By Sarah Opdahl

At the Tuesday, February 10 New Fairfield Permanent Building Committee (PBC) meeting, members discussed changes to the 302 Ball Pond Road proposed bus lot project. In preparation for an upcoming New Fairfield Zoning Commission meeting, at which they will seek approval for the lot’s site plan, there were a handful of changes to incorporate that derived from input by Town Engineer Mr. Tony Iadarola.

Mr. Anthony Gordon of Langan Engineering explained that he went through the drawing set with both Iadarola and Zoning Enforcement Officer Mr. Evan White. He said most comments were straightforward, “tweaks to the plans to make a sign here, some pavement markings there, addressing septic design, and more standard stuff.” However, there were two major changes Iadarola requested.

The first impacts the  general circulation of the bus lot. Originally, in this round of revisions, “we were going in with a two-way entrance and exit out to Ball Pond Road and a one way out to Gillotti Road,” Gordon shared, however, “After reviewing with Tony, the conclusion we reached is that the two-way out to Ball Pond Road is not really a good idea.” The reasoning was described to be not only neighbor-impact related, but also in light of “additional engineering challenges” that would need to be met involving the steep grade and a slight line deficiency. Brush removal close to existing wetlands furthered the concern. There was a discussion among PBC members regarding whether to push back on this request, with some reservation about whether the change request was leaning toward being too conservative. Gordon responded by plainly stating, “Tony voiced his concerns. We can certainly propose challenging it, but I think what we are really looking for at this point is Tony’s letter of approval with our design, so that hopefully at the next meeting, we can just get through without issue.”

“The other big topic of conversation was related to our impervious areas on site. We had a conversation about how we are classifying the effective impervious surface and, within our zone, we are allowed on site up to a 10% maximum effective impervious surface. After conversing with Tony and Evan, and better clarifying the requirements with Tony, it appears we will need some sort of stormwater detention system or rain garden network in order to treat some stormwater from the impervious surfaces on site,” Gordon detailed. He also noted, if they can treat the stormwater through one of those two design elements, they would be able to classify that as treated for the effective impervious calculation. Gordon will work closely with Iadarola on sizing for the system. There was a discussion about whether a pervious, or permable, pavement might be a less expensive approach than a detention basin, though it would increase the maintenance that is needed as there are “a lot of situations where, within a year of installing pervious pavement, it gets filled with sediment and stops performing as it should. Tony did mention that as a possibility, but he did prefer a few chambers or a rain garden instead,” Gordon said. In the end, it was agreed that cost will impact a final decision. In addition, there was a discussion about whether to place  the mechanical room between the bathrooms in the bus dispatch building, which was deemed to be possible. 

There was an update on the elementary school’s leaking firetanks, which has continued to be a frequent topic of conversation for the PBC in recent months. While the installers and O&G believe they have solved the mystery of where the leak is located—a PVC pipe between two of the tanks at the center tank—a solution for how best to fix it is still being considered.

A brief update on the lengthy propane failure and related costs at the high school was given by Colliers International’s Mr. Mark Scheitzer. He explained that meetings are occurring with the town’s attorney. He reminded members that the timeline included a letter to O&G being sent following the propane failure report in September, O&G’s response in November, and the current period of extensive legal work that has followed.

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