Wallingford council wants more info on liability for school's wall

WALLINGFORD Town staff will prepare an in-depth report on ownership of a retaining wall on Holy Trinity school property that supports a town-leased parking lot and get a legal opinion before deciding what to do concerning repairs.

The Town Council tabled the issue at its meeting Tuesday night and will await the results of the report.

Its so important that now we do some research and we find out once and for all what is the town liable for on the retaining wall for your school, said Town Councilor John Sullivan, a Democrat.

The issue revolves around who is responsible for a retaining wall that divides the schools playground from a parking lot behind buildings on Simpson Court and North Main Street that is used for public parking through a lease with the town. Church and school officials say the structure is deteriorating, with cracks and chunks of it falling onto the playground, and it needs to be reconstructed.

Church officials say the wall was built by the town on their property in the early 1960s, either with or without the agreement of the church, and believe the town should be part of its maintenance. But no documentation has yet been found regarding its construction.

Parish priest the Rev. Thomas Walsh and school Principal Kathleen Kelly presented the issue to the council at the meeting.

Walsh read a prepared statement saying that the parish did not know that the wall was considered Holy Trinitys property until a survey prepared a few years ago declared it to be.

It was news to us that this wall, by a matter of inches, was on school property, Walsh said. Try to understand that this issue is more complex than who owns the wall who does the wall benefit and who should be involved in its maintenance.

He said he believed the wall was likely built by the town, as it was constructed during a time when the town had a parking authority that was involved in creating lots. He also said that agreements found for other projects during the time did not include maps, leading him to believe that the wall was built on their property in error.

Walsh also said that he believed work done on storm drains by the town that routed water to the wall was aiding in its destruction.

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Wallingford council wants more info on liability for school's wall