An Affordable Vision For FFH

To the Editor:

We have been told that if we don’t buy FFH the state will potentially expand the prison or site a drug and alcohol residency program there. In fact, the state could site such a program or prison on any of their remaining 600 acres of “open space” with an act of the legislature. Also, the state has no interest in using the current FFH campus, as they, too, realize its obsolescence and inefficiencies.

What we must do is move forward, not out of fear, but with an affordable vision of what FFH can do for the town. By dividing the campus into sectors we can make this project more manageable and work:

Sector 1: Residential Housing Campus – Immediately sell the existing residential housing (as well as the Queen Street housing) with the proceeds used to reduce the purchase price outlay or potentially provide one bedroom apartments in adjacent buildings at reduced rates to help attract teachers and other town employees to the town.

Sector 2: Educational Campus – Identify those sites for future schools and related fields. Mothball any buildings in the sector, and defer any environmental work until needed.

Sector 3: Open Space Campus – Map out open space and schedule the construction of paths, trails and ball fields over a five year period.

Sector 4: Town Government Campus – Offices: Schedule work for environmental remediation after a full evaluation is made of space needs. It is clear that the town has to take a “technology leap.” Until we fully evaluate the possibilities for networking of departments, digital imaging of documents, centralized computer equipment and remote storage of hard copies, we are clearly not ready to execute a plan for construction of new town offices. Parks and Recreation Facilities: Parks and Rec has their plate full completing bathrooms at Dickinson Park and the Amaral ball fields. Any future facilities for Parks and Rec will definitely require more planning and professional expertise to execute them in a timely and cost-efficient manner. It is not reasonable to just agree to renovate the current FFH recreational building because of the “pressing need.”

Sector 5: Expansion of Nunnawauk Meadows – Provide land with or without a building for the expansion of the senior housing campus adjacent to its current facilities.

Sector 6: Commercial Campus – Determine which portion of FFH is appropriate to develop commercially after designing Sectors 1 through 5 and determine the maximum square footage developable based on existing infrastructure capabilities. Sell the campus to a developer after changing the zoning to commercial use. Use the proceeds for environmental remediation.

Only after our leadership has completed the total plan and created a timeline for the work required, including all expenditures, revenues, and their annual incremental change in the tax rate, can the voters have the basis for voting on the bonding for this project.

I understand that even though the advisory committee on FFH has provided much of the required information we still have to finalize many open items. We still haven’t done the Phase 2 environmental work. So I ask our leaders to wait on the vote and provide us with a complete package of information before we are asked to vote on bonding the project.

Yours Truly,

Gary Tannenbaum

Pond Brook Road, Newtown                                           May 16, 2001