Date: Fri 02-Feb-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

flooding-Town-Hall-South

Full Text:

with cut: Frustrations Rise With The Water In Town Hall South

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Staffers in the planning and zoning office in Town Hall South were back in

their normal quarters Thursday morning, after having spent three days in

another office in the building due to a water leakage problem.

A whining water vacuum droned on in a records vault adjacent to the planning

office sucking up what water was still making its way into the lower level of

the building.

To deal with groundwater leaking into the vault from an underground source,

town workers stripped sheetrock off a wall and applied coatings of fast-drying

waterproof hydraulic concrete to sections of the foundation.

The air in the building seemed noticeably less humid Thursday than it had been

previously as water kept entering the building.

The northern end of Town Hall South is built into a hillside, a design feature

that is thought to cause much of the water problem.

Tired of putting up with soaked rugs, a foul odor, and potential electrical

shock hazards, planning office staff members moved their operations across the

corridor to the Conservation Commission office on Monday.

The water that had entered the building also had found its way down the main

corridor to the conference room, a windowless room where many public meetings

are held. The room had the odor of decomposing vegetation Tuesday.

Excess water in Town Hall South is nothing new. There have been water leakage

problems there for years. It's just that staffers don't remember the water

problem ever having been this serious.

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said Wednesday that although measures

taken Tuesday to improve drainage around the building's foundation had reduced

the flow of water into the lower level of the building, the flow hadn't

stopped.

On Tuesday, town workers converged on the northwestern corner of the building

to pump away water that had accumulated there in front of a retaining wall.

After pumping out much of the water, new drain holes, known as "weepholes,"

were drilled into the wall in an effort to divert water away from the

building.

Mr Hurley said the water leakage problems are created by high groundwater

levels. Water flowing underground beneath a cut bank on the northern end of

the structure becomes pressurized when it comes into contact with the

building's foundation. The water then then forces its way into the building

through cracks in the foundation.

Mr Hurley said that the recent excavation work needed to install sanitary

sewer lines to the north and northwest of Town Hall South may have contributed

to the problem.

At a Monday night selectmen's meeting in the watery Town Hall South conference

room, First Selectman Robert Cascella recommended that $800,000 in public

capital funds to be spent during the 1996-97 fiscal year to improve the

building. The selectmen endorsed the recommendation Wednesday night. The

matter now requires approval by the Legislative Council and voters at the

annual town budget referendum.

Town Hall South was built as a farm equipment dealearship. The town bought it

in 1978 and converted the upper level to be a police station and the lower

level to be municipal offices. The lower level includes offices for planning

and zoning, conservation, parks and recreation, the health department, the

building department and the borough land use offices.

As part of the proposed building improvements, the entire structure would get

a new "curtain drain" around it to divert water away from the structure.

New facing brick, new windows, and new roofing would be installed. The

concrete deck on the southern end of the building would be enclosed for use as

future office space. Interior painting and the replacement of existing

carpeting with floor tile would be done.

The system for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) also would be

modernized. The existing HVAC system was installed many years ago, before some

interior alterations were made which changed air circulation patterns in the

structure.

OSHA

The water leakage problems had gotten so bad last week that William Nicholson,

the town's zoning enforcement officer, made a complaint to the US Occupational

Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) about hazards posed by the situation.

Mr Nicholson noted that the planning and zoning office was using electrical

and electronic equipment in an area with puddles, thus posing shock hazards.

OSHA officials then contacted Mr Cascellaa about the problem. The first

selectman then told the planning and zoning office to relocate into the

conservation office until the problem was resolved.

Mr Nicholson said he just wants to get the water leakage problem cleared up.

The conservation office had become a rather crowded place earlier this week

with the staffers from two offices working in it.

"All we need is a train whistle and we'd have Grand Central Station," quipped

David Thompson, the town's envirornmental official.

Due to the water leakage problem, some old tax assessor's maps have been

ruined, said Janet Burns of the planning and zoning office.

Although the building has experienced water leakage problems for years, the

office had never had to relocate, said Rita MacMillan of the office. "It's

just inconvenient for everybody."