Authority Clarifies Role—

Town Hall Project

Inches Forward

By Kendra Bobowick

How is the new town hall at Fairfield Hills coming along?

“Let me start with a disclaimer,” said Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle. “It’s not the authority’s responsibility, per se.”

Why is he starting here? Possibly because the authority hears all the criticisms of ongoing projects at the campus.

“We recommend to the selectmen,” he said. The authority “has no authority,” he has said more than once — most recently at the Fairfield Hills Authority’s last regular meeting in May. As he has also stressed repeatedly, Mr Geckle said again this week, “The town retains direct responsibility” for projects at Fairfield Hills. Why has the authority been tagged with the criticism, he wondered? The authority tries to keep the public informed about work to revitalize the former state hospital campus by providing financial and progress reports at every meeting. Authority members have also put together a PowerPoint presentation available to any group or individual, which is posted at www.newtown-ct.gov.

“People are misinterpreting our role,” Mr Geckle said, offering his perspective.

As long ago as November 2006 one resident named authority members individually, among others, in a civil suit pointing scrutiny at the Fairfield Hills plans — a suit later dropped.

Criticism continues. The debate now centers on efforts to chose a method to install parking, complete infrastructure utility work, place permanent lighting on a baseball diamond, and complete demolition of buildings slated to fall. The “disclaimer” that Mr Geckle mentioned is intended to clarify who ultimately signs off on all work on campus. Selectmen ultimately act on any scope of work and authority recommendations to bring new business to the vacant brick buildings and quiet streets at Fairfield Hills.

Available on the town website is the statement that the authority shall have the power “to the extent necessary,” to expend funds available to the authority “at the discretion of the First Selectman, Board of Selectmen or Purchasing Authority of the Town, as those bodies deem appropriate…” Some people do not like what is going on at Fairfield Hills. Ultimately, those people need to speak with the Board of Selectmen, Mr Geckle said.

He aired his frustrations before mentioning that a recent reimbursement of roughly $593,000 was approved by the state, before mentioning a new requirement to include a radon system that adds both time and work to the final finish date to renovations of the former Bridgeport Hall, and before noting that the project has received a $300,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant.

Money In, Money Out

The estimated $10-plus million multiphased renovations at Bridgeport Hall include refurbishing space for municipal offices and for the town’s Board of Education administrative offices, making the project eligible for education reimbursements. On May 28, State Representative DebraLee Hovey (R), noted the state’s funding approval in a press release: “Relocation of the Town of Newtown’s Board of Education offices has been secured in legislation…” The legislation also notes that $593,000 will go toward the “project cost of relocating the offices to the former Fairfield Hills property.”

The school administrative offices will occupy roughly one-third of the 44,000-square-foot Bridgeport Hall. Municipal offices will take up the remaining space. The $300,000 STEAP grant is also allocated for the $10-plus million renovations in addition to funds made available in the original 2001 bond issue of approximately $21 million for work including the future reuse of Fairfield Hills. Officials are also actively pursuing a federal grant for more than $2 million for infrastructure work.

Funds spent to date, and potential sources of additional revenue are detailed in the PowerPoint pages posted at www.newtown-ct.gov.

Phase I of the new town hall, or municipal/education office building project, is complete, and included remediation, asbestos and lead paint removal, and spot demolition of several areas of Bridgeport Hall. With the state’s go-ahead for the education portion of the building, Phase II, the actual renovation work, can go out to bid. “They will go out shortly,” for interior work to outfit the building for occupancy, said Mr Geckle.

Unfortunately, the anticipated timeline for work, which would have seen the project completed by the winter of 2008, has not been smooth. “We’re way off our timing,” Mr Geckle explained. Per state education requirements, a traffic study needed to be completed and approved before work could begin. Because the municipal offices are “tied to the school piece,” the project has been delayed, said Mr Geckle. He anticipates that the bidding process will take place in coming weeks and the new estimated occupancy date will be in the first quarter of 2009. One additional bid now tied into the project will be for a radon system in order to detect radon gas. Project managers O&G Industries Inc is doing engineering design for the radon system, which has also slightly delayed the project.

What if bids come back higher than the roughly $10 million estimates as some have suggested?

O&G project managers, along with the authority, have discussed value engineering options — essentially, how to pare down the scope of work to fit the budget. Authority members “made a commitment from the very beginning” to keep the project within budget. If bids are beyond the budget and value engineering is “not possible,” Mr Geckle said, “We’ll retrench and figure out what we’ll do from there.”

The original bonding of approximately $21 million was intended for the Fairfield Hills plans and included field work at the high school and an elevator upgrade at the Edmond Town Hall — both of which are complete. Balancing those expenditures are the sale of homes along Mile Hill South. Anticipated revenue from one lease deal to Hawley Realty, which is renovating space for Danbury Hospital, has come through, while several other lease deals for a restaurant, office, and retail space fell through. Those funds were slated to pay, in part, for infrastructure work to bring an upgraded network of utilities to the buildings marked for reuse.

Any new lease possibilities on the horizon?

“I’m working on one now. I can’t say any more,” Mr Geckle said.