Architects, Soil Remediation Experts Start Digging In At FFH

By John Voket

Dressed in a company sweatshirt, Al Lewis sat comfortably in a heated bubble operating his backhoe as fellow environmental workers Blake McKinney and Chris Alves moved about in the frigid air outside the rear of Kent House at Fairfield Hills Tuesday morning. The trio is among the crew of about a dozen from Fleet Environmental Services who were working along with Newtown environmental consultant Ted Stevens on the first phase of contaminated soil remediation at the town-owned campus.

And while crews toiled away peeling off layers of frozen topsoil that were shuttled to a holding area elsewhere on the campus this week, other professionals in offices from Hartford to Hamden were preparing conceptual plans and cost estimates for the installation of sports fields, a landscaped walking trail, a new town hall and government complex, as well as ideas for mothballing other buildings for possible future public or commercial use.

For Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle and his fellow authority members, these various activities brought a great sense of satisfaction. The residents of Newtown who endorsed the multimillion dollar acquisition, cleanup, and development of the former state hospital campus could finally see the humble beginnings of what is to come.

“It’s a little premature to show off plans and renderings, but I think we will have something for people to look at in a few weeks,” Mr Geckle told The Bee Tuesday. “We’re still trying to be very aggressive about getting some work done up there. A lot of people are working hard, but we want to keep the process moving.”

For Mr Geckle, it always seems like the best time to begin tackling work at the sprawling facility was last week. Since his installation as the chairman of the authority, he has been relentless about moving the multiphase development forward. And he credits fellow authority volunteers for meeting the challenge head-on.

In recent weeks, various authority members have matched his stride working simultaneously on issues ranging from landscaping the recreational trail network, to fashioning improvements to the engineering and security headquarters, to coordinating with real estate consultants and meeting with various state and federal officials about securing public funding to help shift the financial burden from local taxpayers’ shoulders.

In a special meeting on December 8, the authority unanimously endorsed two leading state engineering firms to tackle the design and cost estimates for a package of sports fields and the walking trail, as well as the mothballing of several buildings and concepts for the new town hall and possible government center complex. And at its regular meeting next Tuesday, project management consultants from O&G Industries plan to outline the timetable and scheduling the flow of work that will play out at Fairfield Hills going forward.

According to Mr Geckle, the Hartford-based firm of Tai Soo Kim Partners was selected to engineer the town hall and mothballing preliminaries, while Vollmer Associates LLP of Hamden was chosen to handle the playing fields and trail assignment. The proposal to hire the two firms was moved on December 8 for consideration by the Board of Selectmen when it meets next Monday, December 19.

Mr Geckle said the two firms were clearly the authority’s top choices among a short list of six contenders who made presentations to various selection committees in recent weeks.

“All things considered, we all liked these two firms best,” Mr Geckle said.

The authority chairman said each firm will be challenged to come up with a “multivariable equation,” when it comes to engineering plans for their respective projects.

“These architecture firms need to be flexible based on the outcomes of site preparation and demolition cost estimates,” Mr Geckle said.

Mr Geckle said the authority favored the Vollmer company heavily because of its foresight in presenting a field construction plan that incorporated multiple uses. He said the Hartford firm of Tai Soo Kim Partners will be challenged to come up with the right combination of uses between Shelton Hall and Bridgeport Hall.

“We’re going to have them evaluate the renovation of Shelton Hall against pushing the town hall and Bridgeport Hall together,” Mr Geckle said. “Everybody seems to be gravitating towards using Bridgeport Hall as part of the town hall complex, but we have to do an analysis first and develop good numbers on the [potential] renovation.”

During selection presentations, committee members also heard about “building conservation measures” for Woodbury Hall, Newtown Hall, Stratford Hall, and Plymouth Hall. Each of the structures will be carefully evaluated for integrity and possible reuse before final decisions are made on whether each facility will be mothballed or demolished.

Mr Geckle also indicated that authority member Amy Dent has been busy meeting with various agencies from the Connecticut Development Authority to US Congresswoman Nancy Johnson’s office to determine the avenues of public funding that may be available to underwrite certain costs as the Fairfield Hills renovation and development ramps up in the coming months.