By Sarah Opdahl

At their Tuesday, September 12 meeting, New Fairfield’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) learned that the elementary school playground continues to have issues. Over Labor Day weekend, the installers replaced the surface below a piece of equipment called “the high tower” that had failed. However, the surface below the tower failed inspection and the inspector had issues with the surface at the “fireman’s pole.” Colliers International’s Mr. Mark Schweitzer said, “we are currently working with the design team and the school and the Board of Ed to figure out what our next step will be.” In addition to questions about the play surface, the inspector identified multiple potential tripping hazards.

PBC member Mr. Nick Ciminello said of the playground, “it’s hard to believe that we have more failures.” When asked, Schweitzer noted,  there are areas of the playground that are out of use, with areas such as the tower and fireman’s pole, closed off. Ciminello pointed out that the playground’s surface will now be a series of patches, compromising the longevity. It was also noted that the joins in patches are not up to par. “At some point, do we insist that they pull up the whole surface and start fresh, because last thing I want is for joints to start peeling apart two three years from now and you know, this is their own doing that we’re having these issues, as a result we’re gonna end up with a sub-substandard service. At some point we have to say, enough of the patchwork and we just have got to start fresh.” There was an ensuing discussion about the warranty and how best to proceed—the PBC’s contract with the manufacturer will be researched for damages possibilities.

The PBC heard an update from Town Engineer Mr. Tony Iadarola, who has personally overseen the planning for the Town Beach facility rebuild. He was happy to show the Committee the design plans, however, he was dismayed to share that small projects present some of the “biggest challenges.” While he was originally hoping to bypass Zoning and public hearings, he explained that they are indeed needed. The project is being funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies.

Iadarola walked the group through drawings that are needed “to get us through the permit process, which is pretty extensive.” The drawings illustrate the existing building and plans for the new one. Nonconformity runs rampant in the existing building, from accessibility issues to 440 line infringement. The new building, which needs to be built on the same footprint, will include a lift, a large community room to seat up to thirty people, a security checkpoint, and changing stalls. There will also be a new concession stand, a kitchenette, a medical office, and custodial and maintenance rooms. “We also plan on having a drinking fountain which is required by code,” Iadarola said, clarifying that it will have a bottle fill component.

The plans for outside the Beach House feature higher elevations, with the roof level approximately six feet higher than the current level and a large wrapped deck with stairs down to the beach. The entire structure will be supported on piers. The exterior of the building plans include an asphalt shingle roof and a gray cedar shingle-like vinyl siding with white trim.

“The entire push right now is for us to make our way to the Zoning Board of Appeals,” Iadarola said, “we have several variances that we have to secure.”  While variances were granted to the original building, they would need to be transferred to the new design, “we don’t anticipate a big challenge here but, as you know, anything can happen,” he said. In an extreme time crunch, the Zoning meeting is on October 19, “As soon as that happens, simultaneously, I’m going to be making an application to our wetlands commission,” Iadarola explained. The wetlands piece is critical because it is needed for demolition. The Town’s attorney also explained to Iadarola that a special permit is needed, which he was hoping would not be the case. He detailed the timeline: they would have to submit the plans and application for an October meeting, at which Zoning would accept the application. At their November meeting, they would schedule the public hearing, the prospective public hearing date would be in early December. “If everything goes well, and they can close the meeting that night, they can either choose to vote that evening on the applica tion, or if there are so many public comments that they need to deliberate, those will actually push us into the January 2024 agenda. That pretty much will not allow us to build this building and make it usable for the 2024 beach season.”

There was a brief update on a potential Consolidated demolition, for which the design teams are now pushing to finalize a bid package. They had “kind of held off to see if the appeal and the court system would work for us,” Schweitzer said, but the bus lot litigation continues and the pricing is currently favorable. Demolition is ongoing at the former high school, with the crew reportedly, “a little bit behind right now. So, we are trying to see what we can do to speed them up.”

The next Permanent Building Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, September 26, 7:30 p.m.