Metro Center Developer Threatens Litigation if Conservation Department Restored to Project

The Fairfield Metro Center, which is devolving into a jurisdictionally, linguistically and legally confusing mess, is facing another hurdle after a Bridgeport Superior Court judge's July 6 ruling that a wetlands compliance officer and environmental consultants on the project had to be under the general supervision of Town Conservation Director Thomas Steinke.

Blackrock Realty, LLC, the Metro Center developer that faced a foreclosure action by a bank before the state bailed it out in April by providing $19.4 million to do public portions of the project, sent a letter Thursday to town Inland Wetlands Commission members and Town Attorney Richard Saxl threatening to sue if the town's Conservation Department is returned to an oversight role on the massive project.

After the state agreed to provide $19.4 million toward public portions of the Metro Center, TD Banknorth withdrew its foreclosure action against Blackrock Realty and Blackrock was able to provide $5.2 million toward work on public portions of the project.

Gary S. Klein, Blackrock's attorney, says in the five-paragraph letter that the developer "vehemently opposes" the reinstatement of the Conservation Department and claims "upon information and belief" that "Steinke and/or his staff have already stated that if the Commission reinstates them to oversee the Project, they will delay the Project by taking an extended period of time - in excess of several months - to refamiliarize themselves with the Project, a process that we believe is unnecessary and will have a dramatically negative impact on construction."

Klein also claims "upon information and belief" that "Steinke and/or his staff have indicated that they will remove Redniss & Mead, who has successfully overseen the Project for several years" and that "Steinke and/or his staff has stated that their intent is to prevent the construction of the Project."

Klein doesn't say where he got the information or why he believes it to be the case.

"Be advised that should the Commission reinstate Steinke and/or his staff and should they attempt illegally to violate Blackrock's rights under its agreement with the town of Fairfield and/or otherwise unlawfully interfere with the Project, Blackrock will take all lawful action to vindicate its rights, including, without limitation, commence litigation under the United States Civil Rights laws (42 U.S.C. Section 1983) against the Commission," Klein's letter concludes.

George Bisacca, the attorney for seven residents who filed a lawsuit to get the Conservation Department restored to its oversight role on the Metro Center, said Thursday that he hadn't been provided with a copy of Klein's letter.

But Bisacca offered the following comments after Fairfield Patch read Klein's letter to him over the phone.

"Having observed Mr. Steinke's reputation for always performing his duties 'according to the book' over the past 30 years, I find it extremely difficult to believe he would make such outrageously uncharacteristic statements as those you read to me," Bisacca said.

Bisacca added that his investigation into town officials' handling of the Metro Center when it was before the town's Ethics Commission "failed to reveal any evidence ever having been presented to the Conservation Commission that Mr. Steinke had engaged in any such conduct."

"On the contrary, there was evidence produced that indicated there had been repeated serious violations by Blackrock Realty which it was the duty of Mr. Steinke to address," Bisacca said. "In fact, on the last such occasion, Town Attorney Saxl had even advised Blackrock that it 'does not have a full permit sign-off and shouldn't be doing more than removing the slab' and further that Blackrock should have Steinke's checklist of violations done."

Bisacca said it was possible Klein's allegations about Steinke could be considered libelous if they're not substantiated by credible evidence. Bisacca said Saxl should investigate the veracity of Klein's allegations and that the town had an obligation under state statutes to provide "necessary legal advice and defense if appropriate to town officers, of which Mr. Steinke is one."

Klein's letter contradicts the Inland Wetlands Commission's decision in a meeting last Thursday because the commission decided Flatto - not the commission - has the power to reinstate Steinke and the Conservation Department. The commission approved a motion asking Saxl to ask Flatto to reinstate the department to its oversight role, as Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Richard Arnold had ruled July 6.

Flatto on Thursday said, "I'm not happy at all to see the possibility of litigation start all over again, and this is exactly what I feared a year and-a-half ago and what we've been trying to protect the town and staff from facing."

Flatto declined to say if he planned to reinstate the Conservation Department to its oversight role on the Metro Center because he wasn't exactly sure what the Inland Wetlands Commission had voted to ask Saxl to ask him to do. Minutes of that meeting, which contained approved motions that commission members admitted they didn't understand, weren't available Thursday afternoon. The minutes would help to clarify what the commission voted to do, since motions at the meeting contained amendments (or attempted amendments) that weren't "seconded" or voted on separately. Commission members also didn't restate motions before voting.

"At this point, I'm not going to comment further, other than to say it's unclear to me what the commission was seeking to do, so I'm waiting to see if the commission has more information about this. This new letter may make it exceedingly difficult to change the situation that I and the Board of Selectmen required two years ago," Flatto said.

The Board of Selectmen, after Flatto removed the Conservation Department from oversight of the Metro Center in December 2007, voted to strip department members from town-provided legal coverage if they went on the Metro Center property or had anything to do with the project and were sued.

Blackrock Realty had suggested that Flatto remove the Conservation Department from the project, claiming that Steinke and members of his department were holding up the project. Flatto didn't allow Steinke to defend himself and removed the department six days after Steinke presented Flatto with information about what Steinke considered to be a major violation by Blackrock Realty.

Blackrock, after asking Flatto to remove the Conservation Department from its oversight role, filed a letter in Sullivan-Independence Hall threatening to sue the town.

After Flatto removed the department, eight residents known as "Concerned Citizens" sued Gary Weddle, a former Inland Wetlands Commission chairman whom Flatto hired to take the department's place, saying Weddle was illegally appointed because he wasn't under Steinke's supervision. The Inland Wetlands Commission didn't vote to hire Weddle until several months after Flatto hired him. Bisacca is now representing seven "Concerned Citizens" because Philip Meiman, a former chairman of the Inland Wetlands Commission, died in May.

Flatto testified in court that he didn't allow Steinke to defend himself before removing him from the Metro Center because he didn't take Blackrock's threatened litigation seriously.

The Fairfield Metro Center is scheduled to include the town's third train station, from 1,300 to 1,500 parking spaces for rail commuters and nearly 1 million square feet of commercial development on 35.5 acres at 21 Black Rock Turnpike.

Guerrera Construction Co. of Oxford was the low bidder to do public portions of the Fairfield Metro Center, which include sitework, grading, utilities, drainage, construction of an access road from the bottom of a state Department of Transportation bridge, across the property and to Black Rock Turnpike, retaining walls, the surface parking lot for rail commuters, remediation and capping of contaminated material, and wetland mitigation. Guerrera had bid $19.97 million without a bid alternate. Guerrera bid $20.16 million with the bid alternate, which town consultants said several weeks ago was to create a 180-space parking lot by the proposed commuter waiting area.

Construction of the public portions was expected to last 16 months, and Flatto previously told the Representative Town Meeting that he hoped Guerrera would begin in late July.

Town Purchasing Director Twig Holland wasn't available Thursday afternoon to say if Guerrera had been awarded the contract, but town officials said Guerrera had.

The DOT is building a motor vehicle bridge from Frank and Timko streets, over Metro-North Railroad tracks and onto Blackrock Realty's property, and also is building platforms for the new train station.