Park Commission Wants All Town Fields Tested For Contamination

FAIRFIELD, CT — Nearly a month after news first surfaced about a Fairfield park being evaluated for contamination, the Parks and Recreation Commission discussed the testing of locations all over town that followed the initial probe and affirmed a desire to see many more recreation sites tested.

The commission held a special meeting Wednesday to talk about contamination testing, which is being done in connection with an investigation of illegal dumping at the town public works yard and the company hired to run the facility. The meeting to assess the condition of town fields was set when the commission met Aug. 21 and was scheduled in order to allow the group to check in on the sites before requesting the Board of Selectmen require all town parks, fields and playgrounds be tested for contamination.

Twenty high-priority testing locations were named last month. Of those, 10 have been confirmed to contain contaminants such as arsenic, asbestos, lead and PCBs. All the locations on the priority list received material from the public works yard between 2013 and 2016, when Julian Development was operating the facility. The town is working with a consultant and state officials to remediate the contaminated sites.

Since the list was released, school officials have decided to close and test all fields and playscapes in the district. The school system's testing of sites not on the town priority list began last week, and results are expected this week and next week.

So far, 25 recreational facilities in town have undergone or are undergoing some testing, according to parks department documents, while 23 sites have not been tested. Parks and Recreation Director Anthony Calabrese will appear before the Board of Selectmen to request the additional testing.

At Wednesday's meeting, commission member Bridget McBride asked Calabrese about the status of the remediation planning.

Remediation plans have not yet been put in place for the contaminated sites, Calabrese said, because the involved parties are working on testing. Areas that need to be remediated have been covered with black tarp.

McBride also asked how long it will take to remediate the sites.

"It could be anywhere from a few hours to a full-scale renovation of the field," Calabrese said, adding that no sites have been found to require a full renovation so far.

During public comment Wednesday, a community member asked how the remediation would be funded. Calabrese said the money will come out of town funds but confirmed Fairfield is suing Julian for the cost.

Fairfield hired Julian in 2013 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 agreement, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the agreement 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, former superintendent of public works Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were arrested last 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 was operating the yard on Richard White Way. Bartlett was recently fired from his town job and Michelangelo was placed on leave.

For more information about town test results, visit www.fairfieldct.org/filluseissues. For updates on school district testing, go to fpsct.net/fields.