Master Gardeners, O&G Staff Ready To Go At FFH

By John Voket

It was hard to tell who was more anxious to get their shovels in the ground first. Volunteer landscaping experts and future project management staff were both on hand at Tuesday evening’s ad hoc Fairfield Hills Management Committee meeting to discuss pending plans as improvement activities on the town-owned campus begin to ramp up.

Representatives from the Connecticut Master Gardeners attended the meeting to review tentative plans for what committee members and organization volunteers hope will be the first in an evolving partnership on special projects at the former state hospital.

Two employees from O&G Industries also attended the meeting to present the first of what is sure to be hundreds of reports on expected work to be performed as the company begins its tenure managing soil and hazardous material remediation, as well as initial demolition activities in the coming months.

The first master gardeners initiative will be supervised by Newtown resident Nancy Gold, and will involve decorative planting, a walkway removal, and other landscape engineering around the former engineer’s residence. That two-story structure, which is expected to be used as a headquarters for security services as well as the facility management and the interim project managers, has been transformed both inside and out by a combination of town and contract professionals.

Roof repairs and exterior painting have all but been completed, as well as a side porch redesign, which involved enclosing a former screened area with masonry. The interior has been thoroughly cleaned and painted, office furniture was added, as were items to outfit a small conference area.

A new boiler was also installed in the basement.

According to brief remarks made by Ms Gold, both certified master gardeners and individuals in training to become certified will work in and around that building and the main gate area. Shrubs and bordering plantings will be installed flanking the main gate, she said.

Her volunteers, secured following several conferences with committee chair John Reed, plan to finalize design specifications as soon as town Highway Department workers complete a six-space parking area adjacent to the refinished porch on the southeastern side of the building.

“We think this is a great idea,” Ms Gold told the ad hoc committee members. “Every year about 50 master gardeners come out of our Western Connecticut offices. There are always new people coming into the program, and it’s exciting to think about working at Fairfield Hills going forward.”

She said visitors will be able to see planting around the parking lot begin as soon as it is completed.

“We want to take out the walkway that leads to the street because all entry will be made through either of two side entrances,” Ms Gold pointed out. “Then we’ll be able to create an entryway garden.”

Ms Gold, who is a master gardener as well as a landscape designer, is recommending deer resistant plants that are appropriate for dry soil and would require little maintenance.

“Our master gardeners can help keep the entire site looking nice,” she said. “We will use variety of boxwood plants, some ferns and rhododendron, and lilacs for bordering the parking area.”

Committee member Moira Rodgers inquired about the cost for materials, and Mr Reed responded that there was some money left in a budget for improvements to the facility manager’s headquarters.

“We saved some money by utilizing town workers instead of contracting out all the work,” Mr Reed told the panel. “But we don’t want to be spending it on any exotic or expensive plantings.”

Ms Rodgers then requested Ms Gold present a materials budget on her next visit with the panel.

Remediation And      Demolition

Following the master gardeners presentation, Jeffrey Cugno made his first official appearance as the liaison for O&G Industries, the Torrington-based construction and management company hired to lead the first phase of remediation and demolition work to be performed on the campus.

Mr Cugno told the committee that during the past few weeks O&G representatives have done a number of things in preparation to move their part of the project processes forward.

“We’ve had a chance to review engineering plans and to take a good look at what is expected of us,” Mr Cugno said. “We’re a lot smarter about the project now and we’ll be a lot smarter a month from now.”

He told the committee to expect frequent and comprehensive written reports detailing what is happening between meetings.

“At the next meeting, we’ll plan to report on what happened since last meeting as well as providing projected guidelines looking 30, 60, 90 days out,” he said. “All the information we were able to access to date has been assembled and is being assessed by our staff.”

Mr Cugno took the opportunity to introduce Scott Bailey, who was named project supervisor.

“Mr Bailey was chosen because of his experience on similar projects,” Mr Cugno said. “And we’re also fortunate that he lives fairly close to Newtown, so he will be able to respond quickly, when necessary, to issues as the projects move ahead.”

Mr Cugno told the panel that O&G is ready to go out to bid on asbestos and lead paint removal. Company representatives are planning to review soil remediation concerns by the end of the month.

“There are some alternatives for handling, material management alternatives, but we need decisions to be made on limited specifications for soil removal,” he said. “We drafted a letter saying there are different levels of lead contamination.”

Mr Cugno said under state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, some of the soil can be used under a parking area or under building to be built.

“That saves on disposal costs, which can be quite high,” he said. “There is also an option to treat soil in place and put it back in. We will review the alternatives based on what we believe are reasonable savings.”

He said that in areas where a high degree of pesticides exists, the soil has to be removed. But in areas where lead paint was repeatedly scraped off the windows and wood trim, the DEP is only concerned with concentrations of lead that may leech into groundwater.

“We need to be sure you get the best bang for your buck,” Mr Cugno said. “If [the soil] is not accessible to touch or eat, and it’s located more than 15 feet from groundwater, you can save yourself an estimated $500,000 by using it for fill under new buildings and [the proposed new] town hall.”

Mr Reed said he was happy that there was a single company under whose supervision virtually all other professionals would be working.

“The more we can hold on firm responsible, and accountable, the better,” Mr Reed said. “It is easier to deal with just one company when issues come up. It’s centralizing accountability, and that means everything goes through the one holding the contracts. Any issues and contacts directly with the architects, engineer, subs, general contractor should be minimized.”

Mr Reed, who worked on a number of building and improvement projects as the former school superintendent, called projects of the nature of Fairfield Hills “the biggest finger-pointing game in the world.”