Ridgefield Residents Urge New Approach To Police And Fire Facilities

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Ridgefield residents urged town leaders to reconsider the cost, design and location of new police and fire buildings during a widely attended Dec. 3 public hearing, the first in a new round of community discussions following two failed referendums on public safety facilities.

The Board of Selectpersons held the session to gather public input before finalizing the charge for a new facilities committee. First Selectperson Rudy Marconi said the town received 45 applications from residents seeking to serve on the panel, which the board expects to appoint this month.

Marconi recapped the past decade of planning, including needs assessments, consultant reviews and two defeated proposals — an $85 million project and a scaled-down $77 million version. He said both cost and location drove opposition, particularly concerns over site grading, traffic access and emergency response routes.

"This is a clean slate," Marconi told attendees. "We want to sit here and listen to the public. We're not trying to sway the committee in any way. We're not trying to color or prejudice anyone."

Residents Cite Communication Gaps, Cost Concerns and Desire for Separate Facilities

Many speakers said the public did not fully understand the previous proposals, their price tags or the reasons the town sought a combined facility for both departments.

Resident Leo Papadopoulos said many voters mistakenly believed the $77 million plan funded a police station alone, which influenced voting decisions. He urged clearer, more proactive communication: “People don't come to those meetings. There needs to be another way, like somebody on the sidewalk, with facts.”

Others said the combined building created design conflicts and limited site options. Several urged the town to revive the idea of two separate facilities, citing resilience, operational efficiency and emergency redundancy.

Longtime resident Katherine Daigle said separating the buildings could enhance public safety. “If one site gets hit somehow… where do we get help from, for the town?” she said. She also supported staggering construction to manage costs.

Several Call for Charettes, Broader Expertise and a More Independent Committee

Residents repeatedly recommended a charrette-style process, where architects, planners, emergency officials and the public work intensively to evaluate options and reach consensus before design work begins.

Attorney Alan Rubin described charrettes as a standard tool in disaster recovery and municipal planning. “This is done every single day in every community,” he said. “It just takes thinking and planning.”

Former Planning & Zoning Commission chair Robert Hendrick urged the board to decentralize committee appointments by asking other elected bodies — such as the Board of Finance, Planning & Zoning and Board of Education — to recommend members with subject-matter expertise. He said broadening the selection process could rebuild trust and avoid perceptions that the project is “cooked up in a small group.”

Engineers, Architects Say Past Designs Felt Forced; Urge Use of Existing Studies

Multiple professionals — including architects, engineers and emergency-service experts — spoke about building standards, response times and facility programming.

Consulting engineer Chris Vahlising said he initially supported the revised proposal but later concluded the design “was still trying to force something” onto a difficult site. He supported a more open design phase and recommended that the committee prioritize clarity in operational cost modeling.

Retired architect Peter Bachman, who worked on major school construction projects, said success depends on early consensus-building and aggressive communication: “You cannot over-communicate. You cannot be scared (of the public).”

Other speakers stressed that the committee should not start from scratch but should rely on the extensive programming work and assessments the town has already funded.

Debate Continues Over Location, Cost and Long-Term Needs

Some residents argued that the previous site, located near East Ridge, posed problems for fire apparatus due to narrow roads, winter conditions and heavy school traffic flows.

Others urged the town to consider purchasing private property rather than investing heavily in blasting and site preparation.

Several longtime residents, including former firefighter Bob Marinelli, expressed support for constructing two simpler, utilitarian buildings — one renovated police station and one new fire facility — at significantly lower cost. "Response time is critical," Marinelli said. "A new fire department doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be serviceable."

Speakers also encouraged the town to evaluate public safety needs holistically with school and municipal building needs. A Board of Education member noted that school facility planning now carries projected costs above $150 million and should be considered alongside public safety spending.

Residents Ask for Clear Tax Impact and Stronger Public Dialogue

Several speakers said the town must present clear, accessible mill-rate projections for any proposal. Others said Ridgefield’s diminished local media landscape makes communication harder and urged the committee to include a communications budget.

Next Steps

The Board of Selectpersons will hold another public hearing on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. before finalizing the committee’s charge. Marconi said all prior consultant reports, needs assessments and design studies will be made available to the committee once seated.

“We need to move it forward,” he said, adding that even with a successful referendum, construction would take years. “This is something we need to do.”