Council Approves FFH Authority After Hearing

By John Voket

Less than 15 of the 45 minutes scheduled to hear from the public on a proposed Fairfield Hills authority were required Wednesday as only four residents spoke briefly about the issue. Two of the four who addressed the Legislative Council were supportive members of the ad hoc Fairfield Hills management committee, whose volunteer panel would likely be eclipsed by the new nonpolicy making authority.

At its meeting following the hearing, the council approved the ordinance in as little time as the hearing took to discuss it. The creation of the new ordinance brings to an end a half-year’s worth of activities that saw the proposal making the rounds from Newtown, to the legislative chambers in Hartford, to the desk of Governor Jodi Rell and back to the local council.

Second District councilman Joseph Borst cast the only dissenting vote during the roll call, and the measure otherwise passed unanimously. Another Second District councilman, Joseph Hemingway, was not present for the vote having left following the hearing due to an illness, chairman Will Rodgers reported.

Speaking during the hearing, resident Richard Cole expressed concern over whether or not the authority would be charged with awarding contracts.

“Who is in charge, and what are their credentials?” Mr Cole asked the council members. “There needs to be oversight to be sure the proper amount of money is being spent, and that management is being (handled) in a businesslike manor.”

Oscar Berendsohn also expressed the need for answers as the ordinance takes effect, and the authority is seated.

“How far can this authority go? I think it really needs to be spelled out,” Mr Berendsohn told the council.

Ad hoc Fairfield Hills management committee member Robert Geckle told the council and about a dozen others gathered for the hearing that the new authority brings, “…the best practices of the private sector to the public sector.”

He said that a number of misconceptions were posed in recent letters to The Bee and other newspapers, and again clarified that the authority would be a nonpolicy making panel.

“This ordinance represents a vision, in many respects, of the future of Fairfield Hills,” Mr Geckle said. “I’m convinced that a limited development authority is the only way to go.”

Another ad hoc committee member, Richard Sturdevant echoed his concerns about the level of misinformation being circulated regarding the authority ordinance.

“There’s a lot of concern and a lot of questions about the power of the authority,” Mr Sturdevant said. “But the group will be very restricted. It will be subject to a lot of oversight, a lot of checks and balances.”

Saying the board of selectmen cannot be the real estate operators at Fairfield Hills, Mr Sturdevant also expressed his support for the ordinance.

Hearing no other members of the public, the hearing was adjourned a few minutes before 7 pm, leaving attendees to mix with council officials until the special meeting convened at 7:30 pm.

Once the meeting was opened, and routine reports and administrative matters were disposed of, conversation turned to the authority vote. After the motion to approve the ordinance was tendered by Francis Pennarola, chairman of the ordinance committee who helped finalize the language of the draft, the motion was seconded.

Council co-chair Tim Holian polled the council members asking if any of them had been contacted by constituents in recent weeks regarding feelings for or against the authority. But all the remaining council members shook their heads or said they had received no inquiries about the issue.

Councilman Joseph Borst reiterated earlier concerns he expressed to the ordinance committee and during a previous council meeting about the council assigning the final approval to endorsed authority members instead of the final approval being given to the Board of Selectmen.

“I still feel the Legislative Council should have some input on the selection and establishment of this authority,” Mr Borst said.

Mr Pennarola asserted that early-on in the process of deciding on a permanent management body for the sprawling campus, there was some discussion of amending the charter to establish the authority.

“But establishing an ordinance gives us a lot more freedom to tweak it if we see it is needed,” Mr Pennarola said.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, who normally would occupy the ex-officio seat at the council table, was away on vacation and could not be reached for comment after the vote.

Following the meeting, however, Mr Rodgers said he expected the authority panel would be seated quickly. But he said he was not aware if the first selectmen had already received inquiries from interested candidates for the openings.

“I don’t know how the first selectman plans to handle recruitment for the committee,” Mr Rodgers said. The council chairman said he recalled a meeting of the ad hoc committee during which discussions centered around the type of expertise particular nominees would bring to the authority board, and that he hoped this concept of seating individuals with significant experience in areas related to facility development and maintenance would come to fruition.

The ordinance contains the following stipulations:

1. Newtown will establish a municipal development agency to be known as the “Fairfield Hills Authority,” to implement the master plan for development of Fairfield Hills Campus adopted by the Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission, as from time to time amended.

2. The authority shall consist of eight regular members appointed by the first selectman with approval by the Board of Selectman. Authority members must be an elector of the town. Once the initial appointment cycle has run a course of three years, subsequent appointments will be for three-year periods. Vacancies will be filled immediately by the same process, and will serve the remaining terms of those departing the panel. Charter mandated terms of minority representation on the authority shall apply.

3. At its first meeting, the authority shall select a chairman, a vice chairman, and a clerk. The clerk is responsible for keeping records of votes and other business. A quorum of five members must be met to constitute a legal meeting, and a minimum of four affirmative votes must be cast in order to endorse or transact any business before the panel.

4. The authority is only permitted to exercise powers granted under the ordinance, and can only affect business within the legal boundaries of the Fairfield Hills campus as identified in the property’s legal description.

5. As is stipulated in the public act, the authority has the power to implement the master plan for the development and operation of the premises including the power to clear, demolish, repair, rehabilitate, construct, and insure real property in its possession; to make site improvements essential to the preparation of land for its use in accordance with the master plan; to install, construct, or reconstruct streets, utilities, and other improvements conforming to the master plan; to negotiate leases for all or any part of the land and buildings, provided that any lease be subject to approval by the Board of Selectmen; employ staff and fix their duties by contract, or employ private contractors when needed; and to the extent necessary, expend funds available to implement the master plan in accordance with powers granted to the authority at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen, the first selectman, or the purchasing authority of the town as deemed appropriate by any or all of the above.

The final element of the proposed ordinance stipulates the authority shall meet monthly, and within six months of its appointment, shall prepare and submit a schedule for reporting progress on the implementation of the master plan to the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council. Thereafter, the authority must report semiannually to those elected officials as to its progress in carrying out the provisions of the master plan.