Special Town Meeting August 6 On Land Sale

By John Voket

Taxpayers will have the final say on a proposal that is expected to generate economic development and additional tax dollars. Any Newtown resident qualified to vote in a town meeting is called to do so August 6 at 7 pm.

The special town meeting, set to occur at the Booth Library, will defeat or authorize a proposal that would permit TUV Rheinland, a subsidiary of a multinational corporation at 12 Commerce Road, to purchase a small piece of town-owned land for at least $69,478.

During previous discussions on the matter before his own board, the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said the sale of the half-acre-plus parcel would provide a three-fold windfall for the community. He explained that the acquisition of the property would allow TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc to remain and grow its American headquarters here on Commerce Road.

The town is receiving slightly more than one of the appraisals for the land, which has extremely limited utility beyond its planned use, Mr Rosenthal said. And by acquiring the extra land, the company can expand its testing operations and its physical presence at the location, generating additional future property taxes as well as personal property income on new or added equipment that will be required.

Ultimately, the first selectman has said, the company’s ability to expand its facility and operations onto the new parcel all but ensures TUV Rheinland will remain a Newtown corporate entity for years to come. Any taxpayer interested in reviewing information or maps related to the land sale may do so during normal business hours at the town clerk’s office in Edmond Town Hall.

At an early spring selectmen’s meeting, a representative from the international company said acquisition of the parcel was critical to ensure the company remains in town. TUV measures electromagnetic emissions from American-made appliances and equipment in order to help manufacturers qualify to sell the products in other international marketplaces.

Its engineers evaluate and certify electrical and electronic components such as computers, appliances, power tools, and other items meet both US and European standards. The firm, for example, would test the electromagnetic emissions from a laptop computer to ensure that the computer would not interfere with the aviation electronics equipment that is in use on an aircraft in flight.

TUV Rheinland’s world headquarters is in Cologne, Germany.

Currently, the company pays about $55,000 in local taxes on more than $2 million in assessed personal property, real estate, and vehicles, according to Assessor Thomas DeNoto. That number is expected to increase as additional testing and office equipment is brought in to fill a new addition to the facility, which is being developed now.

Up to the point where the company won a bid to purchase the land, TUV Rheinland negotiated permission from the town to use the parcel as a buffer because of the electromagnetic signals emitted from some of the company’s testing equipment. Over the past several years, the company has sought renewals of the agreement.

The tract is part of a larger parcel provided to the town by the state for economic development and recreational use. Mr Rosenthal told fellow selectmen Joseph Bojnowski and William Brimmer, Jr, at an April meeting that the small, isolated lot would never be developed by the town.

“The only person this parcel has any value to would be an abutting property owner,” Mr Rosenthal said at the time. “It’s too small to be a building lot.”

Consequently, the only persons qualified to bid on the purchase, by sealed bid, are abutting property owners, he added.

At a July 19 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) meeting, Mr Scoville said TUV wants to build an approximately 2,100-square-foot structure within which it would test various electronic devices.

 The area near the new testing building would be cleared of objects to ensure that test equipment is not affected by interference, Mr Scoville said. The new structure would not be visible from Commerce Road, he said.

The structure would be built of a nonmetallic material to avoid any test interference. The proposed new testing facility would replace an existing testing structure on the site, he said. The new test structure would be built to allow TUV to keep pace with changing testing standards.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean said the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) must review an aquifer protection study that was produced for TUV because the site is within the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD). Such studies describe the steps that would be taken at the site to avoid aquifer contamination.

After reviewing the aquifer protection study, the IWC makes a recommendation to the P&Z, which then acts on the matter.

P&Z members are expected to act on TUV’s application for new construction at an upcoming session.

Newtown Bee reporter Andrew Gorosko contributed to this report.