Panel Wants To Beef Up Security At Fairfield Hills

By John Voket

Potent pesticides, shards of broken glass, and possible falling objects in immediate proximity to unoccupied buildings are significant issues of concern to town officials and members of the newly appointed Ad Hoc Fairfield Hills Management Committee. The group met for nearly three hours Tuesday evening at the complex, discussing issues ranging from stepped up security measures to imminent maintenance requirements, to the future scope, structure, and charge of the committee itself.

The top and recurring concerns of committee members and attending town officials involve the overall safety of those visiting the former state hospital complex, whether those visitors are there for organized recreation activities, to enjoy the grounds with their pets, or as unlawful trespassers.

“We want to be very proactive about people’s safety up there, especially the safety of younger persons,” Mr Rosenthal said in an interview prior to the meeting. “The unoccupied buildings are surrounded by pesticide applications, there’s broken glass everywhere, lead paint, and other very dangerous hazards. The playing fields and grounds are perfectly fine for people to enjoy, but we want them to stay clear of all the buildings.”

These and other security concerns were aired Tuesday, July 20, possibly the final meeting of the committee before the town takes over ownership of the 189-acre facility. Earlier that day, Mr Rosenthal announced the town’s closing on the property was imminent after receiving state Department of Environmental Protection approval of a proposed remediation plan and Covenant Not To Sue.

Mr Rosenthal said he expected the final transfer of ownership to the town to occur, “…in a matter of weeks.”

Mr Rosenthal was joined at the committee meeting by Selectman William Brimmer, Jr, Legislative Council Chairman William Rodgers, Police Chief Michael Kehoe, and Maria DeMarco representing DeMarco, Miles and Murphy, the temporary management company overseeing the property for the State of Connecticut. Following an extended executive session to review particulars regarding security issues, the committee reconvened to address those and other matters.

Ad Hoc Committee Chairman John Reed, Newtown’s former Superintendent of Schools, reiterated concerns on behalf of the group about imminent hazards surrounding vacant buildings, and added falling bricks and other objects to the list.

“As I was touring the campus last week, I was told about some loose masonry cornices and saw at least one object that detached from the roofline and was just hanging there,” Mr Reed said. “What we’d hate to see is someone wandering too close to the buildings and getting hit by some falling piece of debris. There really should be no reason for anyone to be near those buildings, or walking up to peek inside.”

Some public discussion of trespassers accessing the buildings and tunnels below occurred in relation to a brief presentation by Ms DeMarco, a former engineer and executive of the Aetna Insurance Company. Mr Reed called for a review of her ideas regarding the most imminent maintenance issues facing the town as officials move closer to a closing date.

“We understand there will have to be a series of steps, some taken immediately, and others we will take over time,” Mr Reed said. “And because of our need to reduce liabilities, we will have to seal some of the buildings and the [areas] underneath. We know we will have to spend some money, even on buildings that will be torn down.”

Ms DeMarco reviewed her professional background, assuring the committee that her company was very accustomed to meeting its objectives even when budgets are tight. DeMarco, Miles and Murphy has been working with the state since 1995, and took over temporary management of the Fairfield Hills facility February 28, 2004.

“Our primary responsibility is to make sure the facility is maintained and operational, so folks who have to come and work here can do their jobs,” said Ms DeMarco.

She told the committee that priority one was stepping up security, which she believes is relatively easy.

“We need to make sure all the buildings look attended to, isolate the buildings that will be renovated and do preventative measures to keep people out and away until the work is complete,” she said.

Her next priority was ensuring the heat is working at the public buildings occupied by town offices including the Health Department and the Board of Education. A thorough clean-up of the vacant buildings was next on the list.

“We’re not simply talking about sweeping and painting,” Ms DeMarco said. “There have been several instances of water coming in, some of the interiors are filthy, there’s standing water, moldy debris, old useless furnishings, file cabinets, and trash.”

Mr Reed noted the preponderance of broken windows, which DeMarco said was another priority concerning her current maintenance staff.

“We’ve got 20 hours a week budgeted for maintenance,” she said. “After immediate needs at the occupied buildings, our policy has been to board up the broken windows. But on any given day, more broken windows show up.”

DeMarco suggested that once the town takes over the property, the committee should entertain the idea of supplementing any outsourced maintenance crew with municipal workers equipped to reduce operating expenses. She also pointed out that water entering the buildings was her major long-term concern.

“Water penetrating the buildings, I believe, is the number one contributor to long-term deterioration,” DeMarco said. “Part of this is related to maintaining the gutters. Ideally they should be cleared twice a year.”

Following her talk, Mr Rosenthal proposed the committee consider keeping DeMarco on as the interim management agent for the town. This led into a lengthy discussion about the powers of the committee, and how its members can best serve the community, while maintaining their charge as an appointed, ad hoc group.

Mr Rosenthal asserted that the selectmen and the town appointed members who would take some degree of management responsibility for the facility, and the $1.2 million budget earmarked for improvements and day-to-day maintenance and security.

“We selected the people we did, because we felt you were all qualified to give us good recommendations as to how this campus should be managed,” said Mr Rosenthal.

Committee members discussed the possibilities of updating their charge as more concrete proposals for management were tendered, and their concerns over administering the $1.2 million budget with the current ad hoc structure.

Mr Rosenthal suggested that a future charter revision may create a much stronger committee, and that intermittent changes to the charge and structure of committee responsibilities were expected as members worked toward a firm, permanent, management agenda.

Considering the imminent closing on the property, the committee moved to change its next meeting date from August 10 to July 29. Members hoped to clarify their charge and structure at that time, as well as determining specific security measures that would be instituted once the property was in the hands of the people of Newtown.