Extra $450K Needed For Gould Manor Park Renovation, Officials Say

FAIRFIELD, CT — A massive upgrade to Gould Manor Park is expected to cost $450,000 more than originally budgeted.

The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance voted this week to increase bond authorization for the project, for a total of about $1.4 million.

“This is a large increase,” Selectman Tom Flynn told Chief Administrative Officer Tom Bremer at a meeting Monday. “You’re confident that this is the right number and, like you said, you guys aren’t coming back for more again?”

Bremer offered his assurance.

“We really are coming in at a very reasonable number to do all the things we’d like to do,” he said. “It will be completely remediated and it will be something that we can all stand there and be proud of at the end of the day.”

The remediation is necessary after possible asbestos was reported along the sidewalks at the park, first in 2014, and then in 2019, when police became involved and testing confirmed the presence of asbestos shingles, as well as elevated levels of arsenic and lead in the soil.

The contaminants were tied to the town fill pile, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick has said, soil from which was distributed several years ago to public sites across town. The mismanagement of the pile has been under investigation for years, and seven former town employees and contractors face charges.

Contamination associated with the pile was previously remediated at Gould Manor, but further testing revealed arsenic throughout the park that was separate, historic and required cleanup.

The latest round of remediation at Gould Manor started in August, after town bodies in June approved $950,000 in bonds to fund the effort along with a complete overhaul of the park facilities.

But when contaminated soil and improper construction causing poor drainage was found under one of the infields, the discovery generated $220,000 in additional remediation costs, according to Bremer.

The cleanup is just one element of the full park renovation, which will include improving the Little League fields, rebuilding the tennis court, installing a new pickleball court and a new half-court for basketball, replacing the large playground, and swapping the small playground for an outdoor fitness park.

Big-ticket items set to be added to the park project with the extra funding include $75,000 in bathroom upgrades and $55,000 to replace the chain-link fence that borders Gould Manor. The restroom was scheduled to be redone in five years, according to Bremer, but is now expected to get a facade replacement and new tile and toilets in the coming months.

“It looks pretty beat up,” he said. “It looks really old.”

Kupchick said town employees focused on park remediation when presenting the project in June.

“That’s why we’re coming back,” she said.

Bremer appeared confident the funding request would be his last for the Gould Manor renovation.

“I think now we know everything,” he said.

The $450,000 appropriation still must be approved by the Representative Town Meeting. The project is scheduled to be done in April.