Drawing The Townspeople Into The Process For Future Of FFH

To the Editor:

Many towns in Connecticut and surrounding states have wrestled with some of the same questions that Newtown has about developing a master plan for the development of their towns. Every town looks to control their taxes. Some have considered economic development and/or light industry. The results have depended on what the specific town’s needs are and the townspeople’s desires for the kind of town they wish to live in. It is suggested that townspeople consider the following questions to help them decide if Newtown is a good candidate for economic development.

1. Does Newtown have unemployed workers living in town who have the skills for the type of economic development being proposed? (In the case of the Collins Company that would mean technical skills. Because of a shortage of these types of workers throughout the nation, high-tech companies have asked congress to allow 280,000 people with these skills to be allowed to come from other countries to fill these positions.)

2. Do we have the road system to handle all the workers who might have to come from area towns? (Ask anyone commuting on Route 34 or 84 what conditions are like on these roads at commuting time.)

3. If workers come to work in Newtown from other towns and decide it is a great place to live, do we have the room in our schools to accept more students? (Consider the over-crowding that we have now.)

4. If these new families come, are our public services adequate for these increased needs that they will want? (Services such as police, fire fighters, ambulance, town office workers, road crews, and a recreation department with both outdoor playing fields and indoor gyms.)

5. Would the revenue from taxes levied on these new companies be sufficient to cover the expenses for the increased services? (Most towns have found that they do not.)

If the answers to all of these questions are yes, then Newtown can consider economic development. If for any of them the answer is no, then we must consider what our present needs are and how buying and developing FFH for Newtown’s use will fill our needs.

Now I have an important question that only we, the citizens of Newtown, can answer. What kind of a town do we want? Do we want a town with a rural character and open space, for example? What are our priorities and shouldn’t we let them be known to our selectmen?

I also want to ask the selectmen if the townspeople will have more than a yes or no vote on what happens at FFH. As the editorial in last week’s Newtown Bee asks: “Who will create the town’s ‘master plan’ for the development of Fairfield Hills, and what will be included in that plan? Which projects will take priority, and which will have to wait?” And most importantly – “How will the townspeople themselves be drawn into the process?”

No one, to my knowledge, is asking to take part in the negotiations with the state. But if the townspeople are asked to foot the bill they should have something to say about what is going to happen in their town. There should be questions on the ballot to provide for taxpayers’ opinions and hopefully they will be considered.

Very sincerely,

MaryAnn Currie

10 Mountain Laurel Lane, Sandy Hook October 31, 2000