Terrudis with drafting work.

Tax Incentive Policy Revisions

Background and stakes: Guilford has had a board-adopted tax abatement policy for several years, authorized under state statute, allowing businesses that expand assessed property value above a threshold to have the resulting tax increase phased in over time. According to Terrudis, the policy has never actually been used by a business since it was adopted.

The question before the board: whether to eventually adopt a revised version of the policy; Monday's session was explicitly a presentation only, with no vote taken.

Substantive content: Terrudis told the board the Economic Development Commission raised the qualifying dollar threshold above its previous $150,000 level and shortened the abatement period from a maximum of seven years to either three or five years, depending on which threshold a project meets. A separate qualifying path allows projects that create ten or more full-time-equivalent positions to qualify regardless of the dollar threshold. The commission also added language allowing affordable-housing components of mixed-use projects to qualify, something the prior policy did not address. Terrudis said any project would still have to be an as-of-right use under current zoning, since the board could not grant the incentive to a use the zoning code does not already permit.

The deliberation: Hoey asked whether the revised draft had been sent back to town counsel after commission edits; Terrudis, whose video connection repeatedly froze, said he believed it had but was not certain no substantive legal changes resulted. Selectman Jonathan Trotta asked whether a straight residential subdivision could qualify; Terrudis said no, the policy requires a mixed-use project with a commercial component. Trotta also asked whether any use the town might find undesirable, such as an addiction treatment facility, could receive the benefit; Hoey said the board "couldn't deny it" if the use is permitted as of right under current zoning, since the incentive cannot be used to override the zoning code.

Procedural steps and outcome: No motion was made. Hoey said the item would return for formal discussion and action after being reviewed again by what he referred to as the town's attorney, Pete Barrett, and after board members submit written questions through First Selectman's office staff.

Implications and what is next: The policy change would lower the bar for small commercial expansions to qualify for a shorter abatement window while opening the door to affordable-housing-inclusive mixed-use projects; it returns to the board for a vote at a future meeting, no date set.

Employee Personnel Policy Manual

Background and stakes: The board tabled the same manual update at its prior meeting in order to research language concerning employee political-speech restrictions; HR staff member Mitch had hoped to implement the policy by July 1.

The question before the board: whether to adopt the consolidated personnel manual, which HR staff said is meant to replace a patchwork of separate onboarding policies (electronic monitoring, travel, artificial intelligence use) each requiring its own signed acknowledgment.

Substantive content: Trotta raised concerns that language prohibiting employees from wearing "partisan or political buttons, etc." gives management too much discretion to decide what counts as political, potentially chilling protected speech; he cited a change over the past year in federal Hatch Act enforcement that he said found similar prohibitions could raise free-speech problems, though he acknowledged he had no citation for it. He proposed substituting "disruptive" for "political" in the relevant clause. Ruoff raised a parallel concern about the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and whether the policy adequately documents employee consent to electronic monitoring; HR staff said the handbook itself, signed at onboarding, serves as that consent document, and that work email and files, unlike personal email, remain subject to employer review.

The deliberation: Ruoff pressed Trotta on his use of the word "unconscionable" to describe the employer's bargaining power over the handbook. "I'm just trying to understand what you're thinking," she said, after Trotta repeatedly softened his language to "unequal" and then "uneven." Federici told Trotta directly that handbook terms of employment are within the employer's discretion: "If you don't like it, find employment somewhere else. That's as simple as it gets."

Procedural steps and outcome: On a motion, seconded and carried unanimously, the board tabled the item a second time, with Trotta directed to submit his list of specific questions to HR staff for written answers before the next vote.

Implications and what is next: The manual remains unadopted; HR's self-imposed July 1 target is now in question, and the political-speech and electronic-monitoring language will return for another vote once staff respond to the written questions.

Adams Middle School Gym Roof

Facilities staffer Cliff told the board the district received four bids for a roof replacement over the Adams Middle School gym, covering roughly 25 percent of the building's total roof area. The standing building committee recommended the lowest bidder, Silktown, and all three bid alternates: a deduct alternate for odor-control measures not needed because the building will be vacant this summer, an add alternate for extra underlayment protection beneath solar paneling intended to extend the roof's life 20 to 30 years, and a second add alternate to replace aging rooftop HVAC penetrations and vents. Ruoff asked about the condition of the remaining 75 percent of the roof; Cliff said that section is scheduled for bonding next year and is structurally separate, so phasing the work will not compromise either section's integrity. Federici confirmed the $1,241,418 total came in under the bond estimate. The board voted unanimously to award the contract.

Melissa Jones Elementary Piping Replacement

Background and stakes: A heating pipe at Melissa Jones Elementary School failed on its own last year; investigation found the installed pipe was "schedule 10," rated for sprinkler systems, rather than the thicker "schedule 40" required for heating systems. Two more pipes failed over this past winter. Facilities staffer Cliff said the original bond, based on a 2012 needs assessment and set before full engineering was completed, came in around $900,000 and proved insufficient.

The question before the board: whether to transfer surplus funds from a completed, older bond authorization to cover the shortfall, and whether to approve the construction agreement itself.

Substantive content: Finance staffer identified in the transcript as MJ, or Mary Jane, told the board $478,000 in unspent 2019-20 bond funds, drawn from completed window-and-door and related projects, would be shifted to the current piping authorization. Cliff said the project involves replacing two separate large piping loops, a high-temperature loop running about 180 degrees that feeds radiators and air handlers, and a low-temperature loop serving heat pumps, both running through attics, pipe chases and underground tunnels to mechanical rooms; contractors plan to cut an opening in the building's exterior to move long pipe lengths rather than route them through stairwells. The agreement figure was initially presented as $1,385,500 but revised to $1.35 million after Cliff clarified the bond included a contingency margin.

The deliberation: Federici asked whether the town has any legal recourse against whoever installed the undersized pipe roughly 46 years ago. "Because it will be this one will go to our construction attorney," Hoey said, noting the town would first ask counsel whether pursuing the original contractor is "economically feasible" given the age of the work. Cliff said he did not believe building codes for pipe schedule had changed since the 1980s and speculated a contractor may have value-engineered the project to cut costs. Ruoff asked whether other projects funded from the same older bond authorizations were fully complete before the surplus was redirected; Cliff and MJ confirmed the specific projects being drawn from were finished, though other line items within those broader authorizations remain open. Trotta asked for assurance the work would not disrupt students; Cliff said the work occurs in spaces, including attic and underground areas, that will not affect classrooms, though the project will not be finished before the new school year begins.

Procedural steps and outcome: The board approved the $478,000 transfer unanimously, then separately approved the $1.35 million construction agreement unanimously, at Cliff's request for a documented, stand-alone motion for bond-counsel purposes.

Implications and what is next: The piping project proceeds this summer without disrupting students, but the town will need town counsel's assessment of whether pursuing the original 1980s contractor over the piping defect is worth the cost of legal action, a question left open at the meeting's end.

Report of Expenditures, May 2026

Finance staffer MJ reported town revenue collection at 101.2 percent of budget as of the end of May, with a projected year-end surplus of roughly $2 million driven mainly by revenue rather than expenditure savings. She flagged a roughly $17,000 golf course insurance claim tied to discounted memberships from a fall 2025 disruption, noted building department permit fee revenue has been delayed by timing on a large unspecified project rather than a budgeting error, and said building permit fees tied to the Guilford Village West development, which she estimated at more than $110,000 in its first round of permits, will continue to swing revenue year to year. On the medical self-insurance fund, she reported 38 members over the $87,500 threshold that triggers catastrophic-claims tracking and 14 members over $175,000, with the town having recovered 71.4 percent of its $1.6 million stop-loss insurance policy, approaching the industry benchmark of 70 percent. She said the fund, after being drawn down over the past two years, is budgeted to roughly break even this year rather than require a supplemental appropriation. The board voted unanimously to accept the report.

Appointments and Resignations

The board approved several routine appointments with limited debate: Jennifer Baldwin as the Board of Education's representative to the Land Acquisition Commission, and Blake Levitan to the Safe Streets Task Force, with Federici noting Levitan serves as chief operating officer of Branford Public Schools. Both votes carried with one abstention, reflecting Trotta's stated discomfort with the broader appointments process that evening. The board also reappointed Dan Lambertton to the Standing Building Committee through June 17, 2030, unanimously; Hoey read the committee's full roster into the record at a member's request, listing Anthony Alberto, Lambertton, Adam Tulin, chairman Dave Deo, Peter Rder, James Deo and Will Thompson, plus alternates Kevin Burke and Michael Tyrie.

The appointment of Jim O'Keefe to the Board of Ethics, filling a seat vacated by Ken Wilson, whose term had technically expired but who continued serving under a state statute permitting holdover service until a replacement is named, drew sustained debate. Trotta argued the board never scheduled a vote on a previously recommended applicant, Gina Foster, and framed the pattern as evidence Republican-aligned nominees are routinely passed over in favor of unaffiliated or independent-party candidates for the board's minority seats. "I see a pattern where our party, which has about a third of the registered voters, is obscured from these boards by not allowing them to even be considered on the agenda," Trotta said. Federici and Hoey responded that the town charter's minority-representation language, despite its title, operates only as a bare-majority cap preventing one party from holding every seat on a board, not as a guarantee of representation for any specific minority party. Hoey added that only two of 21 elected officials across the Selectmen, Board of Finance and Board of Education are Republicans, saying that reflects how residents have voted. Trotta's motion to table O'Keefe's appointment failed for lack of a second. The board then voted 4-1 to appoint O'Keefe, Trotta casting the sole dissenting vote.

Requests for Use of Town Property and Correspondence

The board approved a noise ordinance variance for Elsa Green and approved a request from Alex Inc. to use the town green for a Guilford Pride event. A late addition to the agenda, a request from the Nest, described as a Branford-based preschool, to place an advertising sign on the green, was denied; members said the request was not tied to any event and amounted to commercial advertising for an out-of-town business, an inappropriate use of the green.

Under committee reports, Hoey noted the Affordable Housing Commission was drafting a letter of support for a partnership with an outside organization on affordable housing development, to come before the board in July. Under correspondence, Hoey described a roughly 34-page engineering inspection report on a town dam, including a photo of a cracked culvert, that is already in the hands of town engineering staff as part of a longer-term evaluation program. Correspondence also included competing complaints about a children's drag-queen story-time program at the public library for ages five to eight; Hoey said the program was voluntary, pre-registration-only and not funded by town tax dollars, while Trotta said he found an adult entertainer's presence at a children's library event inappropriate regardless of funding source. Both agreed the matter falls outside the library's governing structure and is not an item for board action.

Second Public Forum: Charter Compliance Questions

Resident Debbie returned during the evening's second public-comment period to raise two charter-compliance questions: whether a Republican candidate, Gina Foster, could still be nominated to the Board of Ethics once member Barbara Heming's term expires July 31, 2026, and whether the Board of Assessment Appeals, with a seat vacant since member Kimberly Brockett's resignation after her term expired, is now out of compliance with a charter provision requiring vacancies be filled within 120 days. She calculated the seat had been vacant 134 days as of the prior day. Hoey responded that the charter contains "gray areas," particularly where state statutes override local provisions, but did not commit to a date for filling the seat.

WHO WAS THERE

Matthew T. Hoey III, First Selectman, presiding, present in person.

Susan Renner, member, present in person; led the pledge of allegiance.

Louis Federici, member, participated remotely by video/phone; voted via separate roll call throughout the meeting.

Sandra Ruoff, member, present in person.

Jonathan Trotta, member, present in person; cast dissenting and abstaining votes on several appointments.

Cliff, facilities staff member (title not specified in available sources), presented the Adams Middle School roof and Melissa Jones piping items.

MJ, also addressed as Mary Jane, finance staff member (title not specified in available sources), presented bond transfers and the May 2026 expenditure report.

Mitch, HR-related staff member (title not specified in available sources), referenced as having researched the personnel policy manual revisions.

A staff member identified only as Sam was referenced briefly regarding the personnel policy manual; role unclear.

Rich Evans, chairman, Economic Development Commission, spoke in public forum and during the tax incentive discussion.

John Terrudis, identified as having drafted revisions to the tax incentive policy for the Economic Development Commission; affiliation (staff or commission member) not specified in available sources.

A representative of Sarah Foundation presented the group's NAA application; name not given in the transcript.

Joe Mooney presented the Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps NAA application.

Debbie, a resident who gave her address as 18 Sugarloaf Road, spoke twice in public forum on boards-and-commissions process questions.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act program — state tax-credit program invoked in the public hearing and vote on the Sarah Foundation and Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps applications.

Sarah Foundation — nonprofit seeking NAA backing for a group-home housing conversion.

Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps / Seaside Hall — nonprofit seeking NAA backing for HVAC and insulation work at 215 Thimble Island Road.

Guilford Economic Development Commission — drafted the revised tax incentive policy discussed under item seven.

Regional hazardous waste collection program (referred to as the regional water authority's "HazWaste Central" program) — subject of the resolution continuing town participation through June 30, 2029.

Silktown — contractor awarded the Adams Middle School gym roof replacement contract.

Standing Building Committee — reviewed and recommended both the Adams Middle School roof bids and, by reappointment vote, includes member Dan Lambertton.

Town charter minority representation / bare-majority provision — cited by multiple members during the Jim O'Keefe appointment debate as governing party balance on boards and commissions.

Hatch Act — cited by Trotta regarding federal restrictions on employee political speech, in the personnel policy manual debate.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act — cited by Ruoff regarding employee consent to electronic monitoring in the personnel policy manual debate.

Board of Ethics — subject of the O'Keefe appointment and related process dispute.

Board of Assessment Appeals — cited by resident Debbie regarding a vacancy left by Kimberly Brockett's resignation, alleged to exceed the charter's 120-day filling requirement.