Gas, Electric Work Underway At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

With the sounds of campaign cheers still fading Wednesday morning, November 5, the quieter work at Fairfield Hills continued. Most prominent is the recent November 1 grand opening celebration for the new Newtown Youth Academy, an 86,000-square-foot sports and fitness facility. As the celebration had approached, architect Phil Clark was upset with the prospect of running the facility on generators, as the CL&P permanent links were not in place as of mid-October.

Days later, however, he announced during the grand opening that the building was at that time up and running on CL&P hookups. Public Works Director Fred Hurley explained this week, “CL&P put a sprint on; I give them credit. They knew it was a high profile project. I truly appreciate what they have done.”

Natural gas lines — another loose end in the infrastructure — will not go in until sections of underground tunnels once used to transport patients at the former state hospital are demolished to make way for Yankee Gas. “Once the demolition starts, then we can start the pipeline,” Mr Hurley said. Work was delayed on the tunnels as the state began an inquiry regarding handling of hazardous materials found inside. Department of Environmental Protection representative Ross Bunnell said this week that he has sent an email indicating the state is satisfied with the town’s work outline. “They anticipate [finding] asbestos and lead wiring, and they detailed how they would handle it.” The state “finds their methods acceptable,” he said. Mr Hurley concluded, “They needed to be comfortable with our work.”

Past weeks have found representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Public Health asking for paperwork and clarification on Fairfield Hills projects, creating setbacks in workflow. The state’s early September exploration of Fairfield Hills work stems from anonymous calls to the state. Mr Bunnell said, “Given the fact that people felt concerned, we felt it was appropriate to look into it.”

Mr Hurley welcomes the state’s company. “I have no problem with it, and I’ll tell you why; they’ll still get calls from people who don’t wish the Fairfield Hills project well, so the more paperwork and documentation [the state] has, the better.”

With tunnel work completed, the gas lines will run to the youth academy — now hooked to temporary propane tanks — and other buildings slated for construction or reuse. Gas lines, electricity, and work on the tunnels are among a handful of items on the state’s list.

Greenwich House, which stands in front of the youth academy and on top of the site for proposed permanent parking, is marked for demolition that Peter D’Amico, the youth academy owner, for one, would like to have seen completed before November 1. The state, faced with conflicting information on asbestos reports, launched a new round of testing on this building. State health department spokesperson William Gerrish explained, “We’re currently reviewing the tests and samples. Maybe early next week we’ll have some results to talk about.” Demolition will either soon take place, or questions regarding proper remediation may remain.

Bridgeport Hall, which is slated for renovations to house the education and municipal offices, is in preliminary stages of reconstruction. Regarding the surge of paperwork his department had requested from Newtown recently, Mr Bunnell said, “We had some questions about the information that was submitted.” Mr Hurley clarified, “We have to make sure correct procedures are being followed and we also had to update original asbestos notifications for the building.” Currently work crews are measuring the layout for water and electricity lines. “Work is going on,” Mr Hurley said.

The once dormant campus vacated by the state lately is full of activity. Mr Hurley said, “It’s fun up there now, a lot is going on.”