Selectmen Approve $100,000 Contract for Windows at Irwin Barn; Some Broken by Vandalism

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Town officials last week approved a $100,000 contract to restore broken windows at the 1908-built Irwin Barn, including some that resulted from vandalism. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting for the contract with Ridgefield-based Alden Bailey Restoration, one of two companies that put in a bid for the job. “They need a lot of health and care to get back up to par,” Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann told the selectmen at their Oct. 9 meeting, held in Town Hall. “There’s a couple that will have to be replaced.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted 3-0 for $101,200 contract, which includes $9,200 in contingency.

Government

Public Buildings InfoSheet: Irwin Barn

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[Editor’s Note: The following has been prepared in advance of the “Forum on Public Buildings,” to be held 6:30 to 9 p.m. on April 26 at Town Hall (questions for panelists can be submitted here). Most of the information in the bullet points below is drawn from the Town Building Evaluation & Use Committee report.]

Built: 1908
Square Footage: 4,128 s.f.
Current Uses: Storage
Committee Recommendations: Invest in stabilizing and repurposing the barn, whose very large spaces, two ground floor levels, proximity to park activities and architectural character lend it to many opportunities. Potential uses include Park and Rec’s headquarters and location of Park & Rec Summer Camp, restroom facilities servicing the park, some level of organized storage for Parks and other town departments, potential cell service equipment and flagpole tower, among others. Relevant articles: Garden Club Wants To Use Irwin Park (Including Barn) for May Flower Sale, Officials Report (March 2017)

Submitted by Mimi Findlay:

This large Carriage Barn was built by Dr. James F. McKernon, who bought the 70-acre property from Charles Comstock homestead in 1905. In 1908 McKernon built his two-and-a-half story Shingle Style summer house, this barn and a smaller building, perhaps the pump house, by the side of the driveway.