Military Training Center Proposed For FFH High Meadow Site

By John Voket

The panoramic 360-degree views of Connecticut’s rolling hills as seen after an easy stroll to the peak of High Meadow on the Fairfield Hills campus could be restricted to just a relative few if the military rolls in and develops a 13- to 18-acre site targeted for an Army Reserve training center there. According to First Selectman Joe Borst, he is in favor of listening to what the US Army Reserve has to say, after releasing an unclassified proposal on the development to The Bee on November 4.

Mr Borst said because of the need for immediate proximity to other military installations, including the Governor’s Horse Guard center with property along Wasserman Way, the High Meadow and East Meadow sections of the former state hospital campus are the only appropriate future sites.

“We tried to show them the Tech Park area, but they would have to construct a bridge over the stream down there,” Mr Borst said Tuesday. While acknowledging the proposal is in discussion phase only, the documentation from the first selectman indicates that if approved, the town could recover a one-time profit from the sale of the land to the government.

Chris Kelsey, Newtown’s assessor, said at an average market rate of $9 per square foot for commercial development with no adjustments, the 18-acre maximum footprint of land at the campus would be worth $7,056,720 with an assessed value of about $4.9 million.

State and federal government installations of this nature, however, are exempt from the tax rolls, Mr Phelps said. Mr Borst added that there would be no further benefit to the town as only state installations like the Garner correctional facility provide municipal payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, funds.

According to a memo, economic benefits would come from the base contracting services such as cleaning, security, landscaping, food, and collateral spending of salaries of personnel in area businesses. The memo states the approximate population of the base would max out at 350 Army reservists and as many as 220 Connecticut National Guard troops.

Activities in the facility would include indoor classroom training and administration, limited physical fitness training to be performed outside, an operational maintenance shop for minor motor vehicle repairs and indoor as well as outdoor storage of vehicles.

The $35–$55 million complex would centralize activities currently being carried out at several smaller regional National Guard armories and training centers from Naugatuck to Norwalk, as well as the Army Reserve Centers in Fairfield, Waterbury, and Danbury, Mr Borst said.

If the project moves forward, an estimated completion date is set for September 2011. Mr Borst said he favors the town giving the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) officials an opportunity to explain the plans to residents at a town meeting yet to be scheduled.

“So far it’s in discussion phase only...no commitment, no promises,” the first selectman said. “But I’m open minded to having them come in and talk about [the base proposal] at a public meeting.”

Mr Borst suggested the one-time profit from the land sale could underwrite the balance of demolition and development of the core Fairfield Hills campus.

The eventual development could encompass up to ten acres for the core building and parking, and utilize another three- to ten-acre restricted buffer zone around the perimeter.

Currently, the High Meadow is among the region’s most popular hiking sites because of its relatively easy access from the lower campus area at Fairfield Hills.

Democratic selectman and former first selectman Herb Rosenthal said the lack of any ongoing tax revenue to the town makes the proposal a loser for the town.

“It’s more traffic for the town and some traffic to businesses, that’s it,” Mr Rosenthal said. “I can’t see trading this pristine open space for that. There’s nothing else coming — we left this for open space or some future development, maybe a future school site or something providing a significant ongoing return to the town.”

Mr Rosenthal said the current zoning on the site is 150-acre minimum and the town owns 186, so it cannot be subdivided. There was no answer at the contact number for Lieutenant Colonel Floyd L. Harrington, Jr, the BRAC deputy regional engineer who Mr Borst identified as a contact for the project.

George Benson of the town land use agency said if the military was considering some action to acquire the property, local zoning regulations would prohibit such a development on either Fairfield Hills site.

“This would require a change in the master plan and zoning regulations,” he said. “Right now, you can’t do it by town regulations.”

Mr Benson said based on his understanding of the 2011 deadline to complete the project, there would not be sufficient time to go through the various statutory changes required and complete the project.

On October 17, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a formal appeal to the Secretary of the Army, over a Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) refusal to release a copy of a legal opinion purporting that a planned Army training facility must be built in Middletown.

Mr Blumenthal maintains that the Base Realignment and Closing Act of 2005 states that the Army training facility is to be built in Middletown, but only “if a suitable site can be obtained.”

Despite this BRAC language, Mr Blumenthal said Army Corps of Engineers representatives publicly and repeatedly claimed that the Judge Advocate General determined in a May 21, 2007, letter that this language means that the facility “must” be built in Middletown, regardless of whether a suitable site is available.

Major General Scott C. Black, the Judge Advocate General, has rejected a request by Mr Blumenthal pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to provide and disclose a copy of this apparent legal opinion.

Mr Blumenthal has appealed this rejection to Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, rejecting the JAG’s claim that the letter is protected as intra-agency legal advice or attorney-client privilege. Mr Blumenthal urged immediate release of the opinion because time is of the essence as the Army Corps of Engineers had said it plans to select a preferred site for the facility by October 31.

In a call to The Bee, the attorney general said he would raise similar concerns if the Army attempted to locate such a training facility in Newtown. Mr Blumenthal said his concerns center around environmental issues.

“There is potential impact on environmental interests in this valuable and pristine area. As far as we know there has been no environmental impact study, which is required under both state and federal law. And there are some fiscal issues as to how much [related] cost would be [incurred] and who would bear it.”

The AG said he would have to review federal statutes to determine whether or not the military agencies involved could invoke eminent domain if the decision to locate such a facility in Newtown was reached.

State Senator John McKinney, who represents Newtown, would see his hometown of Fairfield lose a military installation as part of the merging of facilities. Sen McKinney said the Fairfield installation was a small one and he was aware the military was planning to relocate the operations there as part of a consolidation.

“I know BRAC was looking to develop a couple of large installations in the state,” Sen McKinney said.

He told The Bee Wednesday that he backed Mr Borst’s plan to get all options and plans on the table and before the public.

“My gut tells me there is no down side to a public hearing to keep people informed,” Sen McKinney said, adding that he would get in touch with retiring State Representative Julia Wasserman, Representative-elect Chris Lyddy and Mr Borst to try and coordinate a public airing of the proposed Newtown installation.

As of Wednesday evening, US Congressman Chris Murphy had not received a copy of the proposal, but said he was committed to a thorough review of the military’s plans to ensure constituents in Newtown are kept in the loop as the proposal is fully vetted.

“As the process of finding a location for the center continues, it is my goal to ensure the best outcome for the residents of Newtown and the men and women of the Guard, who will be using the facility,” Rep Murphy said. “This will require all interested parties to work together.”

Representative DebraLee Hovey also said she would be monitoring developments on the base proposal closely.

“Having watched the way the state does not care for the [local Governor’s Horse Guard facility], and being the one who is constantly haranguing the governor,” Rep Hovey said she does not want to see the military moving into an area, then not maintaining it and abandoning it, leaving the site an eyesore for the community.

“I will be wanting a lot of assurances about any type of development on their part,” she concluded.