Date: Fri 08-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

FHH-Town-Hall-South

Full Text:

with cut: Town Hopes To Move Employees Temporarily To Fairfield Hills

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

A final lease price from the state appears to be the only thing standing in

the way of a temporary move to Fairfield Hills Hospital for some town

employees.

First Selectman Bob Cascella said he was expecting to receive a proposal from

the state's Department of Public Works sometime late this week. If a deal is

worked out, those 20-plus employees from the all-but-uninhabitable Town Hall

South will likely move their headquarters to Canaan Hall, a massive structure

at the south end of the Fairfield Hills Campus.

The move is expected to be made by mid-December, according to the first

selectman.

Of course, a move to Canaan Hall would only be short-term - only about 18

months. A permanent location is still being sought by the town.

Mr Cascella recently formed a search committee charged with investigating

possible sites for the relocation of Town Hall South employees.

At a cost of $840,000, Mr Cascella had planned to renovate the Main Street

building, ravaged by flooding and general deterioration in recent years, but

that proposal was turned town by taxpayers in August, leaving the first

selectman with a bit of a dilemma. He knew town employees didn't want to put

up with the often wet conditions they endured last winter and there was no way

he'd find a permanent spot by the first snow fall. That's where Canaan House

fits in.

"We've got to get these people into an adequate, safe working environment,

then think of a permanent solution to the problem," Mr Cascella said in

September.

Town Hall South houses the police department upstairs and land-use agencies,

building offices, and the parks & recreation and health departments

downstairs. The police department will remain at Town Hall South.

Those working in the planning & zoning office are especially looking forward

to the move. That department has been flooded with work recently in addition

to the flood of water that has oozed through the walls, destroying maps,

creating a chill and leaving mold on the walls and a musty odor in the air.

Others, though unaffected by the water seepage, are also eager for the move,

citing other Town Hall South drawbacks. Parks & Recreation Director Barbara

Kasbarian said she and her staff are looking forward to finally getting a

window or two. Since moving to Town Hall South in 1981 the recreation

department's office has not seen the light of day.

Mr Kasbarian said the office often gets hot and stuffy, creating unpleasant

working conditions.

Canaan House has plenty of windows. The large building, which currently houses

what's left of the Mental Health Department's western district office, is four

stories tall and has the amenities required to allow workers to do their jobs.

The building, one of the largest on the campus, was once a ward to hundreds of

mental patients.

The town still plans to renovate portions of Town Hall South to allow for

expansion of police department space.