Some Fairfield residents skeptical of reputation firm hired in soil contaminant saga

Fairfield officials are still answering concerns over contaminants that were in the soil used around town.

News 12 Staff

Oct 7, 2019, 9:49 PM

Updated 1,828 days ago

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Fairfield officials are still answering concerns over contaminants that were in the soil used around town.
Dana Kery, the woman who first spotted asbestos and got the ball rolling, is now wondering who from the town is giving her the information.
Kery says she is still looking for answers from the town about contaminants that were dumped at a Department of Public Works site, then used for fill at Fairfield parks and fields.
"How much came into the site, how much went out to the site privately, how much of it went out into our town," she said.
When the news came out, First Selectman Mike Tetreau said he brought in an environmental testing firm.
"The fields are safe, we've tested 60 locations," he said. "There's a number of people out there suggesting otherwise and that's just not accurate."
Now, some people in Fairfield say they are upset that Tetreau hired a reputation firm to help him with public concern over waste contaminants in town.
"I was shocked that we would have a reputation adviser managing the communication of all of this information, rather than show me simple facts," Kery said.
Tetreau hired Christopher Gidez and listed him under "environmental consulting firms." He paid Gidez a $3,000 retainer, but Gidez is also getting an additional $16,000, according to Tetreau.
The town says six sites will be remediated by a third-party company starting with Gould Manor Park this week.