By Sarah Opdahl

At their meeting on Tuesday, March 10, New Fairfield’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) had a lengthy bus lot discussion. The proposed bus lot at 302 Ball Pond Road is in the late stages of the approval process, and there are hopes for work to begin on the lot in the coming months. Town Engineer Mr. Tony Iadarola had “significant comments,” Chair Mr. Don Kellogg noted, which needed to be addressed before continuing with the Zoning Commission. Langan Engineering has worked closely with him to modify the designs, and Iadarola was reviewing a third round of changes in the week of this meeting.

Kellogg noted that a special Zoning Commission meeting was planned for the week of March 23rd. To prepare for the meeting, members walked through the design plan comments to determine whether they were in agreement about the recommendations. They discussed the plan to opt for wheeled fence/swing gates over pocket gates. Members conversed about the logic behind offering an outdoor hose bib that’s outfitted with hot water, which was a request from the bus company. There was a question about whether the small hot water tank that’s planned for the building can handle the demand. PBC members agreed on plans for air conditioning and other fan and exhaust units in the bus lot dispatch building. Another discussion was had regarding whether to add a window and or a door,  which turned into a conversation about instead offering a bigger window or a double window; right now there is only a single window and a single door planned.

In an update on renovations to the Town Library, PBC members approved a purchase order for an HVAC survey and inspection by Vitec Services Incorporated. Member Mr. Mike Del Monaco explained that consultants will “measure air and water flows for all the HVAC systems in the library, particularly being interested in the fresh air flow rates, but they will also note anything that is not functioning properly.” When all measurements are complete, the consultants will present their report and next steps would then be to go to an engineering firm for either design improvements or another study.

Colliers International’s Mr. Mark Schweitzer explained that an invoice was recently submitted for work that was completed on the high school last summer by Lockheed. The company installed an “operable window up on the third floor for maintenance [to have] access to the roof.” He also gave an update on the ongoing legal issues surrounding the high school’s propane and elementary school’s playground failures. “We did meet with the town attorney last week,” Schweitzer said, “and we are gathering information…so we can see what the next steps forward are.” There was a brief discussion about welded versus seamless pipe and whether the materials that were specified were installed.

The next regular New Fairfield Permanent Building Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 7:30 p.m.