Questions Of Transparency Arise In Fairfield As $450K For Gould Manor Approved

FAIRFIELD, CT — Nearly a half-million dollars in additional funding for the Gould Manor Park renovation was approved this week, but not before Representative Town Meeting members questioned whether Fairfield leaders were transparent about the project or deviated from town policy.

“This process has been an atrocity,” Democratic Caucus Leader Liz Zezima said. “This is unacceptable and we should never see anything like this come before us again.”

The body approved $950,000 in bonds for park improvements about six months ago, but the discovery of historical contamination under one of the park’s infields yielded $220,000 in new costs. Bathroom upgrades and a fence replacement were among other additions to the project that were included in the $450,000 bond authorization.

Town meeting members expressed concern that they were not informed of the added expenses at the time of the initial funding approval. Others questioned why Fairfield didn’t seek multiple bids for a remediation vendor and if the decision to give the work directly to contractor Cisco aligned with town policy.

“We’re not following process here,” said Sharon Pistilli, D-3, citing a Board of Finance document that states transactions over $15,000 must be bid, barring certain exceptions.

Chief Administrative Officer Tom Bremer said Cisco’s agreement with the town wasn’t limited to a specific site.

There was also some uncertainty at Monday’s meeting about if the town bid out the additional projects included in the $450,000, such as fencing, although officials were adamant they did.

“I have been, I believe, one of the most transparent first selectpeople that have ever served in this office,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said. “This was a mammoth project, there were a few tweaks and issues because the field was not built properly and we are trying to fix it.”

Remediation costs have already been incurred, as have expenses related to the park’s pickleball, tennis and basketball courts, irrigation at the facility, and a new scoreboard, all of which fell under the requested $450,000.

An amendment to cut $85,000 for the scoreboard and bathroom failed. However, an amendment to postpone the vote to approve the funding until the body’s next meeting in late January to allow its members to gather more information passed by a single vote. The move had the potential to delay the start of the spring sports season at the park, including baseball, according to Director of Parks and Recreation Anthony Calabrese.

“Our community has been very frustrated that this park has been closed for so long,” Kupchick said. “We were really trying very hard to ensure that this park would be open by the springtime.”

The park became a hot topic in town after possible asbestos was reported along its sidewalks, 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.

The contaminants were tied to the town fill pile, 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.

“This district, our district, always get the short shaft and we’ve been waiting for this park to be remediated for an extremely long time,” said Hannah Gale, R-6.

The town meeting voted to reconsider the delay, and the motion to postpone was eventually withdrawn.

“I would like to see this completed and I hope that we are able to do that tonight and not punt this,” said Republican Caucus Leader Pamela Iacono, noting she felt the body’s discussion had featured “a lot of political ping-pong balling.”

In the end, the funding was approved, 27-5, with seven abstentions. The $1.4 million project is scheduled to be done in April.