Politicians talk about vision all the time, especially in their blind quest for reelection. Vision is what used to be called common sense before it got all dressed up for prime time. We are alarmed sometimes at the dim talk about the future that gets passed off as vision these days. Occasionally, however, visionaries do turn up, not standing at podiums, but working behind the scenes to create a better future for everyone. Now, as the Town of Newtown is about to take possession of hundreds of acres at Fairfield Hills, townspeople should recognize and thank two such people –– Julia Wasserman and Richard Nuclo.

Mrs Wasserman, of course, is Newtown’s seven-term state representative. Mr Nuclo works in the Strategic Management Division of the state’s Office of Policy and Management. Together they have worked for more than a decade overseeing the transition of Fairfield Hills from state mental hospital to a mix of new uses benefiting primarily the people of Newtown. Between the two of them, they know more about Fairfield Hills from the tunnels to the towers than just about anyone. Their work has been guided by a vision to preserve some of the most beautiful open land in town while using the existing infrastructure as a foundation for the development of facilities and opportunities to benefit the people of Newtown both socially and economically.

First it was the 189 acres of the main campus, and nearly 20 more acres for the Reed School. Then there was about 22 acres along both sides of Deep Brook that proved a key acquisition for the emerging greenway known as Al’s Trail. Added to that was another four acres across the street from the school to provide better access to the Deep Brook parcel. Another 38 acres adjacent to Commerce Road was acquired for economic development. A row of houses along Queen Street earned the town a profit and restricted the future uses of that sensitive area. More recently another 34 acres of open space east of the railroad tracks and a row of five more houses west of Mile Hill South were secured for the town.

And just this week, the team of Wasserman and Nuclo revealed that they have come up with yet one more key piece of the puzzle at Fairfield Hills for the people of Newtown. It is a parcel of nearly 12 acres that will provide a contiguous connection of these many town acquisitions from the north side of Fairfield Hills on Commerce Road to the south side on Mile Hill Road, including a key bridge across Deep Brook. (See story.) Not only will this parcel provide a new alternative space for municipal facilities such as a firehouse, or recreation center, or a playing field, but it opens up the possibility for a north-south road connecting the Exit 10 area with lower Route 25. The impact this could have on the traffic in Newtown’s clogged town center could be more beneficial than any possible use of the land itself.

These things do not happen by chance. There is a lot of common sense in the way things have fallen together for the town at Fairfield Hills. Many people have been involved, but Julia Wasserman and Richard Nuclo have always been at the front of the pack scouting the path ahead. Newtown should thank them for their vision.