NVCOG Photo
A conceptual drawing from 2019.
DERBY — Construction of a fishing pier and viewing platform in the works for O’Sullivan’s Island for more than a decade could get underway this summer.
Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the site plan for the project on Dec. 15. The project just needs a few more approvals from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
According to the senior project manager, Darin Lemire, of the Farmington-based environmental consulting firm, HRP Associates, the project calls for construction of a 60 foot by 80 foot handicapped-accessible wooden platform with a paved pathway leading to the Housatonic River. Lemire said the project will feature an open railing along the pathway, along with some plantings and several benches.
The project is being funded by a $325,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The money originates from a $15 million settlement the General Electric Co. paid for polluting the Housatonic River.
While funding for the project was secured some 10 years ago by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, there have been some hold-ups in recent years with distribution of the funds.
“When the Trump administration came into office, they ordered a freeze on all Department of Interior distribution of funds,” said NVCOG Environmental Planner Ricardo Rodriguez.
“It took quite a while for recipients of the GE settlement fund to convince the administration that this was not their money to control and therefore, they could not hold it back from the recipients. But we lost a good three years during that time.”
With the project back on track, city officials are excited to see it through to fruition.
“Once all the regulatory reviews and applications are complete and are accepted, it is likely construction could occur as early as the summer of 2021,” said Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff. “The pier has already passed through the City’s Inlands Wetlands Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission, and is being considered by state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, as well.”
Baklik credited Rodriguez for helping the city oversee and manage the project, which Baklik said when complete, will be a tremendous asset.
“The purpose of the pier is for fishing and viewing of wildlife and the natural beauty of the island and the Housatonic River,” Baklik said. “An important component of the design of the pier is handicap accessibility. The pier design changed over time to allow for a full, 360-degree experience in the waterway for those who may be wheelchair-bound. This is particularly close to my heart as my nature-loving dad was relegated to a wheelchair for the last 35 years of his life. I was proud to be a part of the public process to give input on the final design.”
Rodriguez concurred the project will further enhance the area along the Housatonic River banks, and help people connect with nature. He also said the area where the walkway to the pier is slated to be built is “not known to have contamination such as what exists at the former fire training school or dumping ground on the peninsula.”
Rodriguez added that there are reserve funds set aside to sample any disturbed soil during the construction phase of the project.
“If we find any unexpected contamination it will be removed,” Rodriguez said.
O’Sullivan’s Island is not an actual island but rather a strip of land at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers, and has been used for fishing, picnics and other passive recreation. It has been the site of Brownfields cleanups and PCB removal.
Just last month, a Derby resident, Ken Duclos, broached the Board of Aldermen with a proposal to bring a flea market to O’Sullivan’s Island. The issue was slated to be taken up by the aldermen’s community relations subcommittee, but never made it because, according to Alderman Ron Sill, both the Naugatuck Valley Health Department and NVCOG said it “was a no-no” and would not be permitted.
