MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Progress on the restoration of Mount Kisco’s beloved Tea House has been painfully slow, according to the Leonard Park Committee.
Concerned and frustrated by “delays and lack of forward movement,” the group’s chair, Erin Heaton, and it vice chair, Mey Marple, appeared before the Village Board on Monday, Dec. 15, to request immediate action.
Noting that discussions between the committee and the village had begun more than a year ago, Heaton said that “despite the committee’s continued engagement and cooperation, the project hasn’t progressed as expected.”
She blamed several factors, including revisions of the project’s scope and errors in the ordering of building materials.
“These missteps have resulted not only in scheduling delays, but in increased project costs,” Heaton said, demanding to know why the village hasn’t assigned a project manager who could oversee the work, monitor contract accountability, and maintain a “structured timeline.”
“This absence of oversight appears to be the core reason that the project has stalled,” she claimed.
Winter is too cold to be doing certain things, such as installing tiles, Heaton said.
The committee also raised the issue of newly identified structural problems with the iconic building, aka “The Pagoda,” which sits by Wallace Pond.
It’s in line for possible landmarking by the village. Designed by Boston architect Robert Dean, the Tea House was donated to the village in 1965 by Lila Acheson Wallace, an American philanthropist and co-founder of The Reader’s Digest, along with her husband, DeWitt.
The roof had been inspected and deemed to be OK, but it’s clearly not, Heaton said, asking for the replacement of rotted fascias (wooden boards covering the ends of rafters) and the soffits (overhanging eaves.)
They weren’t part of the original project’s scope, but are now jeopardizing the Tea House’s “structural integrity and longevity,” Heaton said.
Asserting that communication also needs improving, the committee said it’s been given timelines by the contractor only to find that the work hasn’t been done. It also wants financial status updates and cost summaries.
The committee was also concerned that the site had occasionally been left unsecured after construction crews had left for the day.
Heaton reminded the board that last spring someone had set fire to the Tea House’s wooden deck.
A 22-year-old Mount Kisco man was subsequently arrested and charged with arson.
It was the second time the Tea House had been torched. In 2016, a fire was allegedly set by an unknown woman.
Luckily both times quick action on the part of local first responders was able to prevent the flames from spreading.
“We really are eager to see the Tea House restored to its full glory,” Heaton said. “I think we can all agree, it’s a beautiful building and the gateway to Mount Kisco. It needs to be completed.”
VILLAGE RESPONDS
Village Manager Ed Brancati, who shared the committee’s frustration over the project delays, put the situation in perspective.
When the original bids came back on the project the prices that came back were “nuts,” he said, adding that it had to be “scaled back a bit.”
The fascia and soffit weren’t part of the “scope,” but the committee had been part of the discussion about which items to prioritize, Brancati said, allowing that the village could go ahead and make those repairs but “it’s going to add to the cost.”
As for the question of a project oversight, Mayor J. Michael Cindrich explained that he had initially recommended that it be be handled by the village’s building department.
Unfortunately, that had to be put aside because the building inspector was dealing with medical issues in June that left that department “in a state of flux,” he said.
The first project manager on the Tea House job was, Brancati said, “ineffective, incapable” and “has since been fired by the contractor.”
This wasn’t the only project that manager had been working on, so the contractor had to run around “cleaning up all of the other messes” he’d allegedly created, according to Brancati.
That set things back about three or four months.
Since then, the project’s architect has been acting as a virtual clerk of the works, aka the village’s eyes and ears, to ensure work is meeting design specifications, safety rules, and budget.
The village has also enlisted subcontractors to handle different parts of the project in order to move things along.
As for security, the village could assign an employee to make sure the site is properly locked up once work crews depart, Cindrich suggested.
Among the things that had been completed as of Dec. 15 were the decking, concrete footings for a ramp, electrical work, benches, and fans.
Assuring the committee that there will be a two-year maintenance bond, Brancati emphasized that, at this point, the contractor hadn’t “been paid a dime.”
Its application for payment is being reviewed, he said.
Whatever challenges it’s faced, the village is determined to plow ahead, said Brancati who agreed with the committee that some things should already have been completed.
“We’re far enough along at this point that we’re, sort of, all in and we just need to continue to push to get this thing finished,” he added.
Heaton reiterated that the committee needs to be kept in the loop in real time.
“It’s been a lot of work just checking on the Tea House, pushing for the Tea House. We need to know how it’s proceeding,” she concluded.
Heaton reported that construction crews were on the site over the cold weekend and that the glass had arrived was being installed.
Trustee Heather Bryant understood the need for regular updates – from both sides.
“I think managing everyone’s expectations would be helpful in this scenario, right?” she said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here