Council Decides –

Proceeds From Sale Of Queen St Properties Will Go Toward Open Space

By Steve Bigham

The Legislative Council made a budgeting decision Tuesday night that promises to play a big role in Newtown’s efforts to control development and preserve open space. The action neither raised nor lowered the budget, but its backers hope it will bring something of great value to the town.

The council established a mechanism for the sale of the town-owned Queen Street homes and for using the proceeds to purchase open space as an alternative to development in the coming year. With the council’s budget deliberations coming to a close, it was recommended that $750,000 worth of anticipated revenue from the sale of the town-owned homes on Queen Street be added to the budget. At the same time, the council allocated that money to the town’s capital reserve fund.

The suggestion was made by council members Doug Brennan and Donald Studley, as well as Dan Rosenthal, who has been a longtime advocate for selling the Queen Street homes. The strategic move also allows the council to purchase open space land in 2001-2002 rather than having to wait until the following year.

“One of the things that I mentioned is that part of the challenge we have as a government is to really allocate our assets,” Mr Brennan explained. “When you take a look at Queen Street, we sat on an uncertainty because we did not know what we were going to do with Fairfield Hills. But once Fairfield Hills was put in the budget, then it was a good idea to go forward.”

The Town of Newtown purchased the narrow strip of open space back in 1999 for $1.25 million. The former state property along Queen Street consists of six houses and eight vacant lots.

Most residents said they voted in favor of the purchase in an effort to control future development along Queen Street. Town residents felt that area might become vulnerable to higher density housing since the properties are all hooked up to municipal water and sewer facilities.

Mr Brennan said he supported the purchase, but was concerned that the property had for too long been an “under-performing asset.”

“We had $1.2 million tied up there,” he said. “A year ago, we said the right plan is to hold on to it. It’s a safety valve, so let’s keep it there. Because our budget called for moving forward with Fairfield Hills, once you make that assumption, to me it made no sense not to have the positive aspect of selling off the non-performing asset.”

Council Chairman Pierre Rochman said the sale of the homes would provide the town with available funds to purchase open space land down the road.

“The suggestion came as a surprise, but a nice surprise because I think it addresses a lot of different kinds of concerns. It addresses open space concerns, it addresses what we should do with the Queen Street homes, rather than just sitting on it forever. We were able to do this without impacting the mill rate. It was really a very nice development,” Mr Rochman said.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal saluted the plan, pointing out that the Board of Selectmen has been in favor of selling the Queen Street homes all along. He said it has been somewhat embarrassing to see the homes sit in deterioration ever since they were sold to the town.

“The argument against selling the homes was that it was better not to sell them because it would cost us more in the long run. But it was suggested last year that if the town wants to reduce the potential impact of growth on schools, it could do a lot more by selling the houses and using that money to buy open space to prevent it from being developed and bringing in many more children,” Mr Rosenthal said. “The way it addresses the open space is that it is in undesignated funds. That’s the only way it can be carried over from year to year. If we wanted to buy open space, the money is available and the council can appropriate it on the way out.”

Last week, several open space advocates urged the council to return the Conservation Commission’s $150,000 open space funding, which had been cut out by the Board of Selectmen. They said the town could no longer turn its back on the development problem. To drive home the point, resident Mary Burnham donated $10,000 to the cause from monies she won in a settlement over the Walnut Tree Village facility.

Council members admitted being touched by her generosity and council member Melissa Pilchard promptly moved that the budget be reopened so that Mrs Burnham’s donation could be matched by the town. Mr Brennan and Mr Studley had other ideas. And their plan has been called both “timely” and “ingenious.”

The council move was similar to one it made a couple of years ago when it brought the anticipated revenue from tax lien sales into the budget.

What A Difference             A Year Makes

A year ago, after the Board of Selectmen had recommended selling the homes, the council expressed second thoughts. Mr Studley, an accountant, suggested that the town demolish the houses and keep the land for town use either as open space or for future municipal space needs. He presented figures that indicated that selling the homes to families with school-age children would be costlier over time than simply tearing the houses down. Under one Studley scenario, which made several assumptions, selling the homes would end up costing the town about $4 million over the next 25 years. Mr Studley figured in the cost to educate children over several years compared to the relatively small return in taxes. These are not $750,000 homes, council member John Kortze said.

Demolishing the buildings would save the town $809,000 over time, Mr Studley said.

Several other members of the council agreed with Mr Studley, who two years earlier had questioned the town’s interest in purchasing the homes and property from the state. The town eventually purchased the properties for $1.25 million.

Mr Brennan questioned Mr Studley’s figures, saying he may have left some key “assumptions” out. For one, he said, the figures do not include all tax revenue the town stands to receive from these homes. He also guessed that the town would sell the homes for a higher price than Mr Studley had figured in.

Mr Rosenthal agreed, adding that Newtown residents were told at a town meeting last year that the town’s intention was to eventually sell the homes with deed restrictions.

“I do think people voted for purchasing the Queen Street [houses] with the thought in mind that the town would sell the houses,” he said. “Of course, the Legislative Council may think differently.”

The town purchased each home at a cost that ranged from $76,500 to $140,000.

The homes were once a part of the Fairfield Hills campus and were inhabited by staff members.