Special Planning Board Meeting – July 23, 2026: Yearwood Center Renovations Funding and Capital Closeouts
Special Planning Board Meeting – July 23, 2026
The Stamford Planning Board held a special meeting on July 23, 2026, at 2:30 PM to consider a supplemental capital appropriation for the Yearwood Center Renovations Project and to approve the closeout of multiple capital projects. The meeting was called to address the time-sensitive nature of ARP fund expenditure before the December 31, 2026 deadline. The board approved the appropriation and closeouts.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of June 23, 2026: Approved unanimously. Motion by Jeremy, second by Chet.
Discussion Items
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Yearwood Center Renovations Project (CP9238): The project involves interior renovations, including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades. The total request is $2,262,233. The project had an initial $1.9 million authorized, and design estimates were $4.2 million. The lowest construction bid came in at $3.5 million (later corrected to $3.8 million). The additional authorization of $2.2 million will bring the total to $3.8 million, funded by: $1.2 million in ARPA funds, $1.1 million in disaster recovery proceeds (FEMA funds from projects over 10 years ago), and $750,000 in private contributions (old community development funds). The project was not in the 2026-27 capital budget, but became urgent due to significant asbestos discovered during design, requiring relocation of the Boys & Girls Club and other tenants. The board discussed the provenance of the disaster recovery and private funds, confirming they are unrestricted and can be repurposed. The board questioned the decision to prioritize this project over other capital needs. Staff explained the displacement of children and the community impact justified the urgency.
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Capital Closeout Recommendations: Pursuant to Stamford City Code Section 8-2, partial closeouts of 10 capital projects were recommended to free up ARP funds totaling $330,238. These funds will be transferred to the Yearwood project. Projects included: Citywide Storm Drains ($1,656.97), Environmental Compliance ($35,435), Government Center Renovations ($2,013.17), and others. The closeouts represent balances remaining from completed projects.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve the supplemental capital appropriation for Yearwood Center Renovations (CP9238): Approved by a show of hands. (Motion by Robbie, second by Ashley).
- Motion to approve the capital closeout recommendations: Approved by a show of hands. (Motion by Chet, second by Jeremy).
- The board adjourned, with next regular meetings scheduled for August 11 and August 25, 2026, and September 8, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Good morning. This is a special meeting of the sample. On our agenda today, uh first we can begin with the uh planning board uh meeting minutes from our last uh meeting of June 23rd uh 2026. Um and we have quorum for those minutes. I was I was not on, so I got I was not either. Uh so we may not have a quorum. I think you were there, right, Chet? I was, yeah. Oh, Jeremy, you are here. So we do have a quorum. Yeah. Hi. All right. Um are there any uh amendments or corrections to the minutes of June 23rd? No. All right. Um hearing none, do we have a motion on the minutes? Okay. All right. My view is uh I'll make a motion, Jennifer, to approve them. All right. Uh motion to approve from Jeremy to have a second from chat. Uh all in favor. Um and the motion passes. Thank you. Uh next on the agenda, um, a reason for our special meeting to request for authorization supplemental capital project appropriation requests. Uh Yearwood Center Renovations Project CP9238 total request of 2,262, 233 dollars. The project involves renovation of the yearwood center, including interior improvements and other architectural finishes. The work also includes upgrades to the building's mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as all additional work required by the contract documents and project specifications. Um and we have presenting uh on this item to the city. Presenter this. So happy to just introduce the item. Uh thanks, Jennifer. And uh thank you uh to the planning board members for uh um allowing us to pull you away for the special meeting today when possible. We try to avoid it, but this is a time-sensitive matter. So um appreciate your participation today. Um so this is as Jennifer described in the item uh related to interior renovations at the Year Wood Center. Um the time sensitive nature of this is related to the ARP uh funding source that we're seeking to use. Um recently we completed uh design phase uh of this project um which allowed us to go out to bid um and have uh concrete numbers for uh the total uh construction costs related to the project. Um so we are now seeking the additional authorization to be able to award that bid um with the uh funding sources that are listed on your agenda. Um we kind of simultaneously have been going through the process of monitoring our ARP uh ongoing projects to ensure that we are going to be able to expend those funds by the December 31st, 2026 deadline. Um so we're now in a position where we feel confident to close out these accounts and leverage these funds for this project, um, which has a timeline that will allow us to extend these funds and of course um the city is looking to maximize every dollar of ARP um by the deadline. So that um time sensitive piece um is really related to us being able to award this project as soon as possible uh and expend the funds um prior to that deadline, but happy to answer any Matt. If you if you wouldn't mind just from um it would be helpful to me. Um so I I see the uh the total budget. Um I see the funding sources. Um apparently the bids uh we understand came in um above uh the budget, and so we we need to seek additional. So um is is the additional um uh fund that we're talking about here the 330,000 or something else. So with this project, we had always anticipated um that we were going to see additional authorization to complete the interior renovation book.
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