Demolition, political affiliation, future planning, and finances drove conversation Monday at Fairfield Hills Authority’s October meeting.

Opening the evening with good news, Grants Coordinator Christal Preszler said the eight single family houses once home to former state hospital doctors have been razed. A small greenhouse that stood between Plymouth Hall and Cochran House on Keating Farm Road is also down.

Bids will also soon go out for the demolition of Canaan House, one of the larger buildings in the center of the Fairfield Hills campus, to the south of Newtown Municipal Center. An estimated $4 million budgeted through the town’s Capital Improvement Project (CIP) for this project.

Inside Canaan House items such as desks, boxes, and filing cabinets still remain, said member Ross Carley. Ms Preszler said both the town and state have received notice, and that the state has collected its records. All else will be turned over to the demolition company, she said.

Mr Carley also noted areas of granite steps and marble fireplaces used in the structure.

“We’ll keep the steps,” Ms Preszler said. The marble “could be contaminated,” depending on what was used to secure it in place, she added. Other marble that has been screwed in, can be removed more easily.

Ms Preszler also explained a Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) grant for $200,000 to assess ten buildings to estimate costs for remediation and demolition. 

A New Member

Welcoming the authority’s newest member, Chairman Tom Connors introduced Phil Clark, president of Claris Construction, based in Newtown, on Monday evening. Mr Connors looks forward to the input and expertise of Mr Clark, he said.

Mr Carley also acknowledged Mr Clark as a “friend, and real addition to the board,” but expressed concern that Mr Clark is a Republican.

Mr Carley is currently only Democrat on the Authority, following the recent resignation of member Mike Holmes. Although the Democratic Party had “put forth a Democrat, rejected by the first selectman,” to fill the vacant seat, Mr Carley felt he should go on the record saying: “I feel that we were sidestepped.”

Community Center Questions

Mr Connors was among several authority members to speak with the Community Center Commission (CCC) recently. The CCC is a relatively new commission charged with planning a community center using funds from a $15 gift from The GE Foundation. The first round of community center planning on a town-funded basis failed in April, after 14 months of work, for a number of reasons. The new commission was seated in May.

Demolition was done at Fairfield Hills several years ago to make room for the project.

The CCC “had a lot of questions,” Mr Connors on October 26. He left the meeting with the impressions that they were “putting the cart before the horse,” he said. They had asked about expanding “beyond the allotted space” on the campus. Past planning had estimated a viable 35,000 square foot space could go in the space next to NYA Sports & Fitness Center.

Mr Connors said the 35,000 square feet “could possibly grow.”

“Are they still thinking of a single story?” asked Mr Carley.

“They haven’t gotten that far yet,” Land Use Agency Planning Director George Benson said. “They’re still contemplating uses.”

The overall message that Mr Connors had hope to convey to the CCC is: “We’ll work with you, and do what we can to accommodate.” The community center is a “priority for the campus,” he said.

Objective Or Subjective?

Members again bantered about whether their charge is objective or could also be subjective regarding proposals for campus reuse. Proposals must meet the approved reuses established in the Master Plan for campus reuse.

Could members rule out a project such as the HealthVest psychiatric facility, which was recently proposed as a 100-patient building in the area of Norwalk Hall?

“What are we here for if not our judgment,” asked member Renata Adler.

Referring to HealthVest, Mr Connors said, “We had a project that met the Master Plan, but we rejected it. We didn’t like it,” he said.

“I didn’t feel right about it,” said member Curt Verdi.

Does something meet the Master Plan, Mr Connors asked. “That’s easy. Our trouble is with subjectivity.” Should they attach their opinions to a project before passing a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, he wondered.

Budget

Several years ago the town had dissolved the Fairfield Hills Authority budget, as responsibilities such as security and grounds maintenance were absorbed by other town departments such as the police and Parks & Recreation.

The authority does have an account with less than $200,000 available, generated through common charges for campus tenants, for example. That fund can also be drawn on by the town. “We’re not sharing things. We need accountability.” He hopes to talk next month about recovering a line item for town funds.

Ms Preszler mentioned that soon, “there will be charges for events at Fairfield Hills,” to help cover costs of clean up by the Parks & Recreation Department.

Mr Connors wondered if an events venue could go in, and if that would help the authority generate revenue.

“We are going to focus on it,” in the future, he said. “How do we move our campus forward, benefit the town, and generate a couple of bucks?”