City Council approves firehouse funds

BILL CUMMINGS bcummings@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 01/08/2008 12:12:51 AM EST

BRIDGEPORT — The City Council on Monday approved $500,000 in emergency funds to repair a sagging fire station on Ocean Terrace.

The money was approved despite objections from one council member and advice from a state representative that the city should do a better job determining infrastructure and repair needs.

The money approved Monday will be used to repair cracks in the fire station's foundation, as well as plumbing problems caused by those cracks.

Although he voted for the emergency repair money, City Council member Robert Walsh, D-132, said the resolution before the council authorized the mayor's office to sell $2 million worth of bonds. He said language within that ordinance allowed officials to spend more than the $500,000 authorized for the firehouse.

Mayor Bill Finch said the language in the resolution is routine and the same as the city has used for years. But Finch promised to return to the council if the administration planned to spend more than $500,000.

Finch also agreed to look at the city's bonding authorization language to see if more precise wording would be appropriate.

The Ocean Terrace fire station was thrust into the limelight last month after a husband, wife and 1-year-old son died in a fire at a nearby house.

Fire crews had been relocated more than a mile away, at the Wood Avenue station, because of problems with the Ocean Terrace building. As a result, response time to the fatal fire rose from the department's goal of 4 minutes to seven minutes.

The fire department last week agreed to place a trailer at the Ocean Terrace site to house firefighters from one of the displaced companies. The 60-foot trailer will cost $1,600 a month, and house four firemen. A firetruck will be parked in a portion of the fire station that's not impacted by reconstruction.

State Rep. Robert Keeley, D-Bridgeport, urged the council to adopt a process to monitor and assess building and infrastructure needs so emergency repairs do not pop up suddenly. He said other towns and cities routinely bring requests to the state for funding for infrastructure and repairs.

"I think there is a lesson to be learned here. Bridgeport does not have a plan. Other towns and cities come in with realistic budgets and timeframes," said Keeley, who is co-chairman of the Legislature's Bonding and Revenue Subcommittee.

Walsh also criticized the city for relocating firemen from the Ocean Terrace firehouse without holding a public hearing, which he said is required under city ordinance.

"The city violated its own ordinance," Walsh said.

Robert Whitbread, president of the union that represents firefighters, said he has been told repairs will be completed by March and the various fire companies will return to the building.

Bill Cummings, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6230.