Date: Fri 17-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

selectmen-Antinozzi-prison

Full Text:

SELECTION OF ARCHITECTURAL FIRM IRKS PRISON BATTLE VETERANS

BY STEVE BIGHAM

A decision last week by Newtown's Board of Selectmen to hire the same

Stratford architectural firm that ten years ago recommended Newtown as the

best site for a state prison, has drawn criticism from those who fought -- and

lost -- the protracted local battle to keep the correctional facility out of

Newtown.

The selectmen selected Antinozzi Associates of Stratford October 6 to conduct

a study of the town's need for more office space.

Back in 1987, the state was looking for a new site to build a new prison. To

help in its search, the state hired an architectural firm to determine which

of six pre-selected Connecticut towns would best be suited for the proposed

400-bed correctional facility.

Antinozzi Associates eventually recommended Newtown after the town scored

highest in a study, which used an elaborate scoring system to rate each of the

six sites on 22 economic, environmental and operational criteria. Soon after,

amid pressure from the town of Newtown, state officials admitted that there

were errors in the Antinozzi report -- enough to affect Newtown's final score.

Newtown was awarded an inappropriate number of points for services or

conditions unavailable or inaccurately described. Nevertheless, Newtown got

the Garner Correctional Institution, a high-security prison on Nunnawauk Road,

adjacent to Fairfield Hills.

At the time, then-first selectman Jack Rosenthal was quoted as saying that the

Antinozzi report was not "worth the powder to blow it to hell." Then-Gov

William O'Neill ordered state officials to review the site selection process

after Mr Rosenthal presented the governor with the inaccuracies.

What a difference ten years makes.

Last week, the Board of Selectmen voted 2-1 to hire Antinozzi Associates to

conduct another study in Newtown. This study would help the town in its search

for a new facility to house its town employees. Some town employees are

currently working at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills after being forced out of

a flooded Town Hall South last February. The town's lease runs out with the

state in a little over a year, so there's little time to waste.

Prison Opponents Horrified

Some of those Newtown residents who lost the fight to keep the correctional

facility out of town said they were horrified to hear that the town was hiring

the same architectural firm whose errors, they believe, helped bring the

prison into Newtown.

"That report had such erroneous facts. Why in the world would we want to spend

our tax dollars to pay for another bunch of potential errors," said outspoken

resident Wendy Beres, who led the Newtown Citizens Action Group in its fight

against the prison during the late 1980s.

Mrs Beres said she has never understood why such a reputable firm could have

included so many wrong items in its report.

"That report was made to have Newtown come out first," she said.

This week, First Selectman Bob Cascella said he was aware of the controversial

report made by Antinozzi back in 1987, but said it had little to do with what

the firm has now been hired to do for the town. Nevertheless, he understands

that some people are very passionate over the fact that the prison was put in

Newtown.

"There are some people who believe something fishy was going on with the

report. It depends on who you ask," he said Wednesday. "We may even reconsider

it at the Board of Selectman level [Monday night]."

Wednesday night, the Legislative Council was scheduled to vote on whether or

not to pay the architect $24,000 for his services, but the meeting was

canceled on Tuesday as Republicans opted to put off the volatile issue until

after the November 4 election. All 12 council seats are up for election.

Officially, council chairman Pierre Rochman said he felt it was a good idea to

cancel the meeting because it was so close to the election and did not want

any big decisions made with a possibility of a turnover in personnel. The

Antinozzi issue was the only item on the council's agenda, he said.

Mr Rochman said the town should not begrudge the architect for choosing

Newtown for the prison. However, he added that if there were errors in the

report, then that is a whole different story.

Mr Cascella said a "timing issue" prevented the architect from appearing at

the council meeting Wednesday night.

The council next meets November 5, one day after the election.

The Antinozzi report gave Newtown points for having public transportation and

paid emergency services it does not have. It also failed to mention that the

prison site is above a sole-source aquifer. Also, the state's Executive Order

No 20 specifies that correctional facilities should be located in urban areas.

The report failed to correctly identify Newtown as rural. These errors helped

make Newtown the top jail candidate with 189 points, followed by Watertown

(170), two sites in Torrington (163 and 137), Southbury (160) and Bristol

(114).

Antinozzi president Paul Antinozzi did not return phone calls this week. In

the past, he has declined to comment on the 1987 report he conducted for the

state.

Jack Rosenthal, now a member of the council, was irked to learn that the

Legislative Council meeting had been called off. He said the Republicans

should still hold the meeting and simply admit Mr Cascella made a mistake when

he chose Antinozzi.

"Everybody makes mistakes. The prison issue is a dead one. What are they

afraid of?" Mr Rosenthal wondered about the Republicans. "The only reason you

can give for canceling a meeting is because of a lack of a quorum. It

shouldn't be because they're going to create controversy before an election."

Selectmen Gary Fetzer voted against the hiring of Antinozzi Architects at the

October 6 Board of Selectmen meeting. His belief was that such an important

decision should not be made by a lame duck administration in its final two

months in office. The new administration, Mr Fetzer said, might want to take a

different approach to this problem. Selectman Jim Mooney disagreed, saying an

entire year would be lost if the board did not act now.

Last winter, the town's Space Needs Advisory Committee concluded its own study

of the town's buildings, saying the best option would be to move the former

Town Hall South employees to Watertown Hall, the massive building at Fairfield

Hills which the town recently accepted from the state's Office of Policy &

Management. However, there are some who say the building would be better off

torn down.

Town employees moved into the 8,600-square foot Canaan House last February

after Town Hall South became increasingly ravaged by flooding and general

deterioration. The town is coming up on the end of the first year of a

two-year lease with the State of Connecticut.

Where will these employees go when the lease is up? That is what Antinozzi

Associates are supposed to help determine.