Julian Will No Longer Be Town's Landlord Under School Board Plan

FAIRFIELD, CT — Officials hope that by the end of this year Fairfield's school district will no longer be leasing space from a business embroiled in a legal battle with the town.

The school system's maintenance department operates out of a facility at 418 Meadow St., which is owned by Julian Enterprises and serves as the company's corporate headquarters. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Monday to support the department's move to a new space at 3400 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport after the selectmen chose this summer not to renew the Meadow Street lease.

"There was a situation we wanted to get out of and I'm happy that you accommodated us," Selectman Ed Bateson, a Republican, told school district officials.

Since the Meadow Street lease expired at the end of June, the maintenance department has remained in the space on a month-to-month agreement for twice the previous rent, according to a memo from district Executive Director of Operations Angelus Papageorge. The Fairfield Avenue location will cost the district $12.42 per square foot, compared to $15.56 per square foot under the district's previous 10-year lease with Julian. The new location is also 6,700 square feet larger than the Meadow Street space, meaning it will cost about $56,000 more per year than the Julian property. The Fairfield Avenue lease is for 10 years with a 2 percent annual increase and the option to renew for an additional 10 years, according to Town Attorney Stanton Lesser.

Moving to a bigger location will allow the school district to house its maintenance and transportation departments and central storage facility in one place, according to the memo. Relocating the transportation department and district storage to the same space as maintenance will save the school system about $161,000 in upgrades to the transportation facility on Richard White Way, as well as $1,400 per month in storage fees.

The school system anticipates moving costs will be about $142,000, according to the memo, which says the district intends to ask the town to pay for the expenses. The district plans to start preparing for the move Nov. 1 and begin renting the facility Dec. 1, assuming the Representative Town Meeting approves the arrangement at its Oct. 28 meeting.

"Long term, this is a great decision," school board Vice Chair Nick Aysseh told selectmen Monday.

During public comment, two residents spoke against the Fairfield Avenue plan, questioning whether the school district could spend less on the move by using town resources and keeping the department in Fairfield, rather than moving to Bridgeport.

Papageorge responded that the district looked at all town assets as well as commercial properties in Fairfield, saying the town's public works facilities are "bursting at the seams."

School board Chair Christine Vitale urged the selectmen to support the district's proposal.

"This enables us to bring all of our transportation, our maintenance, our storage, in one facility," she said.

Fairfield's trouble with Julian started after the town hired Julian Development in 2013 to operate its public works yard and reduce the size of a pile of unused project material by 40,000 cubic yards. Over the next three years, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the agreement 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.

Fairfield has sued Julian for millions in damages and Julian has sued the town for defamation.

Former director of public works Joe Michelangelo, former superintendent of public works Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were arrested this summer in connection with the pile and face charges including larceny, forgery and dumping.

Since then, at least 60 areas in Fairfield have been tested for contamination amid concerns about misuse of town fill. At least 50 areas have been deemed safe, but sites that tested positive for contamination were found to contain asbestos, arsenic and other contaminants. Tests are possible or pending for more than 40 additional locations.