Council To Selectmen: Retract Rec Center Funding Plan

By Kendra Bobowick

& John Voket

After many hours of discussion and several on-again, off-again proposals involving a community center shared between the Parks & Recreation Department and local senior citizens, the project may be off again, for good.

Wednesday evening, the Legislative Council heard from member John Aurelia that a petition was circulating among seniors in the community, advocating against a common facility for recreation and senior services. Mr Aurelia said there was nearly unanimous consensus among participating seniors throughout the community, that they wanted to remain in a stand-alone facility.

The announcement prompted some discussion about mixed information that had been presented during the process of planning for the common facility which is planned for the Fairfield Hills campus. In recent days, the Board of Selectmen recommended adding to the $600,000 slated for the facility’s design and engineering.

Selectmen asked the finance board to consider and refer to the council, a proposal shifting $400,000 for demolition from the proposed $3.1 million 2008 – 2009 capital request to fast-track demolition of  Litchfield House to expedite the construction phase. By shifting the extra $400,000, it was thought the demolition and site preparation could proceed while plans, permits and construction documents were being processed.

The finance board was scheduled to review and act on the $400,000 shift at their January 14 meeting, but the item was tabled because of time constraints at that meeting.

But after hearing about the apparent definitive split over senior and recreation utilization of the common building during the council meeting Wednesday, council chair Will Rodgers requested selectmen retract their recommendation until all parties could meet, and any preliminary concepts for the Fairfield Hills facility could move forward accounting for the appropriate use of space for its occupants.

O&G Industries Inc, which has been overseeing work at Fairfield Hills, recently provided the Parks and Recreation Department with drawings of what a mutli-use building might look like. The project was moving forward with the recreation department and seniors having both shared and dedicated space in a building adjacent to the Newtown Youth Academy, a private, indoor sports facility ready to break ground.

Selectman Herb Rosenthal said he suggested the $400,000 shift for practical reasons.

“I wanted to be on the safe side,” he said. At a future point Litchfield house must come down to make room for the new facility. Why not get Litchfield House out of the way sooner, rather than later and do the demolition before the recreation center construction package goes to bid, Mr Rosenthal reasoned? “Demolition has to happen. I thought it would be better than to wait,” he said.

First Selectman Joseph Borst said he liked the idea of having the rec center developer “come right on and work.”

While the Fairfield Hills rec center project is apparently still in play, it is unclear how long conceptual and financing considerations will take to readjust to accommodate just Parks & Rec utilization. It is also too soon to tell if shifting focus on a stand alone senior facility will impact the potential budget or scope of a rec building.

The selectmen will take up the project’s funding plan  January 22, ahead of the next scheduled finance board meeting January 24.