New Bf’d Fire HQ Underway

A management company has been hired for the pre-construction phase of a new fire headquarters that would replace the dilapidated one on North Main Street. The company will also oversee the construction phase if the estimated $10 million project is funded.

The town applied for a federal stimulus grant last spring, and hired an architectural firm to speed up the planning process. However, the federal money never materialized. A second round of federal stimulus grants is now underway, fire department officials said. 

“We still have to operate the fire department,” said Fire Chief Jack Ahern. ​“We can’t operate out of the building anymore,” Ahern said at Wednesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting at the Canoe Brook Senior Center. The 47-year-old building has so many violations it is operating outside the law, the chief told the Eagle in an interview two years ago. The pipes from the boiler are corroded. The building is is not operating up to code, Ahern said back then. 

“I think we need it and it’s time to move ahead,” said Second Selectman Fran Walsh at the meeting. ​“The building is a disaster and I think the firemen have been wonderful not complaining about it, Walsh said.”

Turner Construction of Milford was awarded a $10,000 contract for the pre-construction phase at the Board’s meeting. The motion received unanimous approval after Town Engineer Janice Plaziak and Chief Ahern fielded questions for about an hour.

“We seem to be going on a fast track for the fire house and public works doesn’t have a place to go yet,” said Third Selectman John Opie. He said the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting would have to discuss funding options for the projects ​“I think there’s a lot of discussion left on this.” The RTM previously approved the need for the project but the Board of Finance had deferred major construction projects until the tabor eminent domain case was resolved. The Supreme Court acted last month. 

The Department of Public Works, which is located next to the fire headquarters, would have to be moved to a temporary location so the new fire house could be built on that site. First Selectman Unk DaRos suggested last May that public works be moved to an available warehouse or garage. He said he had contacted several and the move for Public Works would be an easy one. He did not rule out then that someday the public works building might be built on the town-owned Tabor property. When the new fire house facility is complete, the current headquarters would be torn down and the space would be used for parking.

Plaziak reiterated what DaRos has said in the past, that there are several lease properties that would be appropriate for public works until a new structure can be built.

The town planned to construct a public works center on the Tabor property, but those plans were put on hold pending the outcome of the eminent domain case before the State Supreme Court. Last month the Supreme Court reversed a $12.4 million judgment against the town stemming from the eminent domain taking of the 77-acre property.

In a separate action, the town will soon pay the property’s owners $5.2 million for the land, the judge’s original finding, plus interest. About ten days ago the town also asked the high court to clarify what it meant when it said the town’s leaders acted dishonestly when they seized the land in 2003-04. 

At the meeting Plaziak said ​“We’ve been working on this project for many years. We have an opportunity now,” regardless of what happens with the Tabor property.

“I’d feel much more comfortable if we were moving public works to a new lot,” Opie said, as he asked additional questions about how the company was selected.

Plaziak explained that 14 companies applied for the job and were screened by the building committee before four were chosen for interviews. Turner was selected as the front runner by the Fire Commission and the building committee.

The construction manager would review the design development plans from the architects, and complete the pre-construction documents. If the project moves ahead, Turner will prepare bid specifications for subcontractors. ​“They will be able to give us a guaranteed maximum price,” Plaziak said.

Peter Black, a Republican member of the RTM, said he thought the architectural firm that was hired for $425,000 last year would complete the pre-construction documents and the town would be ready to bid. ​“I feel very misled from where we were when we voted on the architect,” he said.

“We have made progress. We have a full set of design development documents,” Plaziak told Black. She said they never intended for the architects to complete the pre-construction documents, because that is something a construction manager would do.

She said using the same manager throughout the project will enable the town to ​“get the best bang for our buck” and provide continuity through all phases of construction.

“Certainly the intention is to proceed with them through the project, should we proceed,” Plaziak said. She estimated fees for a construction manager for the complete building project would be about $1 million.

“They should go no further (in the planning process) without a construction manager,” said First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos. ​“We do need a fire house.”

“I would not be thrilled about switching construction managers during the project. I think putting them on now, you’re going to have a more connected project and have less problems,” Opie eventually concluded.

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