Woodbury Hall Giveaway?

To the Editor:

The lease being proposed for Fairfield Hills’ Woodbury Hall is potentially troublesome. For a modest one-time payment of $760,000, the town will provide 125 new parking spaces, gas, electric, and sewer service to the tenant, a holding company that intends to develop a veterinary hospital on the site. No further lease payments will be required.

Since this is a 30-year deal, the implication is that the land and building in its current state are virtually worthless. Perhaps this is so, given the condition of the site. But if the town conducted due diligence to that effect, it has not been made available to the public.

After the requisite hearing was dramatically canceled at the last minute due to improper notice, a new one has been scheduled for 7 pm next Tuesday [January 20] at the Senior Center. Concerned citizens will be there asking questions. Hopefully, they will receive satisfactory answers. If not, the town should delay approving the lease until they can demonstrate that the economics of the deal are reasonable.

Oversight and transparency are big issues in Washington, D.C., these days. Perhaps we could use a bit more right here at home as well.

Ben Roberts

19 Farrell Road                                                            January 14, 2009