Ambulance Association Has Site Plan For FFH Parcel

By Kendra Bobowick

“Show me the lease!” said Newtown Ambulance Association President Bruce Herring to Fairfield Hills Authority members Wednesday, January 19. “We sent [the authority] a letter requesting a lease … show me the lease,” he repeated with a joking  enthusiasm.

The Newtown Ambulance Association is a step closer to relocating at Fairfield Hills this week after past month’s meetings raised the topic of the association members’ desire to relocate at the centrally located former state hospital campus. Current proposals also leave room for the likelihood of a new police station at the site.

With preliminary architectural drawings in hand, Mr Herring opened the black and white renderings for authority members to see after handing out a smaller 8- by 11-inch sketch for them to keep.

Facing Mile Hill South Road with its back to Norwalk Hall is the proposed one-story, 12,500-square-foot building. Authority member John Madzula is the plan’s architect.

Authority Chairman John Reed also had a preliminary draft motion prepared, approving a parcel designation of no more than three acres on the corner of Mile Hill South and Keating farm Road, which runs through the center of campus.

“There are things I think need to be on the table,” said Mr Reed. “I don’t see a problem designating an area with conditions…” He would later state, “I think everyone was supportive of the ambulance proposal from the get-go. It’s central, and when dealing with life and death situations, it’s important where it is placed.

As listed in Mr Reed’s draft motion, he is seeking appropriate site plan approval from town agencies, a timeline so that the town does not have a parcel set aside without the knowledge of when it might be occupied, means of mortgaging or financing for the project to include on the association’s bill, site abatement, locations for infrastructure, and complete construction costs, and the understanding of the impact of a possible construction of a new police station nearby.

“I don’t think they’re big barriers; it’s simple, but not simple,” said Mr Reed.

After discussions and speculation about how the project’s details would work out, authority member James Bernardi moved to make the draft motion a part of the record and approve the designation of no more than three acres at Fairfield Hills. “I move we accept the designation subject to conditions.”

The authority and association members present agreed to set a tentative timeframe of one-year. Mr Herring explained that the association would begin fundraising.