The Emergency Medical Services Planning and Building Committee will pay a Greenwich-based architect to design the new Easton Emergency Management Service building, effectively ensuring after decades of waiting that a new headquarters will be built.
The building committee on June 18 gave the go ahead to pay Alloy Design Studio of Greenwich $188,000 to lead the design and site development of the new building after hearing from an environmental specialist that no major remediation is needed on the building site.
“We were really excited to hear the determination that we don’t have to remediate the site,” said EMS Captain Jonathon Arnold. “This allows us to move forward with the purchase of the property and contract with the architect.”
Christopher Buck, an environmental specialist with Sovereign Consulting, was hired by the town to examine 444 and 448 Sport Hill Road, the current home of EMS, for possible groundwater and soil contamination. The town is purchasing a vacant piece of land at 444 Sport Hill Road for $160,000 to expand EMS’s septic system. The land is currently used primarily for overflow parking for the EMS building.
The seller of 444 Sport Hill Road had the land tested last year by Big East Environmental, and the results found it wasn’t contaminated. But the town hired Sovereign Consulting to conduct a second test when concerns were raised about contaminants on the site.
Buck stated during a May 28 public hearing that his testing results found that the contaminants (mostly petroleum-based) on the properties are not outside of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s standards, and the site will not require major remediation. Buck’s Phase 11 report can be found here.
Buck’s testing found contaminants of an oil and grease concentration (hydrocarbons) in the ground water near the sump pump in the EMS building basement. Buck said the hydrocarbons are likely left over from the removal of a 1,000-gallon oil tank on the east side of the building following a 2012 spill that was reported to DEEP. More than 275 tons of polluted soil was excavated and removed from the site.
The site was remediated and the petroleum hydrocarbons in the area were below applicable regulatory criteria, and no further action was recommended, according to the report. Buck said residual hydrocarbons in the groundwater from the 2012 release could account for their current presence in the sump water, so he will file a Significant Environmental Hazard with DEEP. The area housing the sump pump in the EMS building will remain undisturbed and intact throughout the construction project. It will be safely paved over with concrete, eliminating any risk, said Arnold.
The Phase 11 testing results of the properties clear a hurdle for the town to proceed with its purchase of 444 Sport Hill Road. A clause in the $160,000 purchase agreement allows the town to back out of the deal if serious contamination was discovered at the site and remediation was needed. The building plan is winding its way through town land use boards. The Conservation Commission on July 9 approved plans to install a new septic system, relocate drainage, and grade and reconstruct the parking lot. The plan will also go before the Planning and Zoning Commission .
First Selectman David Bindelglass said Buck’s preliminary findings and final report mean that no further testing needs to be done on the land the town is purchasing and the EMS building.
“The second study didn’t change our intent to buy the land nor did it change any of the plans for what we are proposing for the land,” said Bindelglass.
Easton EMS has for years been wanting to upgrade its deteriorating facility or find a new headquarters. The current building is more than 100 years old and lacks sufficient garage and office space, and the decades-old septic system it is on the verge of collapse. A comprehensive report analyzing Easton’s Fire and EMS systems highlighted the need for a new EMS facility, citing insufficient space for its vehicles, office space, living quarters and inadequate space for growth.
Last year, an EMS Planning and Building Committee was formed to study how best to renovate the EMS headquarters. The committee concluded that renovating the existing space and expanding it by purchasing the adjacent parcel of land at 444 Sport Hill Road was the most cost-effective option. The cost of the entire project is $3.7 million, offset by $2,092,923 in funds the town received through the American Rescue Plan Act. The State Bond Commission approved $396,270 to fund the replacement of the septic system and install watershed protection.
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