Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that she is continuing to review six alternative locations proposed by the City of Bridgeport for a planned secure juvenile treatment center for girls, but said a preliminary review suggested none of the alternative sites were likely to prove suitable for the facility.
Governor Rell also thanked state Representative Christopher Caruso (D-126) and state Senator Anthony Musto (D-22) of Bridgeport, who this week suggested that the state consider locating the treatment center at the now-closed High Meadows Residential Facility in Hamden instead. The Governor asked the two legislators to contact their colleagues in the Hamden delegation to ascertain their interest and concerns about having the treatment center sited in their community.
Current plans call for building the facility for girls on state-owned land on Virginia Avenue in Bridgeport. The project has been under discussion with Bridgeport officials and residents since at least July 2008, and Governor Rell has repeatedly noted that the state has been without a residential treatment facility for juvenile girls since Long Lane School was closed in 2003.
Last month, after some residents and members of the Legislature announced their opposition to the Virginia Avenue site, the Governor agreed to give Bridgeport a month to propose alternative locations, provided they met criteria developed by the state Department of Public Works (DPW). That deadline expired today.
“One way or another, we must build this facility,” Governor Rell. “The girls who will be served there have already gone far too long without a proper place to get the help they need – and that has to be the overriding concern. This will not be a ‘jail,’ as critics would have it. It will be a residential facility, a place that will be far more home-like than state buildings most people are used to seeing.”
For that reason, the Governor noted, Caruso and Musto are incorrect in claiming that the Virginia Avenue site – which is zoned for residential housing – would not be suitable for the planned facility.
“Our initial review of the six locations proposed by Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and the Bridgeport delegation is not promising,” the Governor said. “Some sites require environmental impact assessments or are in environmentally sensitive areas; others are in flood plains. Nevertheless, I have directed the DPW to continue working with the Mayor and the delegation as they do a more comprehensive review of the five locations.
“At the same time, I have asked Representative Caruso and Senator Musto – who suggested High Meadows as an alternative location – to check with their colleagues in the Hamden delegation to see whether that community would be receptive to the idea,” Governor Rell said. “I have also asked the DPW to review the High Meadows site in greater detail to see whether we could, in fact, locate the new facility there.”
The six sites proposed by Bridgeport as possible alternatives are:
774 East Main Street, Bridgeport
2101 Commerce Drive & 29 Cornwall Street (rear), Bridgeport
Fairchild Memorial Park (portion), Trumbull (owned by City of Bridgeport)
Church Hill Road & Route 59, Fairfield (Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course) (owned by City of Bridgeport)
784 Fairfield Avenue, 804 Fairfield Avenue, 816 Fairfield Avenue, 836 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport
1759 State Street, 1524 & 1550 Railroad Avenue, 1815 State Street, 1835 Fairfield Avenue #1837, 1851 Fairfield Avenue, 1857 Fairfield Avenue, 1863 Fairfield Avenue, 1865 Fairfield Avenue, 1887 Fairfield Avenue
Governor Rell said the 10-member state Bond Commission is expected to approve the project whenever it is placed on the agenda. State Senator Eileen Daily (D-33), co-Chair of the Finance Committee, has committed to vote for the project at the next Bond Commission meeting.
No Bond Commission meeting is planned for February, meaning DPW will have additional time to conduct a full analysis of both the suggested Bridgeport sites and the High Meadows site.
The 36,000-square-foot center will accommodate girls 18 years old or younger who have been convicted of a delinquent offense. The facility will be relatively small, with 16 secure beds and 8 beds for girls transitioning from the secure center back to community residential facilities. DCF has worked with the advocacy community to design the facility and the program exclusively to meet the specific needs of girls.
