Appointment Tabled—

FFH Plan Review Addressed

By John Voket

Two issues related to the future of Fairfield Hills were on the Board of Selectmen’s agenda February 1: a review of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, and the appointment to fill a vacancy on the Fairfield Hills Authority.

The board set about launching what could be an extended process of engaging the community and considering ideas about possibly reformatting the Fairfield Hills Master Plan. That preliminary discussion involved First Selectman Pat Llodra tendering a few ideas toward the formulation of a charge to the group that will be appointed to consider whether the master plan should be rewritten or completely revamped.

Mrs Llodra said the process of developing a charge could also help in determining how many members should serve on the committee, and what their final report might look like. Selectman Will Rodgers suggested the panel might start by reviewing the charge to the group who produced the original master plan.

Selectman Bill Furrier said he believes the only way to eliminate the divisiveness that Fairfield Hills issues have caused in the community is to go far beyond the master plan, to the root of both the enabling legislation and the ordinance creating the authority itself.

“If we could clean up the divisiveness, all our problems will be solved,” Mr Furrier said.

Mrs Llodra said she never considered expanding the charge to include both statewide and local legislative actions, and that she envisioned a broad program of forums, workshops, charrettes and presentations to open up the process, soliciting the maximum level of community involvement.

In other business, after some discussion, the board postponed the appointment of a local CPA to fill a position vacated by longtime Fairfield Hills Authority treasurer and financial advisor Don Studley, after Mr Furrier asked for more time on behalf of a constituent he thought wanted to apply for the appointment.

Selectmen were ready to recommend local CPA Brian White to the authority, which has been without a financial advisor since Mr Studley’s departure more than a month ago. That business led to selectmen deciding that in the future, all solicitations for appointments would come with a closing date for interested applicants.

While Mr White’s recommendation was tendered by the Republican Town Committee to fill a post vacated by a party member, the vacancy could also be filled by a registered Republican who applies to the Board of Selectmen independently, or by an interested unaffiliated voter. The selectmen decided to keep the process open until their first March meeting, when First Selectman Pat Llodra said the opening must be filled by Mr White or another equally qualified financial expert who comes forward in the interim.