Date: Fri 04-Aug-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Iroquois-land-open-space-

Full Text:

Town Explores Possibilities For Remaining Iroquois Funds

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

After years of discussion, the town is getting closer to deciding what to do

with the money left over from the Iroquois Gas Transmission System's

open-space account.

Town officials have until the end of December to decide what to do with the

approximately $429,000 left in the account.

"We have a variety of possibilities that we are looking at, including the

possible purchase of two different pieces of property," First Selectman Bob

Cascella said this week. "We will do something with the money before the end

of the year."

Mr Cascella declined to identify the location of the land that the town may be

interested in purchasing, saying the purchase price is still "under

negotiation." He said there are two pieces of property, each about 5 to 15

acres in size, in two different areas of town. "They are completely unrelated

except that each could be used for open space or passive recreational

purposes," he said.

The first selectman also said he had just received a request from the Newtown

Forestry Association that Iroquois money be used to repair a dam on Cavanaugh

Pond off Echo Valley Road. Last spring the Department of Environmental

Protection ordered the forestry association to improve the dam. An engineer

estimated the scope of the project as being in the $65,000 to $75,000 range,

Mr Cascella said, adding that the project must be presented to the Board of

Selectmen for consideration.

Newtown received a grant of $904,000 from the Iroquois Gas Transmission System

four years ago when the natural gas company was constructing a 375-mile

pipeline from Canada through New York and Connecticut to Long Island Sound.

The company created a $10 million Iroquois Land Preservation and Enhancement

Program (LPEP) to administer the grants. The terms of the fund require that

the towns use the money for open space, passive recreation or educational

purposes involving the environment.

Using Iroquois funds, Newtown recently completed a $75,000 project to improve

the Orchard Hill Nature Center, 24 acres of wooded land and fields adjacent to

Huntingtown Road and Orchard Hill Roads. Originally purchased from Bridgeport

Hydraulic in 1976, the site was designed a passive recreation area to be used

for such activities as hiking and backpacking. The town used the Iroquois

money to create a parking area, a small structure to house informational

materials, and hiking trails.

The town also received $300,000 to use for construction of the swimming pool

at Treadwell Park and $100,000 to rebuild the century-old Hattertown dam.

Originally, Iroquois approved a $250,000 project to purchase development

rights, in conjunction with the Nature Conservatory, of 65 acres of land along

the Housatonic River for a bald eagle roosting preserve overlooking the

Shepaug Dam. That plan fell through, however, when McLaughlin Vineyards owner

Bruce McLaughlin declined to relinquish the property, saying he intended to

maintain it as open space anyway.

Iroquois also rejected a $179,000 proposal from the town to build ballfields

on two properties on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. The gas company said the

town could use the money to buy only one of the sites, a 6.5 acre parcel next

to the Sandy Hook firehouse. But negotiations for that land stalled. Three

years ago the town also considered using about $350,000 to purchase the Yankee

Drover property on Main Street for a mini-park but the Legislative Council

vetoed the idea.

Robert J. Reid, Iroquois' president, said the $10 million LPEP program

provided funding for more than 170 projects in New York and Connecticut,

including funding for 20 nature preserves, 65 community parks, and 80 public

access projects and nature trails. LPEP has preserved or enhanced more than

10,700 acres, about three times the acreage involved in the pipeline

construction, he said.

In January 1995, Iroqouis began a new 10-year open space preservation and

enhancement program called LEAF, which stands for Land Enhancement and

Acquisition Fund. This program, a continuation of LPEP, is intended to fund

projects of $10,000 or less. Iroquois spokesman Gary Davis said that unlike

the earlier program, the LEAF program's funding with be more competitive and

based on a matching-grant basis. Proposals are to be submitted by September,

with awards being announced in December, he said.

Mr Cascella said Newtown did not have new proposals to submit for the LEAF

grants.

"We've had enough trouble coming up with (LPEP) projects that are feasible to

do and stand a chance of getting approved," he said.

In April 1993 the Board of Selectman considered a variety of proposals

suggested by residents but opted not to pursue any of them. These included

purchasing property at the end of Glen Road for a boat launch, purchasing land

along the Pootatuck River for a family picnic area, purchasing land from

Bridgeport Hydraulic to provide an access from Newtown to the Huntingtown

State Park, and creating a public beach with a boat landing facility on Lake

Zoar.

The Iroquois Gas Transmission System is a partnership of US and Canadian

energy companies which constructed and operates the 375-mile pipeline. The

pipeline transports more than 640 million cubic feet of gas per day, the

annual energy equivalent of more than 33 million barrels of oil.

Iroquois established LPEP in March 1989; the program was approved by the

Federal Energy REgulatory Commission as part of its certificate issued to

Iroquois in November 1990.