Bridgeport Hall Use For Town Offices Questioned

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has asked the Board of Selectmen to provide more details to substantiate its proposed revisions to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, which would convert Bridgeport Hall there, instead of Shelton House, for use as a town/school office building.

The P&Z’s request for additional information came after a lengthy April 12 public hearing at which the proposed master plan changes were aired, drawing criticism from some of those in the audience.

About 55 people attended the session in the cavernous Newtown High School auditorium.

P&Z members were scheduled to reconvene the public hearing on April 19, after the deadline for this edition of The Bee.

The town acquired the 187-acre Fairfield Hills core campus from the state for $3.9 million in August 2004. The site includes many large masonry buildings that formerly were used for patient care and services at the state psychiatric hospital that closed in December 1995.

In March 2005, following lengthy consideration, the P&Z approved the Fairfield Hills Master Plan in a 3-to-2 vote. The master plan is designed to guide the town’s redevelopment of the former psychiatric hospital and grounds.

The selectmen are seeking to revise the master plan to have it call for the renovation of Bridgeport Hall for a town/school office building. The master plan currently calls for the renovation of Shelton House for town offices, or alternately the demolition of Shelton House and the use of its site for constructing a new town/school office building. 

But following structural and architectural analyses performed for the town, the selectmen concluded that Shelton House has structurally deteriorated and would be unable to effectively meet office space needs through a renovation project. Additionally, the presence of flowing groundwater at the Shelton House site would make it unsuitable for the construction of a new office building, the selectmen found.

Thus, the selectmen are now seeking to renovate the adjacent Bridgeport Hall for office use. Also proposed is the demolition of Shelton House with the placement of a pond at its site.

Joseph Hovious of 3 Leopard Drive, representing Trout Unlimited, told P&Z members that creating a pond at the site of a demolished Shelton House may be detrimental to the habitat of native trout in nearby Deep Brook. The manmade pond would drain to Deep Brook, which is a tributary of the Pootatuck River.

Maintaining a flow of cold water in Deep Brook is very important for trout health, he said. Also, the brook must contain sufficient water volume in the summertime for trout health, according to Mr Hovious.

The “water feature” as proposed by the selectman is not clearly defined, Mr Hovious said. He urged that the P&Z not endorse the creation of a water feature.

Gary Davis of 23 Charter Ridge Drive, representing a group known as We Care About Newtown (WeCAN), presented P&Z members with a list of 44 questions that the group wants the P&Z to answer in considering revisions to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan.

Those questions address, in part, having the town fully substantiate its request for converting Bridgeport Hall for use as a town/school office building.

Shelton House formerly was used as a residence for psychiatric patients at Fairfield Hills. Bridgeport Hall was a central dining and kitchen facility. 

“Everything is very general,” Mr Davis said of the information that had been presented by the selectmen to the P&Z.

Mr Davis asked whether using Bridgeport Hall for office space would make sense in terms of the town’s future overall redevelopment of Fairfield Hills.

Ruby Johnson of 16 Chestnut Hill Road urged that the P&Z take a long view of the appearance of Fairfield Hills when considering the vehicle parking facilities that would be required for its redevelopment. Ms Johnson asked whether the site would hold an expanse of asphalt pavement, or instead hold a more pleasing appearance.

Richard Cole of 72 Main Street asked why the town even needs a new town hall. Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street could be reconfigured for a better use of its space for offices, he said.

Other municipalities have their office facilities located at multiple locations, he said, in asking why Newtown needs to consolidate its office space.

Mr Cole asked what would become of Edmond Town Hall if the town moves its offices to Fairfield Hills. A new town hall is not needed, he said.

Po Murray of 38 Charter Ridge Drive said that the master plan is being presented to the public in a piecemeal fashion. The proposal for town offices at Fairfield Hills does not have the endorsement of voters, she added.

Ms Murray urged that the P&Z address the 44 questions submitted by WeCAN. She urged that information be provided to the public about traffic flow stemming from the future redevelopment of Fairfield Hills.

Joanne Zang of 2 Camelot Crest urged that Bridgeport Hall not be converted into town office space, but remain available for use for community events.

Ms Zang urged the P&Z to reject the proposed master plan revisions. Ms Zang has worked with the Friends of Booth Library, a volunteer group that formerly staged the annual Booth Library used book sale in the large spaces inside Bridgeport Hall.

“Do not change the master plan…Leave it as it is,” she urged.

Robert Hall of 5 Nettleton Avenue said the town should leave Shelton Hall as is and not demolish it.

Mr Hall observed that if a person were to ask 1,000 people how the town should use the Fairfield Hills core campus, those 1,000 people would provide 1,000 different answers. It is that multiplicity of views that is the beauty of Fairfield Hills, he said.

Edmond Town Hall should be expanded at the rear instead of creating town offices at Fairfield Hills, he said.

Attorney Dennis Buckley of Waterbury, representing Newtown businessman Matt D’Angelis of 5 Cobblers Mill Road, told P&Z members that insufficient information had been provided to the P&Z about how the proposed master plan revisions would affect the overall redevelopment of Fairfield Hills.

“This hearing should be held open [and] continued”  to allow more information to be submitted  by the applicant, he said.

P&Z Comments

Following the public comments, P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said the P&Z does not have a clear understanding of how using Bridgeport Hall for town offices would affect the town’s future overall use of Fairfield Hills.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said it had not been clear that the P&Z would require more detailed information as part of the selectmen’s application on master plan revisions.

Mr Rosenthal said the town would not seek to create a pond at the Shelton House site if doing so would damage trout habitat in Deep Brook.

P&Z member Lilla Dean asked that the selectmen provide the P&Z with engineering reports to substantiate the proposed master plan revisions, including the use of Bridgeport Hall for town offices.

Mr O’Neil asked that the P&Z receive and review a current overall plan for the future redevelopment of Fairfield Hills. Such information would include details on recreational uses of the site, vehicle parking, and athletic fields, he said.

The P&Z was expected to review that information when the public hearing reconvened on April 19.