Metro Center Revelations Come Outside the Courtroom

In some ways, the most interesting revelation about litigation on the Fairfield Metro Center came outside Bridgeport Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

It was after Tuesday's court hearing that town officials indicated how the town's Inland Wetlands Commission could approve a motion on July 15 that gave Town Conservation Director Thomas Steinke "general supervision" over Gary Weddle, the wetlands compliance officer on the Fairfield Metro Center, but still keep Steinke off the Metro Center project.

Town Attorney Richard Saxl said the commission had approved a motion designating Weddle as "a designated agent" on the Metro Center - a second job in addition to Weddle's job of wetlands compliance officer - and that Steinke had general supervision over him in that role. But Weddle hasn't accepted the job of designated agent on the Metro Center, though he remains the wetlands compliance officer.

Therefore, Steinke has general supervision over Weddle in a job that Weddle hasn't accepted.

But minutes of the July 15 meeting, as amended and approved by the Inland Wetlands Commission on Thursday, state that the second of two approved motions on July 15 actually was:

"That Dr. Weddle be immediately retained to supervise the administration of the inland wetland permit #IWP 2003-08, that he be under the general supervision of the Conservation Director, and that he report to the Inland Wetland Agency, until resolution of the appeal."

The words "designated agent" don't appear in the motion, though the commission does seem to be hiring Weddle to an additional job since Weddle already was the wetlands compliance officer at the time.

The biggest stumbling block to giving Steinke "general supervision" over Weddle is that First Selectman Ken Flatto removed Steinke from the Metro Center in December 2007 and later said the Board of Selectmen, in a closed-door meeting, stripped Steinke of his town-provided legal coverage if he got involved in the Metro Center and were sued by Blackrock Realty, LLC, the private developer on the project.

Flatto had removed Steinke and his staff after Blackrock Realty threatened to sue the town, saying Steinke and his staff were holding up the project.

Tuesday's court hearing mostly centered on a motion by "Concerned Citizens" to remove an automatic stay of execution on Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Richard Arnold's July 6 ruling that ordered Weddle be removed as the wetlands compliance officer on the Metro Center. The automatic stay came with Weddle's appeal of Arnold's ruling.

Arnold said in the July 6 ruling that the Town Charter gives the Conservation Director "general supervision" over the wetlands compliance officer and consultants retained by the Inland Wetlands Commission.

Tuesday's court hearing was scheduled to start at 2 p.m. but didn't start until about 3:17 p.m. due to a closed-door meeting between Arnold and attorneys that dealt with scheduling, defining issues, narrowing issues and the necessity of the Inland Wetlands Commission to file a motion to intervene on the Metro Center litigation.

The biggest fireworks inside courtroom 6A came while audience members waited for Arnold and the attorneys to enter the courtroom.

Flatto was walking around chatting with people when he came near DeeDee Brandt, a former member of the Representative Town Meeting who's running for state representative in the 133rd state House District.

"Look how many people you've hurt," Brandt said to Flatto, adding that he should "back down."

"It's a tough life," Flatto replied.

When Brandt repeated her comment that Flatto had hurt people, Flatto said, "Vice-versa, my dear."

When the hearing started, Arnold accepted the Inland Wetlands Commission's motion to intervene on litigation between Weddle and "Concerned Citizens," seven residents who sued Weddle, saying he was illegally hired as the Metro Center's wetlands compliance officer because he wasn't under Steinke's supervision.

"I would assume the commission does have some interest, and I'm going to allow them to intervene," Arnold said after statements from each side's attorneys.

The hearing then continued on Concerned Citizens' motion to terminate the automatic stay of execution on Arnold's July 6 ruling.

George Bisacca, the attorney for Concerned Citizens, called Steinke to the stand and asked if any previous wetlands compliance officers in Fairfield had held a full-time job somewhere else, and Steinke replied they hadn't. The question was relevant because Weddle is a professor at Fairfield University.

But when Bisacca asked Steinke if he thought a wetlands compliance officer could hold a job somewhere else and still do justice to his job as wetlands compliance officer on the Metro Center, David A. Slossberg, the Inland Wetlands Commission's attorney, and Charles W. Fleischmann, Weddle's attorney, objected, saying there was no foundation for Bisacca's question and it was speculative. Arnold sustained the objection.

Slossberg then grilled Steinke, questioning how many times he had talked with Bisacca and for how long, how much contact he had with the seven Concerned Citizens and whether Steinke thought "professionals" monitoring activities on the Metro Center property wouldn't do their jobs if he weren't supervising them.

"You are an employee of the town, employed by the commission, and you have been in contact and are talking with plaintiffs' counsel who has a position adverse to the town," Slossberg said.

Steinke said he had talked with Bisacca three or four times and that the total amount of time he talked with him was between three and four hours. He said Bisacca wanted him to review the Metro Center files in advance of his testimony and that he spent from 14 to 15 hours reviewing documents. He said Pam Ritter, a member of Concerned Citizens, came into the Conservation Department's office "this past week" but he didn't discuss the case with her.

Slossberg then moved on to Steinke's opinion of Redniss & Mead, who is the site monitor on the Metro Center project.

"They did a good job when I was still on the project," Steinke said.

Slossberg asked if Steinke thought professionals would continue to do a good job in his absence.

"It's a different job," Steinke said, adding that Redniss & Mead was only assisting the Conservation Department in reviewing plans when he was on the Metro Center project.

Slossberg, in the form of a question, said Steinke wasn't offering any testimony that Redniss & Mead hasn't done a fine job, and Steinke replied, "Correct."

"Are you suggesting that you're the critical cog, that, if you're not there, professionals aren't going to do their job?" Slossberg asked.

"Absolutely not," Steinke replied.

But Arnold questioned how Slossberg could ask Steinke his opinion if "everything's going hunky dory over there" when Steinke's been barred from the project.

"I'm moving on," Slossberg said.

Slossberg then asked Steinke about conditions on the Metro Center in the days before Flatto removed him and his staff from oversight of the project.

Steinke talked about sediment erosion controls, anti-tracking aprons and stockpiled vegetation before adding, "We were told they had protected the site from the PCB-contaminated areas. We never found out."

Under questioning by Fleischmann, Steinke said he didn't have the authority to hire a wetlands compliance officer; that it was the Inland Wetlands Commission's job. He also said the only qualification for the job was that the person take state Department of Environmental Protection training to be a designated agent.

Under questioning by Bisacca, Steinke said he had interviewed candidates for the job of wetlands complaince officer in the past, made recommendations to the commission and couldn't recall the commission ever denying his recommendation.

"At the time you were removed, did Mr. Flatto engage Redniss & Mead to perform the duties that had been done by your department?" Bisacca asked.

"Yes," Steinke said.

Testimony resumes at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The Fairfield Metro Center includes 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.