Tensions High As Selectmen Talk Contamination: 'We Need A Plan'

FAIRFIELD, CT — Tensions ran high at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, where town officials grappled with the fallout about a month after two public works employees and a contractor were arrested in connection with illegal dumping and contaminants were found at a local park.

The discussion began with the board unanimously approving a wide-ranging independent audit of the public works department's finances at a cost of up to $20,000. The Board of Finance requested the audit last month.

Selectmen also Wednesday discussed the status of contamination testing in Fairfield. After asbestos shingles were found in early August at Gould Manor Park, the town named 20 high-priority testing sites. 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. Additional locations will be identified for testing as the town continues to review its records.

First Selectman Mike Tetreau, a Democrat, said that while initial testing is complete for sites found to require remediation, additional tests must be done to determine the extent of the contamination.

"In the online forums, I'm detecting a level of concern," said Selectman Ed Bateson, a Republican, questioning whether enough testing is being done and if the invoices and work tickets being referenced to determine additional testing sites are reliable.

Bateson also suggested it might be appropriate to conduct random sample contamination testing throughout town.

"We need a plan," he said.

The selectmen decided that an internal review to determine what took place at the public works department and how to improve procedures would be conducted with the involvement of the entire board.

Selectmen on Wednesday criticized Tetreau for not identifying misconduct and contamination within the public works department sooner. The selectmen referenced emails about contaminants at Gould Manor Park sent to Tetreau as early as 2014 as well as other matters involving public works and the police, human resources and finance departments.

"The person to connect the dots, I believe, should have been you," Selectman Christopher Tymniak, a Republican, said.

Tetreau said he was not given any updates about the police department's investigation of public works, which began in 2017, and the finance department did not tell him that former public works superintendent Scott Bartlett was misusing credit memos until the issue was resolved.

"The pieces were not there," Tetreau said. "Twenty-20 hindsight, they were not there at that time."

During public comment, Dana Kery, who sent the 2014 emails about contamination at Gould Manor Park, addressed Tetreau.

"I'm really disappointed in how this conversation tonight has gone," said Kery, who is running as a Republican for a seat in Representative Town Meeting District 7. "... This is not transparent and you need to get your game on."

Resident Carolyn Trabuco told the board she sees four problems the town is facing: issues with health, personnel, finances and public trust.

"I would suggest less bickering," she said.

Also Wednesday, the selectmen questioned Human Resources Director Emmet Hibson, who described a draft police warrant that Fairfield police asked him to review in December 2018, more than six months before Bartlett, Director of Public Works Joe Michelangelo and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were charged with crimes including larceny, forgery and dumping. The majority of the crimes are alleged to have occurred during the years Julian was operating the public works yard on Richard White Way. Bartlett was fired from his town job and Michelangelo is on leave.

Hibson said he read the draft, which involved a former town employee, and asked police to follow up on a few items as they related to human resources. Police were later instructed by the state's attorney not to communicate with Hibson further.

"It was nothing related to any contaminants" Hibson said, explaining that in December 2018 the draft was about one former employee and did not pertain to public health or safety to the same extent as the final affidavits for the charges against Bartlett, Michelangelo and Julian.

Selectmen tried repeatedly to ask Hibson about Michelangelo, but were told Hibson would need to notify Michelangelo in advance if he were to be publicly discussed and give him the opportunity to be present. Hibson did say his knowledge of the investigation in 2018 did not involve any current town employees.

"There was nothing to do with the other employee you're mentioning," Hibson said.

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

The Board of Selectmen had also planned Wednesday to question Chief of Police Christopher Lyddy and Town Attorney Stanton Lesser. Lyddy, who was not in attendance, received a letter from the state's attorney's office last month reminding him to "maintain the integrity of the criminal investigation/prosecution, and to prevent undue influence and interference," according to the letter, which was obtained by Patch. The letter also says that "members of the Police Department are being questioned or pressured to undergo inquiry regarding the pending criminal prosecution," and requests the names of anyone asking about the case against Bartlett, Michelangelo and Julian. Lesser was traveling and could not attend the meeting.