To the Editor:

I write as a resident, not as a member of the Community Center Commission.

I encourage all Newtown residents to make their way to the Middle School to vote on the upcoming referendum on April 5th or fill out an absentee ballot to approve the appropriation for our new community center. The proposal presented by the Community Center Commission is for a self-sustainable facility; an important point. The operating expense portion of the grant from General Electric is not perpetual, it will end. When it does, it is crucial to have a robust revenue generator in place as part of the complex to support all of the programming and keep it vibrant in the very long term; otherwise, those costs would be borne by the taxpayer (an eventuality the commission identified as unacceptable from the first meeting). Critics of this proposal have not done the due diligence the commission has, nor have they interviewed the regional and national experts in construction, planning and operations the com-mission has. The town could put up a building with no facility to provide financial support in future years (as critics are suggesting we do) and where would our community center be when the money runs out?

I would encourage any resident who has questions to read the final report or contact the commission members (report and contact information is available on the town website www.newtown-ct.gov) and get answers to those questions.

This is an opportunity to create a vibrant community hub where all will be welcome and none excluded, where expressions of education, art, and self-improvement will flourish, and where, together, we can expand and celebrate the already inherent appreciation of our artistic and intellectual community that makes Newtown so special.

David Wheeler

10 Lakeview Terrace, Sandy Hook     March 21, 2016