Election 2003 Candidate Profiles––

Republican Bill Sheluck Promises To

‘Make Things Happen’

By Jan Howard

Republican Bill Sheluck, who is opposing incumbent Democrat First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, believes it is time for a change in the first selectman post in Newtown. He points to his 35 years of business experience and 11 years as a CEO as reasons why he should be elected.

A seven-year resident of Newtown, Mr Sheluck served as chairman of the most recent Charter Revision Commission.

“As I’ve looked at how things have gone over the past six years, my level of frustration has increased every day,” Mr Sheluck said during a recent interview. “As I’ve watched things unfolding in town, I’ve noticed we don’t make things happen, things happen to us.” For instance, he said, “You have to manage growth.”

He said there have been “more missed opportunities than measures of success.

“It’s one thing to be critical; it’s another to say I can make a difference,” he said.

He said the common theme he has heard during his campaign is that people feel disenfranchised. The first selectman, he noted, “has the responsibility to lead people, to show the way,” to consider alternatives and then to say what is in the best interests of the town.

Open Space

There have been missed opportunities to buy open space, according to Mr Sheluck.

“We haven’t gone out proactively,” to obtain it, he noted. “We haven’t talked about it until this campaign. We should have grabbed our opportunities. I expect the first selectman to be out in front of things.”

Mr Sheluck said funding for open space is “at zero now.” He said he would know better how to address open space acquisition when he would have a look at the “financial picture” of the town.

“We have to have a plan to do it,” he said. For instance, the town should work out a way to purchase farmlands to avoid development. “We have to go out and identify properties. We need to make a deal with farmers for development rights to keep them intact for the foreseeable future,” he said.

He termed the town’s recent discussions with The Trust for Public Land as “window dressing.”

Economic Development

Mr Sheluck said the town does not have an active marketing plan to attract business.

“We need to do research to identify the industries that are growing that would be appropriate industries for our town,” he said. The town should be looking at neighboring towns to see if companies there are looking to grow and need additional space in another location.

“We are not proactive,” he said. “Small business people say it’s like pulling teeth to get things done here.”

He said land use processes need to be reviewed. “The first selectman has the responsibility to sit down with Planning and Zoning to see if there is antiquated zoning that is not appropriate to where we are today. Should it stay the same? We should encourage them to look at certain areas.”

Mr Sheluck said as first selectman he would regularly meet with every board and commission in town.

He said he would also sit down with the community development director to see what could be done to attract economic development “and give her a chance to make it happen.”

In the case of a “missed opportunity” for economic development in Hawleyville, Mr Sheluck said there were “incentives we could have offered to bridge the gap between buyer and seller.” He said Mr Rosenthal should have tried to bring them together.

Mr Sheluck maintains that despite Mr Rosenthal’s statement to the contrary, the town did lose tax dollars from personal property in the Dresser Industries move out of town. He noted the change at Kendro was brought about by employees. “The first selectman didn’t get into that. We should have been there to foster the transaction.”

He said some of the funds approved in the 2001 vote that approved the purchase of Fairfield Hills should have been spent on the approximately 38 acres adjacent to Commerce Road. 

 

Traffic

Mr Sheluck said the town needs to “drive the process” in solving traffic congestion on Newtown’s roads, noting it needs to “get on the pecking order” with the state for improvements to Routes 25 and 34. He said Route 25 should be widened to allow for turn lanes.

“We need to bring solutions to the table,” he said, and to look at every option.

“The perception is if you do nothing, nothing will change,” he said. “Change will happen to you.”

There are ways to look at every problem and turn it into an opportunity, he said.

“We have a large town. We have to be able to move across it in the most efficient manner,” he said, while taking into consideration how it would change the character of the town.

 

Fairfield Hills

Mr Sheluck has voiced his opposition to the master plan for Fairfield Hills numerous times, and prior to the vote in August sent out post cards calling for its defeat. The plan was later defeated, with only 15 percent of the voters turning out.

“Maybe we need to put together a new plan,” Mr Sheluck said, “and bring back to the people what should be the new steps. We can’t afford to spend $21 million.”

In 2001, $21 million was approved overwhelmingly for purchase of the property, and to provide space for municipal offices, build athletic fields, and demolish or renovate certain buildings at the site. The appropriation also included improvements to Edmond Town Hall and reconstruction of playing fields at Newtown High School.

“I don’t think people knew what they were voting on at the town meeting. There was not enough discussion,” Mr Sheluck said, noting the town meeting also included a vote on the 5/6 school.

Mr Sheluck said he would be in favor of removing the master plan requirement of the 2001 vote. The master plan was required so that the Planning and Zoning Commission would be able to revise its zoning rules in regard to review of redevelopment proposals for Fairfield Hills. Previous zoning regulations were developed in 1998 when it appeared that the campus would be purchased by some private firm for redevelopment.

“I don’t know why [the master plan] was a prerequisite,” Mr Sheluck said.

Mr Sheluck said uses for the property would be controlled without a master plan.

“It was difficult for people to put their arms around the plan,” he said, because the only items defined were the town hall and ball fields. “These are not things I would have put on the table,” he said.

In regard to a survey the Board of Selectmen is considering of why people voted as they did on the master plan, Mr Sheluck noted, “I’m not sure what that will tell us.”

Mr Sheluck said it is important to close on the property, but the town has to determine what it definitely owns and the cost of environmental cleanup.

He reiterated the town should focus on the 37-plus-acre parcel for development for commercial interests. He also sees the need for recreational facilities for Newtown residents at the Fairfield Hills site. “We owe it to them,” he said.

“It fits in nicely,” he said. “If I was first selectman and taken the same tack, I would have chosen a different focus. First we should have had a focus.”

He said facilities for teens and senior citizens should be put at the forefront rather than a town hall.

 

Budget And Technology

“I would look at how we make every decision to see if it is being done economically,” Mr Sheluck said of the budget process.

He advocates expenditures in technology to avoid the construction or renovation of a new town hall. He said that a new town hall, with all services in one place, is unnecessary if advanced technology were to be used.

“The town hall could become more efficient through technology,” he said. “We should look at other alternatives for a new town hall. As the town grows, we don’t have to hire people if we use technology.

“If we can show that technology can give a return in the future, we can justify that expenditure,” Mr Sheluck said.

He said the town should be communicating with people better, with minutes and agendas of boards and commissions available online. “We need to bring information to the people,” he said.

He said the town’s website is “embarrassing,” with information that is five or six years old.

The town is weak in technology, Mr Sheluck said.

 

Education

“I feel as residents of the town we have a responsibility to the children,” Mr Sheluck said, noting the Board of Education worked hard to address cuts to its budget this year.

However, he noted, if children could vote they would have voted to retain some things, such as the orchestra.

“We need to provide those things so children have a proper education,” he said.

In regard to out-of-pocket expenses for school activities, Mr Sheluck said, “There should be some fees for some sports or activities.”

He said, however, the burden for providing activities should be borne by all taxpayers.

“The cost would be less than to individual families who have to deny access to activities they can’t afford,” Mr Sheluck said.

 

Cultural Arts

Mr Sheluck pointed to the recent appointment of a committee to discuss the formation of a cultural arts commission. “Why now, before election?”

He said Connecticut Magazine has ranked Newtown near the bottom in cultural arts.