Residents Press For A Decision On Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

Newtown residents showed up at a forum Monday night to urge town officials to make a decision about the future of Fairfield Hills. Many of them say the town needs to move forward with the purchase of the 185-acre state-owned property and stop wasting time.

But the 50-60 citizens on hand in the high school lecture hall also issued a stern warning that both the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council make their decisions very carefully. Almost all of them acknowledged the risk Newtown would face in taking over what some fear could turn out to be a white elephant.

There were also a handful of residents who still contend that a town like Newtown has no business taking over Fairfield Hills. The buildings present huge, open-ended costs to the town that may turn out to be more than what the town had bargained for.

John Crouch of High Bridge Road likened the Fairfield Hills issue to a Super Stop & Shop bagger who just won a brand new Rolls Royce. At first, the boy is elated to come across such a fancy new car. Then, reality sets in as the boy wonders how he will afford to pay the taxes and repairs on the car.

Mr Crouch said Newtown needs someone like his own father-in-law, who once saved him a lot of heartache by finding the termites in an old house he was about to buy.

“Get together. Lock the door and make a decision. You’ve got the ideas. Now go forward,” he said.

Judy Craven of 18 Grand Place said she supports the town buying Fairfield Hills, but admits she has concerns. We have enough trouble cutting the grass on town property that already exists, she said.

Local landscape architect Irwin Potter of 25 Washington Avenue believes it will be more costly to rehabilitate the buildings than to rebuild them. “My question to you is are you willing to buy and take over an open-ended money pit? The town has to be unbelievably committed to the fact that these buildings have that much historical value,” he said. “I remain open-minded, but I am very concerned that this is a deep hole for the town.”

Much of  Monday’s discussion centered on what the town should do when and if it does purchase the property from the state. Two views have emerged on this subject. The first holds that the town needs to offset the purchase price by bringing in significant commercial development. The second believes the town needs to avoid big business and establish  instead a park-like setting.

While some say they would support purchase of the property even without a plan, most said a detailed master plan must be in place before the town can move forward. Right now, there is no plan and many say there does not appear to be an agenda on how proceed, either.

Gordon Williams of 32 Main Street said he was once a member of the “Save Fairfield Hills for Newtown” group, which has endorsed a “corporate park” for Fairfield Hills. But he began to feel differently after the budget failed the first time around this past April. He fears taxpayers will say “yes” to buying Fairfield Hills only if they are assured it won’t drive their taxes through the roof.

“Reluctantly, I think we need to have something that will get passed [at a referendum],” he said. “This is a jewel we need to keep.”

Newtown resident and Taunton Press owner Jan Roman called herself one of the largest taxpayers in town.

“Yes, we should purchase the property, and I’m in favor of open space, but not open space with buildings on it. I’m in favor of a larger tax base,” she said. “We need some good prosperous businesses. I love the idea of making it into a ‘wired’ community.”

Earlier this month, the real estate development firm of Arthur Collins was in town promoting its plan to turn Fairfield Hills into a high-tech park – a plan it says will provide the town with revenue and space for ball fields, municipal buildings, open space, and schools.

And, as far as Mrs Roman is concerned, good traffic is the kind that comes to town and stays in town. Bad traffic, she said, is the kind that goes right through without ever stopping.

The ad hoc Fairfield Hills advisory committee endorsed a plan for commercial development this past spring – a plan that First Selectman Herb Rosenthal supports.

However, there are people, including Laurie Wrabel of Brushy Hill Road, who say they never thought about using Fairfield Hills for economic development. That stuff belongs someplace else, she said.

Ken Johnson agreed and said he would vote “no” to any plan that contains a corporate park.

Steve Liker questioned whether or not the town will receive enough support for the purchase, pointing to past projects such as sewers, Town Hall South renovations, Queen Street purchase, ball fields, etc.

“Look how hard it was to get support for those very simple plans,” he said. “Our strength is not in purchasing and getting support. That task should be given to a developer. Pass up the opportunity and give it to those who have the expertise.”

Tom Belli of Taunton Hill Road agreed. The Newtown resident knows what it’s like to renovate an old building, having spent $2 million to refurbish the Hawley Manor Inn a few years back.

“Romantically, I would love to see us have this property, but when you dust the romantic stuff off, you find a lot of rust,” he said. “Where is the plan. Without that, I don’t think we can go forward.”

Mr Belli continued to voice support for a plan proposed by the New Canaan development firm of Becker and Becker, which gained popularity in town last summer before eventually falling out of favor with some town officials.

  “I think his plan was rejected because he was too thorough. He was seeking some tax breaks for historic renovations. He’s pushy,” Mr Belli said. “Believe me, you’re going to need someone really pushy and very thorough in order to do this.”

Mike Osborne of Zoar Road believes Newtown needs to purchase the property and then make caveats on the state’s liability for clean-up of the buildings. He reminded town officials that this is a new experience for the state as well.

“We have a chance to be a prototype for good relations with the state,” he said.

Bob Eckenrode of Wildcat Road said the town’s master plan should address the current and future needs of the town and represent a combined effort of planning professionals, town officials, and residents. He believes the recreational value and wildlife habitat of the park should be considered as important as its potential for municipal, economic, and commercial development.