Town Hall And Recreation Plans

Becoming Clearer

By Kendra Bobowick

Although the former state hospital’s Bridgeport Hall now stands empty, visions of town municipal offices and Board of Education space is becoming clearer. Progress is halting, however, as an envisioned athletic field and recreational hiking trails also slowly materialize.

O&G Industries, Inc, Preconstruction Manager George Graikoski detailed the steps in the design development phase for the town hall, ball field, and trails.

He will be bringing various plans before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) in early May, and from there he described a schedule extending through the spring, summer, and early fall involving approvals and permits, bid packages, awarding contracts, and on to the anticipated completion of some projects.

When will residents see some activity interrupting the otherwise open and quiet fields of Fairfield Hills? June may bring with it evidence of the long planning processes leading ultimately to a baseball field, revamped hiking trails, and a refurbished Bridgeport Hall housing municipal and education offices.

Mr Graikoski also predicts that June is the time for Fairfield Hall demolition, which will make way for the baseball diamond — a much-needed space, according to Parks and Recreation Department members.

Field and trail construction is fitted neatly into slots for late September/October/November of this year, according to O&G charts and conversations with Mr Graikoski this week.

His report to the authority was brief Tuesday evening. The P&Z will receive trail and athletic field plans prior to an early May zoning meeting.

“At the end of this week we’re scheduled to submit applications and plans to P&Z,” he said. “The idea is to get them in front of the commission prior to the meeting.” His intent is to give commissioners time to review the documents and be prepared for May’s meeting. “I hope the meeting will go well,” Mr Graikoski said.

Following the meeting, authority Chairman Robert Geckle noted that a one-month buffer for completing the field is gone. Timing is critical to seed the field and allow time before the baseball diamond can sustain activity. As of last month O&G representatives’ schedules reflected that the field would be finished one month earlier than what Mr Graikoski reported Tuesday.

He explained, “The field was scheduled for completion in the end of August, but obviously, with a May [P&Z] meeting we can’t start construction until we have approval.”

More preparatory activity has also gone into the new town hall planning recently. Mr Graikoski told the authority, “Last week we met with departments to go over layout for offices for the town and the Board of Education, and in general it was positive.” The idea is to allow architects time to make adjustments to the layout, he said. Early in April he has plans to attend an education board meeting seeking the board’s approval for its portion of the project. Later next month he will bring revised plans to P&Z, he said.