During their first meeting of October, the Board of Selectmen issued a temporary license to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation Inc that will permit the installation of a temporary bridge with a capacity to handle commercial truck traffic over Deep Brook. During that October 1 meeting, selectmen also agreed to a one-year extension that will permit police K9 training to continue at the former Hook & Ladder firehouse.

Land Use Director George Benson told The Newtown Bee that installing a temporary bridge over an existing structure that has been in place for decades will ensure the heaviest trucks and commercial construction vehicles will be able to safely cross the brook to and from the sanctuary as site development and improvement work continues there.

During the October 1 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Town Attorney David Grogins said a temporary structure called a Bailey Bridge will be placed above the existing bridge to ensure heavy loads will be safe. Newtown Public Works crews will install the structure and remove it at end of the license period.

Mr Grogins assured selectmen that the Hubbard organization will cover all related costs and will also provide $4 million insurance policy on the project in the event of any monetary damage is incurred during the temporary license period.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told Selectmen Jeff Capeci and Maureen Crick Owen that Newtown purchased the Bailey bridge back in the 1980s to replace wooden deck railroad bridges.

According to Wikipedia, a Bailey bridge is a type of portable, prefabricated truss bridge developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by British, Canadian, and US military engineering units. A Bailey bridge has the advantages of requiring no special tools or heavy equipment to assemble.

Baileybridge.com further states that Bailey bridges can be built to match a wide range of vehicular bridging applications, and because of their excellent versatility and overall value, thousands of Bailey bridges have been installed throughout the world.

The Hubbard Foundation established an animal sanctuary on former state land in memory of Catherine Violet Hubbard who was one of the young victims of the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012.

Based on details in the agreement, the Town is granting to Hubbard Foundation a Temporary License to utilize a portion of Old Farm Road commencing easterly of Old Farm Road Bridge and continuing across the Old Farm Road Bridge to the easterly property line of the property — approximately 115 feet in total, plus or minus.

The license, which was unanimously approved, covers a period between October and next February, with one three-month extension option if required work is not completed because of weather delays to the intended work schedule.

It is being conveyed solely for the purpose of transporting approximately 1,420 cubic yards of structural fill and 12,500 cubic yards of common fill to the property.

Additional Stipulations

Additionally, the agreement notes the Hubbard Foundation will be responsible for the placement and maintenance of any and all erosion and sedimentation controls required to utilize Old Farm Road and the Old Farm Road Bridge at its sole cost and expense.

The Hubbard Foundation shall indemnify and hold the Town harmless from any and all injury or damage to person or property caused as a result of the activities of the Hubbard Foundation, its agents, or employees in utilizing said Old Farm Road, Old Farm Road Bridge, and Bailey Bridge, the agreement states.

The Town reserves the right to terminate the non-transferable license on ten days written notice unless in the case of a condition that in the sole discretion of the Town, endangers the environment or personal safety, the license may be terminated immediately.

The Hubbard Foundation must also ensure any of the contractors traversing the bridge, as aforesaid, to provide similar insurance to the Town. The licensee shall also require any of the contractors traversing the bridge to provide similar insurance to the Town.

Foundation and Sanctuary Principal Jen Hubbard, Catherine’s mother, was on hand for the action. She told The Bee that the site work is required to complete a welcome area near the entrance to the 34-acre sanctuary. Frequent truck traffic is expected to move through the area during the several months of work.

The property, which is situated on rolling terrain, lies south of Old Farm Road, east of the Housatonic Railroad’s freight tracks, and north and west of Deep Brook.

In a 2017 memo from architect Phil Hubbard (no relation), the sanctuary would serve as a center for compassion and healing, focusing on animal rescue and refuge. The facility would have a veterinary center and a nature-based educational program and library.

There would be a community garden and a farm-to-table cafe open the public. The group is already sponsoring conservation initiatives involving environmental education on the site, and public trails will continue to be available for hiking and dog walking during the course of planned work in the coming months.

Storm water drainage systems proposed for the site would have no impact on the surrounding properties, according to Mr Hubbard’s PH Architects. Parking areas would employ permeable pavers to increase storm water infiltration, and a 3,000-gallon cistern would collect storm water runoff.

Wetlands-type vegetation are planned for a swale that leads to a wetland for water filtration purposes, and the foundation has been conducting ongoing invasive plants removal project on the site based on expert advice, according to the architects.

The envisioned finished site would encompass a sanctuary building, veterinary building, pavilion, an interconnecting colonnade, and community garden. An existing renovated barn on the site will be utilized as well as a proposed second barn, plus paddocks for farm animal use.

While there are eventual plans to construct an approximately 1,300-foot-long paved driveway providing access to that town-owned land and as to the animal sanctuary from Commerce Road, Mr Rosenthal said the Town is still waiting for state and Army Corps of Engineers clearance to begin the project.

K9 Training Facility

During the same meeting, selectmen also unanimously approved extending an existing temporary license to Superior Canine Services for one year. In September 2017, the board first granted the temporary license for the company to conduct police K9 training and classroom sessions in the abandoned Hook & Ladder fire station behind Edmond Town Hall.

The company is utilizing the building as a central dog training facility for municipal police departments in the region, Police Chief James Viadero previously told selectmen. The chief said that the layout of the former old firehouse is perfect for police dog training exercises, to store dog training equipment, and to hold classroom sessions for police dog handlers from across Fairfield County.

Much of the dog training is supervised by Frank J. Reda, a retired Norwalk police officer who now operates Superior Tactics K9 in New Milford. The firm provides police with seminars in areas including narcotics detection, explosives detection, device recognition, post-recognition action plans, tactical patrol work, and tracking.

The company also offers a course known as CUSTOM, or “Canines Under Superior Training and Outstanding Municipalities,” which provides police with national certifications in patrol work, including advanced tactical operations, building searches, evidence recovery, criminal apprehension, rural and hard-surface tracking, and certifications in narcotics detection and explosives detection.

Chief Viadero said the proximity of the former firehouse to Fairfield Hills is important because many visiting police dog teams use the town-owned campus for tracking exercises. The current agreement extends the $1 license fee for 12 more months of use, effective October 1.