Diana Stricker Photo
Andy Campbell.
The Board of Selectmen voted 2 – 1 Thursday to build the new public works facility on the town-owned Tabor Drive property, capping two years of site searches and discussion. First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos also said a new master plan for the Tabor property will be forthcoming soon.
The board also voted to eliminate local building permit fees for residents and businesses whose property was damaged by Storm Sandy.
TIME FOR TABOR
“I believe the time has come for us to move forward,” said Second Selectman Andy Campbell (pictured above) as he took the lead in explaining why Tabor is the right choice.
“I believe the Tabor property is far and away the most appropriate site,” Campbell said shortly after making the motion. He said the portion of the 77-acre Tabor site where the facility would be built is not close to homes, has no environmental hazards, and is not prone to flooding.
He acknowledged that area residents at previous meetings expressed concerns about the Tabor site, but he said those issues were addressed in the consultant’s report. Campbell said he has been talking with residents in the Tabor area and discovered there is “not unanimous opposition” to the project.
Campbell said the closest homes to the Tabor parcel are about a quarter-mile away, and that would include 10 homes. He said there are about 100 homes within a quarter-mile of the Northeast Industrial Road site, and hundreds of homes within a quarter-mile of the proposed Cherry Hill Glass site.
He said Tabor has the highest elevation of all the properties under consideration, as opposed to the Northeast Industrial site which is along the Branford River and frequently floods.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Public Works (DPW) has been housed in a rental facility for nearly two years, after its former building on North Main Street was demolished to make way for a new fire headquarters. Since then The Public Works Building Committee has been searching for suitable properties to construct a new building.
The committee and its consulting firm narrowed the search to seven sites, and conducted an analysis of the properties. The seven-member committee unanimously recommended Tabor as the preferred location. Two hearings were held on the proposal. Click here to read about a hearing and property tour in March. Bowing to public concern that the search be continued, the selectmen asked the committee to review three additional properties. Again, the Tabor property received the highest ranking.
Third Selectman James Cosgrove said Thursday he still prefers the Northeast Industrial site, and that there are other viable options.
“Obviously, I’m not in favor of Tabor … I feel the ranking system they put together is flawed,” Cosgrove said. At last month’s meeting, he said other factors such as truck traffic and the cost of offsite improvements should be considered.
Campbell said the Northeast Industrial site has a history of chemical discharges from the businesses previously located there, which are documented in Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental reports commissioner by the owner. “Given the history of that property…you would be buying a registered tainted property,” Campbell said.
Cosgrove said the owner has agreed to re-mediate the Northeast Industrial site before it is sold.
Cosgrove also said even if the Tabor site doesn’t flood, the nearby roads do, and that it will be expensive to alleviate the flooding issues. “The cost to access that site and develop it is going to be a tremendous burden on the taxpayers,” he said.
DaRos said the Northeast Industrial Road site has an extensive history of substantial flooding. DaRos said flooding issues on roads near Tabor need to be addressed, regardless of where the public works building is located. He also said the public works building will have access to Pine Orchard Road if other roads are not passable.
DaRos said the new master plan will be available before the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) deliberates the issues. He said the plan will include areas for recreational fields, similar to the ones proposed in a master plan he put forward in 2008. Click here to read the story.
Several high-ranking Republicans spoke in opposition to Tabor, including Frank Twohill, the minority leader of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM); former Third Selectman John Opie; Ray Ingraham, chair of the Republican Town Committee and a member of the RTM; and Dennis Flanigan, clerk of the RTM. They re-iterated comments they made at previous meetings and public hearings.
DaRos and Campbell voted in favor of Tabor, and Cosgrove voted against it. A motion was also approved to request $325,000 for a design budget for the DPW building. Funding for the project is subject to approval by the Board of Finance and the RTM.
NO PERMIT FEES FOR SANDY
The board voted unanimously to waive fees for local building permits for properties damaged by Storm Sandy. Resident and business owners must still request a permit, and pay any scanning fees or state-mandated fees.
“These people have enough problems and we should be there to help them” DaRos said. One way is to waive these fees.”
Anthony Cinicola, head of the Building Department, said he inspected about 200 homes damaged by Sandy, and found that many had sustained damage similar to Tropical Storm Irene. He said the repetitive damage in many cases occurred because the property owners did not get permits and did not repair the damage correctly. He said waiving the permit fees may encourage people to get permits and “to properly re-mediate the damage to prevent future damage.”
Cinicola said the goal of the Building Department is to help property owners find a resolution to their problems.
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