Diana Stricker Photo
The Public Works Building Committee (pictured above) has unveiled details of the seven properties under consideration for a new facility. Two are town-owned parcels; five are privately-owned sites ranging in price from $350,000 to $9.5 million.
Fourteen people attended the committee’s public-input session at Canoe Brook Tuesday. About half of them offered comments or asked questions.
Prior to the start of the meeting, committee member James Perito joked about a possible reason for the low turnout. “They have great faith in the committee,” he said.
The former public works building was demolished in March to make way for construction of the new fire headquarters. The fire department and public works shared a site at 45 N. Main St. for years, and the new headquarters could not be built until public works moved to another location. Since then, the garage has been housed in a leased facility on Route 139 while the committee searches for a permanent site. The town allocated $600,000 to cover the cost of moving plus renting for three years.
Kurt Treiber, who chairs the committee, said only two town-owned properties could be considered. One is the 77-acre Tabor Drive site, which the town seized by eminent domain in 2003 because of proximity to a contaminated dump. That action sparked a series of contentious lawsuits, one of which is still ongoing.
The other town-owned property is the Veterans Park parcel, which is also home to a playground and recreational sports fields.
Treiber said the committee received five responses after advertising for commercial property and talking with commercial real estate agents.
“We had hoped for more, but this is all we got,” Perito said in regard to the number of parcels. He said property owners could contact the committee about additional parcels, but the “clock is ticking away.”
The next step is hiring a consultant to analyze the parcels and determine feasibility and cost estimates.
Public Works Director Art Baker said he anticipates a consultant will be hired within two weeks and that a report will be complete in two or three months.
“All these sites will have their limitations along with their advantages,” Baker said. Buildings on some of the proposed sites could be used, but he said others would have to be torn down.
Frank Twohill, the Republican minority leader of the Representative Town Meeting, spoke against using the town’s Tabor property. He speculated there could be problems if there were any health hazards on the site. “We have to rule Tabor out…if anybody worked down there and got sick, they would sue the town,” Twohill said.
In 2008, First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos proposed building a two-story public works facility on six acres of the Tabor property.
DaRos, who was not at Tuesday’s committee meeting, later told the Eagle that he does not favor any particular site at this time. He said he is confident that the committee will make the right choices. “I’ll support their decision, whatever it is,” DaRos said.
In regard to Twohill’s concerns, DaRos said he would never advocate building on any property if there were health concerns.
Twohill said he did not like any of the proposed sites. “I’d like to see this new facility placed right in the middle of town…so every place they have to maintain would be equidistant,” Twohill said. He suggested a location on Route 1 that is near the Clancy Funeral Home, that Costco once considered as a possible site years ago. That plan was never approved.
Stephanie Dorman, a realtor for Remax Alliance, spoke up in regard to another property along Tabor Drive which is one of the seven under consideration. “It is a separate entity,” she said in regard to the 14-acre property. “I just don’t want it to be tied to the (town-owned) property.”
One man spoke in support of using the town-owned Tabor property, saying it would save the cost of purchasing land. But concerns about access roads to the Tabor land could be a problem, some said at the meeting.
The privately-held parcels are:
• 15-21 East Industrial Road; owned by N&B Holding LLC, 5.28 acres with one building, asking price of $9.5 million.
• Tabor Drive, represented by Remax Alliance, 14.5 acres, no buildings, $350,000. According to town records, the property is owned by Henry Zuwalick.
• 114 School Ground Road, H. Pearce Commercial Real Estate, 3.84 acres with one building, $1.9 million. Jarvis Creek Truck Sales is listed as the owner on town records.
• 20 NE Industrial Road, represented by OR&L, 5.1 acres with two buildings, $1.25 million. Quality Carriers Inc. is listed as the owner on town records.
• 688 E. Main St. and Baldwin Drive, Parish Farm Partners; 5.3 acres for $1.18 million or 5.9 acres for $1.32 million, with no buildings. Dan Cosgrove is a principal in Parish Farm Partners. This site is located near the transfer station.
When asked which parcel the committee prefers, Baker said, “I think it’s a little too early in the process to go out on a limb.” He said additional information will be available after the consultant looks at the properties. Once the list is whittled down, the recommendations will go to the Board of Finance, the Selectmen, and the RTM.
Baker said anyone wishing to make comments or ask questions may contact him through e-mail. His address is listed on the town Web site.
The committee meetings, which are open to the public, are also listed on the town’s Web site. The next session is May 31.
Efforts to build a new fire headquarters and public works building began several years ago and became mired in political battles.
Some of the problems can be traced back to June 2009, when the Public Services and Ways and Means joint committees and the RTM voted unanimously to proceed with the design phase for the fire house. But the committees voted 6-2 to not authorize design of the public works facility. So plans were drawn up for the fire headquarters but not for public works.
During the past summer when it was time to vote on fire department construction, Republican members of the RTM and a few Democrats said in committee that they were unwilling to move ahead with construction until plans were firmed up for public works.
Eventually, approval was given for construction plans for the fire department and to appropriate money to move public works to a lease facility for up to three years.
Groundbreaking for the fire headquarters was held in April.
Former public works director Edward Masotta, who was not in favor of moving to temporary headquarters, announced his retirement in November and left the job in December.
Baker, former head of public works in Monroe, took the director’s position in January, just in time to deal with one of the snowiest winters in history and to move the public works project forward.
###
