Town officials said Friday that they’ve been unable to locate a document in the Outback Teen Center’s files that’s required by the Building Code as a final and comprehensive sign-off prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
This notice now appears outside the Outback Teen Center building behind Town Hall.
An important layer in checks-and-balances in the approval process for non-residential structures, the “Statement of Special Inspections” (see PDF embedded below to view the form) is a standardized and highly detailed document that encompasses structural and architectural disciplines, as well as mechanical, electrical and plumbing, officials said.
New Canaan’s building official at the time—new and different people for years have occupied that and other pertinent roles at Town Hall—would have been responsible for ensuring that the Statement of Special Inspections was filled out and signed by all parties involved in the Outback project, officials said.
To this point, it isn’t clear whether it ever was, according to Bill Oestmann, who “inherited” the structure behind Town Hall on July 1 as New Canaan’s superintendent of buildings.
Asked about the Statement of Special Inspections for the Outback, Oestmann said: “I don’t know if they were ever done.”
“We will continue to find what we can find paperwork-wise,” Oestmann told NewCanaanite.com. “The most important thing now is to render it safe until a permanent solution is found.”
That solution could include razing the 2001-built Outback, closed as a teen center last summer and then shuttered by fire officials Thursday following revelations that it was structurally unsound.
According to an engineering study that First Selectman Rob Mallozzi commissioned immediately after the Outback reverted to town control following a nonprofit organization’s failed efforts to self-sustain as a business, the structure wasn’t built as it was designed.
Saying there’s a “lack of documents” in connection with the Outback’s construction, Oestmann said it isn’t clear whether it was built incorrectly despite good designs, or built according to designs that themselves were flawed.
Typically, if structural changes are made to designs, they’re noted on the plans themselves, and the only changes Oestmann has seen noted for the Outback are minor items that have to do with the kitchen, he said.
According to a building permit application filed June 7, 1999, the architect on the job was New Canaan’s Robertson & Landers.
According to a building permit issued Oct. 21, 1999, the Outback was built by Stamford-based A.P. Construction. A media relations official with that company could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. A.P. has handled several big building jobs in New Canaan, according to a portfolio on the company’s website, including commercial and public buildings, schools and the YMCA.
According to Building Department records, eight different agency inspections were conducted at the Outback in May and June of 2001. The Building Department completed its inspection June 5, 2001. The town issued a CO thereafter.
Part of the Statement of Special Inspections notes that “discrepancies shall be brought to the immediate attention of the Contractor for correction.”
“If such discrepancies are not corrected, the discrepancies shall be brought to the attention of the Building Official and the Registered Design Professional in Responsible Charge. The Special Inspection program does not relieve the Contractor of his or her responsibilities.”
It also says: “A Final Report of Special Inspections documenting completion of all required Special Inspections, testing and correction of any discrepancies noted in the inspections shall be submitted prior to issuance of a Certificate of Use and Occupancy.”
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The days of John Pacanzi and Hiram Peck. Is anyone surprised?