Fairfield School, Park Sites Closed Amid Contamination Concerns

FAIRFIELD, CT — Almost all of the 20 sites in Fairfield designated as high priorities for contamination testing are closed until the results come in, park and school officials announced Wednesday. The testing is being done in connection with an investigation of contaminated fill at the town public works yard and Julian Development, the company contracted to run the facility.

The closures come the day after test results were announced confirming the presence of elevated arsenic and lead levels at Gould Manor Park, where asbestos shingles were discovered earlier in the month along a stretch of sidewalk. Gould Manor Park was tested after Fairfield police and the state's attorney requested that the site be evaluated due to concerns that contaminated fill from the public works yard was used for a 2013-14 sidewalk project. The affected area will be cordoned off, the town announced Tuesday, and officials are working with a specialist to determine a remediation plan.

"The fact that that stuff came back contaminated ... I think it's just prudent to close the sites until we get the test results back," Director of Parks and Recreation Anthony Calabrese said Wednesday.

The closed park locations include the Burroughs, Dougiello, Oldfield, South Pine Creek, Sullivan, Town Hall and Lower Tunxis Hill fields, according to an announcement from the Parks and Recreation Department.

Fairfield Public Schools announced that not only the sites on the priority test list, but all school fields would be tested, although the school year will begin as scheduled Aug. 29.

"In the interest of student and staff safety, now is the time to ensure that all fields are safe to use," Superintendent Mike Cummings said in an email posted on the school district website. "Our field tests will mirror those being conducted by the town and will be done by the same consultant."

All school fields will remain closed until the test results are in, Cummings said Wednesday.

Playgrounds will remain open for recess, according to the email.

Park staff are contacting groups that had planned to use the closed fields in the next two weeks, Calabrese said. Those groups will be moved to unaffected facilities if possible, or events will be postponed. The test results will determine how long the fields are closed, he said.

Jennings Beach, Lake Mohegan and the Old Dam Road tennis courts are the only priority testing sites expected to remain open until the results come in, according to Calabrese.

All the priority testing sites received material from the public works yard between 2013 and 2016, when Julian Development was operating the facility. Additional locations will be identified for testing as the town continues to review public works records.

Fairfield hired Julian Development to run its public works yard and reduce the size of a pile of leftover project material on the property from 40,000 cubic yards. Over the course of Julian's three-year contract, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the contract was set to end, contamination was discovered on the property. After conservation officials said the transportation and dumping of contaminated material could have violated state or federal law, police opened an investigation.

Director of Public Works Joe Michelangelo, Superintendent of Public Works Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were arrested earlier this month and are accused of crimes including larceny, forgery and dumping. The majority of the crimes are alleged to have occurred during the years Julian Development was under contract to operate the yard on Richard White Way. Both Michelangelo and Bartlett were recently placed on leave from their town jobs.

In addition to the criminal case, Fairfield has sued Julian for about $3 million in costs associated with the yard and Julian has sued the town for defamation.