Town To State:

Make Us An Offer On Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

The campaign for town purchase of Fairfield Hills picked up momentum this week when First Selectman Herb Rosenthal announced he would request that the state offer the property directly to the town. In doing so, the state would bypass choosing one of three prospective developers who have each made offers on the 186-acre property.

The first selectman said the town’s future has been on hold for too long. “The time is now to take action.”

Mr Rosenthal was expected to make the official request to the state/town selection committee on Friday.

“This was not a decision I came to lightly,” Mr Rosenthal said Tuesday. “I probably did not anticipate making this decision a year ago, but, after looking at the three development proposals and hearing from people in the community, I felt this was the only way to go in order to give us control.”

When and if the state does offer the property, the town would have 45 days to indicate interest. It would then have an additional 60 days to negotiate a deal. A purchase of this magnitude would require approval of the Legislative Council and a town meeting. Residents would also be able to petition to have the issue brought to a referendum.

 Fairfield Hills does not currently have a formal purchase price, but town officials predict the biggest cost will be the environmental cleanup and maintenance of the land and buildings. Some estimates place the cost (purchase and cleanup) at $10-12 million. It currently costs the state $1 million a year for security and maintenance of the property.

Mr Rosenthal made this week’s announcement with an air of caution, knowing town ownership of such a large and complex property could be “fraught with problems.” For one, he said, towns like Newtown are not set up to be in the real estate business. Unlike private corporations, a municipality is not prepared to “strike when the iron is hot.”  

There are plans in place, however, to create an authority to oversee the redevelopment. Mr Rosenthal also plans to hire a real estate management firm, possibly Spaulding & Sly of Boston, which would serve the town as a consultant.

Another challenge in buying Fairfield Hills will be to find consensus among the residents on how best to use the property. This may be Mr Rosenthal’s biggest test. Currently, there are conflicting visions for redevelopment being discussed locally. One calls for use of the land for community needs such as ball fields, municipal space, elderly housing, etc. A second vision sees the land being used for economic development to bolster the town’s tax base and to recoup some of the money used to acquire the land.

The selectmen’s Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee has several meetings scheduled between now and March to discuss the various redevelopment options. The public is urged to attend these Thursday night meetings. In the end, the future of Fairfield Hills will be in the hands of the taxpayers. Mr Rosenthal urged residents not to form their own special interest groups, and, instead, combine their visions with others’ for one general concept.

Of course, there is still the possibility that Newtown residents may turn down the proposed purchase.

“There is always that possibility. I don’t have a crystal ball,” Mr Rosenthal said. “Certainly I have heard from more residents who have said ‘buy it’ than ‘don’t buy it.’ The fact is we’re getting nowhere with this other process [of finding a private developer]. We’re no closer to selecting one of them than we were seven months ago. There has been plenty of time for the public to consider this.”

A year ago this week, Newtown resident Ruby Johnson began a petition drive urging the town government to consider town purchase of Fairfield Hills. At the time, the town was leaning away from purchase, although no final decision had been made. Things have come a long way since then, but Mrs Johnson tempered her enthusiasm, knowing a lot of work still lay ahead.

“The next challenge is to develop a vision for how the town can best use this beautiful property,” Mrs Johnson said. “We would hope that it will work out to be truly a ‘Central Park’ for Newtown.”