UPDATE: This report was updated at 10:40 am on Monday, March 16 to modify information from last Friday's print edition regarding a planned Council budget hearing Wednesday evening.

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Ahead of a still planned public hearing on town and school district 2020-21 budget requests, the Legislative Council approved several capital authorizations, as well as authorizing the preparation of explanatory information to help educate voters on each of the measures.

Chairman Paul Lundquist said he will also be preparing some example language for ballot questions regarding adding a mixed-use residential option to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, if that measure is to be included along with capital borrowing authorizations on the April 28 budget referendum ballot.

At their March 4 meeting, council members also unanimously approved the town entering into a lease agreement with the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity, or SHOP, to lease a small area of municipal property on Glen Road to create a visitor kiosk and pop-up park that will serve as the trail head for a proposed Sandy Hook Heritage Trail.

Lundquist told The Newtown Bee Monday, March 16 he is working to find a way for members of the public to minimize infection risk while being able to still offer public input during a planned 7 pm budget hearing on Wednesday, March 18. Its members received a brief presentation from Board of Finance Chair Sandy Roussas and Vice Chair Keith Alexander on March 4.

The Board of Selectmen previously approved and moved a municipal budget proposal to the Board of Finance for review totaling $43,211,955 — a 2.45 percent bump from the current spending plan. The Board of Education unanimously approved its $79,201,776 budget proposal for 2020-21 on February 4 — a 1.4 percent increase over the current budget.

After deliberation and several motions, the finance board made a $95,000 net reduction to a bottom line budget request of $112,435,218 that was presented to the council. It should be noted that the municipal budget carries all debt service on capital borrowing, including bonding for school district projects.

According to documentation from Town Finance Director Robert Tait, that bottom line adjusted tax levy (assuming at least a 99.2 percent tax collection rate) includes $1,385,000 in local elderly/disabled tax benefits, $154,000 in state elderly tax credits, and $120,000 in property tax reductions granted to qualified local emergency services volunteers from five fire companies, the local ambulance corps, and the Newtown Underwater Search & Rescue (NUSAR) squad.

If moved to voters with no further changes by the council and subsequently approved by voters, the proposed budget would generate a 0.60 percent tax increase and a 2020-21 mill rate of 34.98 — up from the current 34.77. A mill represents $1 in taxation for every $1,000 in taxable property.

Heritage Park Lease

During the March 4 meeting, council members unanimously endorsed a proposal they first began considering in late 2018 to improve and create a pocket park and information kiosk on a vacant brownfields site at 7 Glen Road.

During the November 2018 presentation, local developer and SHOP President Michael Burton and local builder Christopher Hottois unveiled and discussed the potential for the improvement project that would convert the former site of an auto garage in Sandy Hook Center to an attractive landmark and destination that would include a modest pavilion, attractive landscaping along the Pootatuck River, and additional parking for 29 to 30 vehicles.

The site is intended to serve as a trail head for those looking to meander into the Rocky Glen State Park or to pick up the locally maintained Al’s Trail, which connects Sandy Hook Village to the Fairfield Hills campus. It would also be the centerpiece of a self-guided Sandy Hook walking tour that would feature permanently installed markers educating visitors about various architectural and historical features of the area, according to Hottois.

The pair told the council they saw the proposal as an exciting project beneficial to the town and Sandy Hook. The proposal took shape after gathering input from neighbors, and they had already tapped the expertise of volunteers from SHOP, along with some pro bono work from a local architect, a civil engineer, and a landscape designer. Hottois said volunteer town historian Dan Cruson would be curating aspects of the proposed historical walk.

Newtown residents John Cost, Rob Sherwood, and Al Shepherd each donated time and assistance developing the presentation.

Hottois said the project would position part of the parking area as a cap for the environmentally sensitive areas of the property, with the pavilion serving as a community gathering space and welcoming center for anyone coming to Sandy Hook. The pavilion would have some historical information posted inside, along with a trail map.

Pointing out the tremendous amount of history associated with Sandy Hook Village, Hottois said SHOP volunteers had already identified more than two dozen points of interest that could be included in the walking trail. He said part of concept involves Dayton Street enhancements that include an overlook pocket park, along with some enhancements on property owned by Burton across from Eagle Rock Road that has an elevation and views of the village center.

When Burton returned to speak to the council again in April 2019, he said a measure of fundraising for the project was already completed, and leaders of his organization did not want to move forward unless it was clear there was a project that would fulfill their vision for the lot.

“Approximately $20,000 has already been raised,” Burton told the council. In addition, Hottois and his business partner, Chris Wilson, have pledged an additional $50,000 in the form of a matching grant, to stimulate fundraising. First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said at the time that a licensed environmental professional has already advised the town that the parcel could retain some functionality if it was capped.

The site is a former auto garage that was foreclosed upon by the town for back taxes under the Llodra administration.

Charter Stipulations Waived

Earlier this month, the council reviewed and endorsed the final lease agreement. Lundquist said the proposal included a provision waiving certain Charter-mandated processes including a formal appraisal process, and permitting the council to move forward because the “buyers having a binding commitment to use the real property for a specific purpose where there is a benefit to the town.”

Rosenthal said the town attorney confirmed some time ago that the Charter was revised to allow the council flexibility to forgo certain land conveyance mandates when the property involved will provide a public benefit. The first selectman said expediting the lease agreement would permit proponents of the project to re-activate fundraising efforts for the project.

“We do need to consider capping it, and this [agreement] allows SHOP to continue fundraising for it,” the first selectman said.

Council member Ryan Knapp, an early supporter of the SHOP project, said when the land was first acquired by the town, it was unclear how challenging it would be to market it for private development considering the environmental unknowns.

“This lease model is great because it allows SHOP to address this now versus [a funding request] going into the Capital Improvement Plan” where he said it could languish for several years before being acted upon. “The neighbors who will benefit from it will be the ones responsible for it and will be the best stewards of it. Maybe we’ll end up getting that tax revenue back on improved assessments in the future if it improves [property values] in the area.”

Hottois previously said that ignoring all possible environmental implications, a buyer could only develop a 4,000-square-foot building there that could generate $14,000 to $18,000 a year in property taxes. But if a park was built, surrounding property values would increase five to eight percent.

“That will get you the same or more tax revenue associated with that single property,” he said. The estimated cost to complete the park on that parcel as envisioned is $286,000, which would be generated exclusively through SHOP fundraising, in-kind work donated by benefactors, and the $50,000 matching grant pledge.