RIDGEFIELD, CT — Ridgefield's Public Safety Facilities Committee agreed Sept. 30 to move forward with additional response-time analysis while architects develop four concepts for the town's police and fire facilities, including a combined facility on Danbury Road and alternatives involving the existing police station and the Old Quarry Road property.
The committee also elected new officers, naming Steve Scalzo chairman, Adam Safir vice chairman and Ed Tyrell secretary. Safir was present but could not vote because he had not yet been sworn in. No opposition was recorded to any of the officer selections.
Much of the meeting focused on work Kaestle Boos Associates is undertaking as the committee revisits its public safety facilities recommendation. The town describes the committee's role as evaluating and recommending a path for the long-term facility needs of Ridgefield's fire, police, EMS, volunteer fire and central dispatch departments.
KBA Principal Todd Costa said the architectural firm has four teams working simultaneously on four concepts because of the project's schedule. The concepts are a combined police and fire facility involving 217 Danbury Road and 221 Danbury Road; a fire-only facility at 217 Danbury Road; an addition and renovation of the Police Department at 76 East Ridge Road; and a new police station at 36 Old Quarry Road.
Related: Ridgefield Public Safety Committee Begins New Review Of Police, Fire Facility Options
Committee members described the combined Danbury Road proposal — previously referred to as Option D — as their primary concept, with the other configurations providing alternatives if that proposal proves unworkable. Costa said KBA understood that the Danbury Road concept was the committee's preferred option but had also been asked to develop alternatives.
Costa said KBA expected to have more developed information in about a week and a half, including analysis of whether rotating the proposed combined building on the Danbury Road site would work better. The firm's teams are simultaneously updating police and fire space programs and determining how they would fit the various sites.
Associate Principal Sean Schmigle said KBA expected the four alternatives to become sufficiently defined over the following two weeks to prepare conceptual site and floor plans and begin obtaining agreement on the programs from the police and fire chiefs.
The level of work to be performed on the alternatives remains subject to clarification. Members differed over how deeply KBA should develop each option under the Board of Selectpersons' draft charge. Scalzo said he would contact First Selectperson Rudy Marconi to clarify the board's expectations. Public Works and Facilities Director Jake Muller said the Board of Selectpersons still had the draft charge and was expected to discuss and finalize it.
The committee reached unanimous consent to obtain updated emergency response-time analysis for the Danbury Road site, with a cost of up to $2,500 discussed before the consent was taken.
Tyrell initially proposed obtaining response times from 217 and 221 Danbury Road so they could be compared with previously studied locations. Muller said the town already had five years of call data analyzed from the existing fire headquarters and from the Old Quarry Road site, meaning a consultant could rerun the existing data for a different location.
After a procedural concern was raised about taking a formal vote at the special meeting, Scalzo instead asked for unanimous consent to proceed with the consultant. No objection was recorded.
Muller cautioned that the response-time study addresses travel from a location and not the internal "turnout time" required for emergency personnel to leave a station. Building design could affect that component, he said.
Committee members also spent considerable time discussing whether subsurface conditions could affect the feasibility of the Danbury Road proposal.
Costa said KBA first wants to refine the building footprint so testing can be concentrated where the structure would actually sit rather than conducting borings across the property. Traditional drilling contractors are running about eight weeks out, he said, while a geotechnical engineer could observe test pits much sooner.
Muller later said the town intends to use the same geotechnical engineer involved previously and conduct test pits rather than traditional soil borings at this stage. The test pits would be positioned based on the proposed building location, and the engineer could be available with several days' notice once the site plan is sufficiently developed.
A pre-application meeting with the Inland Wetlands Board has not yet been scheduled. Muller said more detailed site information would be needed before such a meeting would be useful.
Committee member David Brickley said the working space assumptions from earlier planning were approximately 24,500 square feet for a stand-alone police station, 26,500 square feet for a fire station and 48,000 square feet for a combined facility. Those figures remain subject to refinement by KBA and the departments.
The committee also plans to coordinate with Nasco Construction Services Inc. on updated cost estimates. Brickley said that work would need to account for costs beyond the basic construction estimate, including furniture, fixtures and equipment, outside consultants and an owner's representative.
KBA representatives said an earlier schedule had contemplated completing work for a Nov. 4 Board of Selectpersons meeting, but acknowledged that timetable was developed several weeks earlier and would need to be updated. The firm agreed to provide a more detailed schedule with milestones.
See Also: Ridgefield P&Z Approves Railroad Safety Work, Boehringer Storage Structure
Committee members said they intend to meet about every two weeks, with additional meetings possible if needed. The next session is expected to include KBA's preliminary work, updates on pricing, site work and response times, with the police and fire chiefs expected to participate.
The committee also plans a public feedback meeting once the alternatives have been developed enough to present and compare. Members discussed preparing a short set of criteria residents could use to compare the options, including such issues as cost, parking and response times. No date was set.
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