Mrs Johnson’s ‘Day Of Reckoning’

To the Editor:

To quote from Ed Marks’ letter [“Ruby Johnson’s Good Story”] of last week, “Once again, Ruby Johnson has proven that she has little interest in the facts.” She feels that the town should not act as developer at Fairfield Hills because after seven years, “one building, Newtown Hall, has been leased and the Newtown Youth Academy is under construction by a private individual.” During that seven years, more than two years were needed to negotiate with the state for the sale of Fairfield Hills; then a Remedial Action Plan had to be developed and approved by the state to take care of contamination on the site; and then the master plan had to be developed, which took an extensive amount of time and public participation.

Apparently, Mrs Johnson has forgotten that the Fairfield Hills Authority had several other attractive leases in the works. However, during his campaign and after the election, the current first selectman had made remarks suggesting that he had to look into the process and might not be signing leases. Why would a developer want to commit to the huge expense of rehabilitating a building with that kind of uncertainty?

Why does Mrs Johnson feel that there is a problem with having the town public works employees dig trenches for a town project to save expense? Why does Mrs Johnson feel that there is a problem with the Newtown Water and Sewer Authority handling the water and sewer upgrades? That falls under their responsibility and they will be collecting fees for usage. Why does Mrs Johnson feel there is a problem with a private individual building the Newtown Youth Academy? Peter D’Amico has been planning this for years and had looked at other locations. Fortunately, he chose Fairfield Hills with a great benefit to the town. We should be grateful for his generosity, including his offer to demolish Greenwich House and build a parking area.

I believe Mrs Johnson’s “day of reckoning” has come. Mr Marks was correct in saying that officials have grown weary of her countless inaccuracies and misrepresentations, as have many others.

Jan Andras

16 Poverty Hollow Road, Newtown                                 May 21, 2008