Diana Stricker Photo
Will Branford’s new public works facility be built on Tabor Drive or on Northeast Industrial Road …or will town officials ask the committee to extend its 14-month search?
That’s the $10 million question … and the estimated construction cost at either site.
Branford moved closer to an answer this week.
The Public Works Building Committee presented its findings to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) Wednesday, with a recommendation favoring the town-owned Tabor property.
The BOS will take two weeks to review the extensive report and hold a public hearing Feb. 1 to begin what promises to be a lengthy decision process. Final approval rests with the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting.
“You guys have been pretty intense and pretty thorough,” said First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos as he thanked the seven-member committee for their months of work. DaRos said finding an adequate site for a new building is vital because “public works is being called upon to do more and more work every year.”
DaRos told the committee that town officials could either select one of the two options, or they could send the whole thing back to the committee to keep trying.
During his presentation Wednesday, consultant Jeff Alberti highlighted the evolving duties of the Department of Public Works (DPW).
“They do provide a first-responder endeavor to the community,” said Alberti, of Weston & Sampson, an engineering firm that has designed 60 public works buildings from Maine to New York. “The Department of Public Works’ responsibilities have increased significantly over the years.”
The DPW has been housed in a rental facility on Route 139 since their previous building on North Main Street was demolished. to make way for construction of the new fire headquarters.
Alberti told the selectmen that the rental facility is not adequate and that a decision about construction needs to be made in a timely fashion. “The ability to provide efficient services to the community will be impacted,” if the DPW does not have a suitable facility, he said. In addition, Alberti said that borrowing costs and construction costs are at historic lows because of the economy.
Although the written report includes a detailed analysis of both the Tabor site and the Northeast Industrial Road site, the presentation by the consultant focused on Tabor Drive.
Diana Stricker Photo
There was applause from some of the 50 residents in attendance at the completion of the presentation. The committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to recommend Tabor as their first choice. Others attempted to ask questions, but were told there would be time for discussion at the public hearing.
Kurt Treiber, who chairs the committee, told the selectmen that they used an 18-step process during the site-selection procedure. The committee presented seven contenders at a public input session last May. With the consultant’s help, they winnowed the field to three choices.
The committee said Tuesday that the third choice was eliminated when the owners of a vacant site at the intersection of 688 E. Main St. and Baldwin Drive decided to sell a portion of the property to someone else. Branford-based Massey’s Plate Glass and Aluminum Inc. is proposing to construct a manufacturing facility on that property, and a public hearing on the request is scheduled tonight before the Planning and Zoning Commission. The property is owned by Parish Farm Partners LLC, a corporation headed by Dan Cosgrove, whose grandson, Jamie Cosgrove, was recently elected to the Board of Selectmen.
The 77-acre Tabor Drive site was seized by the town through eminent domain in 2003 because of proximity to a contaminated dump. That action sparked lawsuits which were finally resolved in the town’s favor last year.
The 5.1‑acre site at 20 NE Industrial Road is located behind the Tremonte Auto Group dealership on East Main Street. The industrial site has two existing buildings and is on the market for $1.25 million. Town records lists the owner as Quality Carriers Inc., of Tampa, Fla.
The consultant Wednesday said the total project cost for the Tabor site is estimated at $9,807,336. He said the estimated cost for possible off-site improvements, such as new access roads, would be an additional $1,146,523.
The cost at the Northeast Industrial Road site was not discussed at the selectmen’s meeting, but was disclosed at a recent committee meeting. The estimated total project cost for that site would be $10,021,629, including $1.25 million to purchase the property.
A copy of the report will be available for viewing at the town clerk’s office and officials plan to post a copy on the town’s Web site.
Remember Founders Village?
In other business, the selectmen accepted a 7‑acre parcel of land from developer Alex Vigliotti that will be designated as open space and used for a nature park in the center of town. The property donation was part of a court settlement between the town and Vigliotti that will allow Vigliotti to build a senior apartment complex between Cedar and Ivy streets. Previous proposals to develop the 12-acre Founder’s Village site resulted in years of opposition and costly lawsuits.
Stan Konesky, Jr., whose home on Ivy Street abuts the property, was a leader in the fight to preserve the mountain. So was environmentalist Bill Horne. Both attended the meeting and spoke, educating those in the room who were unaware of the long history of this project and the terms of its legal settlement in 2009. The town attorney was not present.
The selectmen also scheduled a public hearing Feb. 1 to discuss a request from the Thimble Island Ferry District regarding water taxi service to the Thimble Islands. So on that night there will be two hearings, one for the public works building, the other on the ferry.
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