Granby Board of Health orders new septic test at West Street School before renovation proceeds

GRANBY — November 13, 2025 — Granby's Board of Health put the West Street School renovation on notice Thursday, demanding a formal Title 5 septic inspection and ventilation documentation before it will sign off on the $5 million project. General contractor bids for the renovation came in at 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting, and the town has up to 90 days to award contracts — a window board members said they intend to use. Civil site engineer Charlie Lebat of Gloan Associates acknowledged the design team had inspected the school's septic systems, some estimated to be 70 to 90 years old, without first notifying the board, a lapse board Chair Dick called "really unusual." Mechanical engineer Mike Banchini of Robert Hall Engineers defended the HVAC design as code-compliant under the 2021 International Mechanical Code with MERV 13 filtration, but the chair pushed back hard on the absence of active humidification, calling it "a static problem, a disease problem." The board also granted conditional septic and well permit approvals for two new three-bedroom homes on West Street, withholding final permits pending DEP wetlands sign-off, and deferred action on a well remediation plan at 90 Cold Hill Road citing incomplete arsenic treatment documentation.