Editor’s Note by Edward Munster: Marc Fitch of Connecticut Inside Investigator has published the article shown below which questions the bidding process involving the date by which bids for the former Haddam Elementary School project were to be received. The RFP had a date for submittal of proposals of October 10, 2023, whereas another town communication erroneously stated the date as October 17, 2023.
Three proposals were received by the town, two by the October 10th date and one by October 17th. Bids were opened by the town’s selection committee on October 17 and the proposal of Rak Realty was selected unanimously by the committee, which consisted of Leon Mularski, the Town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, William Warner, the Town Planner and the full Board of Selectmen, Robert McGarry, Kate Anderson and Peter Baird.
At a Special Meeting of the Haddam Board of Selectmen on June 27, 2024, the BOS unanimously approved a resolution to send the acceptance of the Rak Realty proposal for the HES Development to a town referendum on July 23, 2024. At this referendum Haddam voters approved the Rak Realty plan of development for HES, which had been submitted October 17, 2023. Details of the Rak proposal are attached to the minutes of this meeting. Minutes of this meeting can be seen at the Town’s website, www.haddam.org.
When asked, Haddam First Selectman Robert McGarry commented regarding the Fitch article: “The information in the article regarding the Request for Proposals is old news. It was public knowledge before the July 23rd referendum. It was the subject of numerous Facebook posts and discussed in public.’” The Connecticut Inside Investigator article can be viewed in its entirety below:
Unsealed: Bidding irregularities in Haddam state-funded project
