By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield Board of Finance’s Capital Improvement Subcommittee held the second of multiple investigatory meetings to gain an understanding of municipal property needs. Following an in-depth look at the school building priorities—which understandably focused on New Fairfield Middle School—this meeting centered on a variety of Town facilities. The group worked through potential projects at the Town Hall, Senior Center, firehouses, and more with guests from New Fairfield’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) in attendance .

PBC members Mr. Don Kellog g, who Chairs the committee, and Ms. Maureen Clegg recently completed a thorough report on the status of all Town buildings and were happy to review their findings. Kellogg said, “it had been a little while since we had completed an inspection, so we went through and noted everything, the biggest critical items and…pretty much everything in Town needs something.” Capital Improvement Chair Ms. Cheryl Reedy explained that the hope is to avoid kicking the can down the road and also to carefully invest in and plan for improvements. The group is most interested in projects that “need to be addressed and looked at…what do we need to do immediately so that we do not have issues where we are going to have to throw good money after bad or…are just going to have to come up with a boatload of money.”

With American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds tapped to cover some work, Kellogg pointed to the biggest items that are needed including a study for, and the work needed to fix, a gravity retaining wall behind the Town Hall and a foundation crack in the building itself. At the library, the egress stairs are a concern. The communication tower needs its structure inspected and likely repaired and it was noted that costs will be handled in a split with the carriers on the tower.

Other larger expenses that need to be incurred are extensive roof repair and deck replacement at Squantz Firehouse and a possible upgrade to the interior vestibule doors at the Senior Center to make them accessible. Aging furnaces in the Public Works Department need to be considered for eventual replacement. Those in attendance talked about the wisdom of possibly using waste-oil furnaces in the space for increased cost effectiveness. That department is also looking to add more covered storage for equipment and vehicles to lengthen the life of Town property.

Smaller items to pursue often fall under maintenance, rather than capital projects, but they are listed in the findings as well and include the need to install two additional gutter leaders and replacing shutters at the Town Hall. The police department’s dispatch center has small ceiling leaks in need of repair and the Ball Pond Firehouse has a large crack in the ceiling abov e the boat bay, which needs repair and monitoring. Reedy and First Selectman Ms. Melissa Lindsey discussed how best to differentiate between the project types and to help prioritize the maintenance projects among Town staff.

There was a brief discussion on the Town Beach House, which is being rebuilt with ARPA funds. The concession stand is not included in the project, but will be part of the demolition, so it was noted, “We are kind of keeping it as grandfathered space. We are going to put a new building there later,” and there may be a gazebo on the footprint for the interim. The topic of the bathroom maintenance at Rebels Stadium and which Town entity should be responsible for that building was also touched upon. It was noted that the Town may outsource for the maintenance.

Kellogg explained that no comprehensive log exists for when major systems were replaced and/or serviced in Town and he plans to work closely with Buildings and Grounds Director Mr. Lloyd Decker to create and maintain a list going forward.