A Central Park For Newtown?

By Steve Bigham

The group known as “Save Fairfield Hills for Newtown” continues to stand by its claim that Newtown, should it purchase the property, can afford to transform the campus into something more like Newtown’s version of New York’s Central Park and less like a corporate park.

On Wednesday, it presented the Legislative Council with a financial analysis that indicated an average cost to the taxpayer of just $101 per year in additional taxes if the town chose to avoid large corporate development.

“I believe we can afford this. We could do this ourselves for $101 per year. We don’t need the big corporate presence for 60 years,” noted Newtown resident and accountant Bill Colbert, who prepared the analysis. “People have only been exposed to the Fairfield Hills advisory committee’s report. They never looked at whether or not the town could afford it.”

The Fairfield Hills advisory committee’s report, completed this past spring, recommended that the town offset its own costs by bringing in significant commercial development. Buying the property, the report states, would not be in the town’s best interest unless it brought in commercial revenue.

But Mr Colbert’s numbers lead to a different conclusion. He points out that the estimated $35.6 million in total town costs for land acquisition, renovation, and demolition would be offset by $23.6 million in potential cost savings in other areas... if the town chooses to use the buildings for something other than business revenue. For example, he said, using Fairfield Hills for municipal buildings would eliminate the need for an $11.2 million addition to Edmond Town Hall. Mr Colbert’s report also indicated that nearly $9 million in asbestos and lead abatement costs should be paid by the state, further reducing town costs.

“We don’t have to have a 60-year marriage with a corporation in order to make this work,” he said. “I think a lot of people thought it was going to cost the town $40-50 million and figured ‘we can’t do that.’”

This week, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal disputed Mr Colbert’s figures, however, saying the state will not pay for the removal of hazardous materials from the buildings.

“The abatement costs will not be paid by the state. That cost has been factored in to the final sale price. That’s how they arrived at a lowered price,” said Mr Rosenthal.

The first selectman said Mr Colbert’s potential cost savings numbers are off by $13-14 million.

“I appreciate their efforts, but they’ve got to be a little more accurate with the mathematics,” he said this week.

Town leaders say the only financial analysis they care to see is the one being prepared by Harrall-Michalowski Associates (HMA), which has been hired by the town to conduct an economic impact study. Mr Rosenthal said he needs to finalize a price with the state before HMA can conclude its work.

But Mr Colbert believes the town needs to bring in attorneys and other professionals to negotiate with state officials. Notwithstanding his respect for the first selectman, Mr Colbert said the first selectman may not be the best qualified to negotiate the best price for the town.

“Maybe they can save the town a few million dollars,” he said. “This can be negotiated. Some of the top legal firms in the state can negotiate this.”

Mr Colbert acknowledged that the average cost to the town per year could end up being a little bit higher than $101.

“Maybe it would end up being $180 a year. That’s still an attainable number,” he said.

Newtown resident Andrew Willie also spoke at the council’s meeting Wednesday, urging the town to avoid going the corporate park route. Among his concerns is traffic, and he pointed out that, although Fairfield Hills sits close to Interstate 84, many employees will likely still drive through town to reach their workplace. Even Danbury residents will probably get off exit 9 and come down Route 25, he said.