Three Sites Remain for Location of Haddam Town Garage

By Janice Sina

(August 17, 2025) — Planning for a new Haddam Public Works Garage has been ongoing, and with the most recent meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, a big step has been taken that will impact the town. It’s all in the minutes of the July 30, 2025 meeting posted online, but if you’d rather not sift through the discussion, worthwhile as it is, or have AI think for you and generate a summary, here’s a quick review of events up to this point and upcoming next steps. The detailed minutes and the architects’ conceptual plans can be found at https://www.haddam.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07302025-91.

From the seventeen sites initially considered for the new Town Garage, five were presented at the June 26, 2025 public hearing. It was noted that the 733 Killingworth Road site was excluded from consideration since a Memorandum of Understanding was not received. At that point, there were four remaining sites under consideration: 300 Saybrook Road (the current site/Rossi property), 59-61 Cedar Lake Road (the Gravel Pit property), 439 Saybrook Road (the Fire Department property), and Jail Hill Road.

Tanya Cutolo, Project Manager at Petrucelli and Associates, presented a conceptual plan for each site. The plans show that each site would have a garage that houses fourteen trucks with an attached wash bay and approximately 2,000 square feet of office space, a salt shed, a 4,000 sq. ft. storage garage building, and material storage bins. All but the Rossi site, the current Town Garage site, would be new buildings; the Rossi site would have a number of renovations. Andrew Woodward at Albert Benesch and Company discussed the particulars of each site, including layout of the buildings, any challenges, a breakdown of estimated costs, and the estimated total cost. Mr. Woodward also reported that the estimates do not include environmental analysis or abatement, design or construction contingencies, and soft costs or escalations.

The total estimated cost for each site is as follows:
439 Saybrook Road, $12,119,700.00
Jail Hill Road, $12,928,300.00
59-61 Cedar Lake Road, $14,314,605.00
300 Saybrook Road, $9,367,620.00

The attendees discussed each site in turn. All the sites had their advantages and disadvantages, including location, entry points, ease of access for power lines, topography, storm water drainage, and the presence of protected areas within property lines. The Rossi site generated the most discussion, as it is in Higganum town center. It provides centralized access to all locations where Public Works will need to go but it would also have the biggest impact on the center. Discussion included the integration of adjacent sidewalks, parks and walkways to greenways in the area, including the Cove. There is also an environmental issue that the town has addressed and it was made clear that this would be taken care of regardless of the final decision for the Town Garage site.

After much discussion, a straw poll was taken. Jail Hill Road and the Fire House site were the least favorites among the attendees and Jail Hill Road was subsequently dropped from the list. Scott Brookes, Chairman of the PZC, made a motion that the Commission submit three sites to the Board of Selectmen: 300 Saybrook Road, 59-61 Cedar Lake Road, and 439 Saybrook Road and that they be put to the voters in November. He stated that a presentation would be made available online to educate the public.

First Selectman Bob McGarry called for a motion to advance the sites to the public as part of the November 2025 ballot. Selectwoman Kate Anderson made a motion to advance the three sites. Selectman Peter Baird seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

Four simple sentences for something that is anything but simple. Whichever site is ultimately chosen, there are many details to work out and there will be more opportunities for input from the public. Residents will want to stay tuned, stay informed, and make their voices heard.