In summer, the big elm trees on either side of town hall rise above the building in leafy majesty. They’re in poor health, and a redesign of the area in front of the building has been started. —Macklin Reid photo
With the declining health of the big elms on either side, a redesign of the front of town hall — not the building facade, but the raised brick plaza area — has forced its way onto the town’s agenda for 2014.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi said last week that the building will not be changed. “We want to try and maintain the current look, obviously,” he said.
“The front brick walls need to come down and be replaced. The two trees, assuming that they’re removed in the next couple of years, we need to re-look at that whole area.
“That wall will probably come down a little lower; we still want that little courtyard area to the left, facing town hall.”
Mr. Marconi and Tree Warden John Pinchbeck had said earlier in the year that they were worried about the condition of the big old elm trees that bookend the little plaza. And now their concern has been confirmed by Bartlett Tree Experts, the tree care firm.
Based on an arborist’s report, “it appears that we will need to begin planning the future removal of those trees, and while doing that, a refurbishing of the entire area. ” Mr. Marconi said. “We’ve just started looking at that.”
Mr. Marconi said a local landscape architect, James Delalla, has suggested a couple of different concepts.
The first selectman didn’t want to make any drawings public yet, fearing the first visual image released would stick in people’s minds throughout any discussion of the plans, even if there were substantial changes.
“They’re very, very rough, but they are plans,” he said.
The plans will be widely discussed, he promised.
“It will be a project that many people will want to weigh in on,” he said.
There are some practical aspects to be considered.
“One of the issues that we know we will have is that currently the large American flag is displayed at that location, from Memorial Day to July Fourth,” Mr. Marconi said.
“When those trees come down, so will the wire that the large American flag is hung from,” Mr. Marconi said.
“The landscape architect hasn’t addressed that issue yet, so we need to come up with a solution.”
Exactly when the trees will have to come down isn’t clear, but Mr. Marconi said Mr. Pinchbeck agrees the time is approaching.
“Probably sometime in 2014 or the early part of 2015,” Mr. Marconi said.
“I worked with John Pinchbeck to do an assessment. Those trees have needed special treatment over the last couple of years. But there’s no doubt they’re nearing the end of their lives, and a plan needs to be presented to address their removal and replacement.”
It’s early in the design process, and numerous questions need to be answered.
“We don’t know, do we want trees? If we do want trees, where do they go? If we know we want trees and we know where they should go, then what kind of trees?
“That decision, the type of tree, I would naturally yield to the Tree Committee and their recommendation,” Mr. Marconi said.
The architectural treatment will also get widely discussed, he said, with agencies like the Architectural Advisory Committee that reviews plans for the Planning and Zoning Commission, the commission itself, and the Ridgefield Design Council.
“The Design Council has pretty much all but dissolved; there haven’t been many meetings,” Mr. Marconi said. “I would still look to some of the individuals who participated in the Design Council, as well as the Board of Selectmen and Planning and Zoning.”
With so much consulting and discussion yet to come, the ultimate result is hard to predict.
“There are going to be many people who will have a say in this. Who knows what the front of town hall will look like?” Mr. Marconi said. “But hopefully, not too different than what it looks like now.”