Fairfield To Test All Fields, Parks For Contamination

FAIRFIELD, CT — Another 21 sites will be tested for contamination as Fairfield officials continue working to restore peace of mind after contaminants were uncovered in recent months at areas across town.

The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday unanimously approved a request from the Parks and Recreation Commission to test all parks, fields and playgrounds under the commission's purview. Many such facilities already have either been tested or identified for potential testing in connection with the possible use of contaminated fill material from the public works yard. The fill pile at the yard is the subject of an illegal dumping investigation that resulted in the arrest of two town employees and a former Fairfield contractor.

Commission members requested the additional testing after hearing concerns from the community and discussing the matter, Chair Scott Walker told the board.

"I think it's important we test them to see what we actually have," Selectman Christopher Tymniak said, noting that while he was in favor of the testing, he felt there was no reason to believe the properties were contaminated and did not think the town should pay extra to expedite the tests.

Parks and Recreation Director Anthony Calabrese confirmed that the sites newly requested for testing did not undergo significant renovations or construction during the time when contaminated fill may have been used. The new sites include the Penfield Beach Complex, Sherman Green and many playgrounds and fields.

The town will either go out to bid for the new tests or do the work through consultant Tighe and Bond, which has assisted with previous contamination testing for Fairfield, First Selectman Mike Tetreau said.

During public comment, resident Dana Kery, who is running as a Republican for Representative Town Meeting District 7, called on town officials to work to understand the scope of the problems that led to the contamination by reviewing past emails and interviewing town employees. Resident Bill Hopf speculated that by the time all the testing and remediation is done, Fairfield will be the one town in the state with perfect public sites.

In the past six weeks, 60 fields, playscapes, sidewalks and other sites have been tested, the town announced last week. Of those, 50 locations have been deemed safe, while eight exceeded residential standards for certain contaminants and two are still pending results. The contaminants found include asbestos, arsenic, lead and PCBs.

In addition to the 21 sites approved for testing Wednesday, another 21 locations have previously been named by the town for assessment and possible tests, bringing the total number of sites that have been or may be tested to about 100. Of those locations, some received suspect fill from the public works yard between 2013 and 2016, when Julian Development was operating the facility, while others were tested as a precaution.

Fairfield hired Julian to run its public works yard and reduce the size of a pile of unused project material by 40,000 cubic yards. But during Julian's three-year agreement, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before it was set to end, PCBs and lead were 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 in 2017.

Former director of public works Joe Michelangelo, former superintendent of public works Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were arrested in August and are accused of crimes including larceny, forgery and dumping.

In addition to the criminal case, Fairfield has sued Julian for millions in damages and Julian has sued the town for defamation.

Questions about reputation management firm

Also Wednesday, Tymniak, a Republican, questioned Tetreau, a Democrat, about the town's hiring of a reputation management firm to assist with Fairfield's communications about the contamination controversy.

After Tymniak accused Tetreau of outsourcing town leadership, Tetreau said that G7 Reputation Advisory LLC helped Fairfield put together its contamination webpage and share information with the public. Tetreau, a Democrat, said Tymniak's discussion of the firm was politically motivated and inappropriate.

A management plan from G7 said that the town should "call out those who irresponsibly raised public fears" through surrogates, according to the document, provided by Tymniak.

"There's a fine line here," Selectman Ed Bateson, a Republican, said. "We cannot ignore the politics that are here."

Tymniak asked Tetreau about the cost to retain G7. Tetreau was not immediately able to provide the amount, but said he would make sure Tymniak received the information.

New park sites approved for contamination testing

• Dalewood Park
• Dover Park (baseball field and playground)
• Drew Park
• Grasmere (baseball field and playground)
• Greenfield Hill Green
• Highwood Park (baseball field and playground)
• Hook and Ladder Park (playground)
• Karolyi Park (park bench area)
• Knapps Park Square (playground)
• Lincoln Park (playground)
• Melville Park (two baseball fields and playground)
• Owen Fish Park (two baseball fields and playground)
• Palmers Neck
• Penfield Beach Complex
• Perry's Green (bench areas)
• Pine Creek Park (playground)
• Rugby Park (playground)
• Sgt. Murphy Park (playground)
• Sherman Green (general area)
• Veres Street Park (baseball field and playground)
• Veterans Park (baseball field and playground)

Via Fairfield Parks and Recreation