To the Editor:

The question that keeps me up at night is: Will the graduating classes of Newtown High School from 2021 to 2025 be okay?  Major events tend to shape an individual’s life and influence the decisions they will make.  What life decisions will the children who walked out of Sandy Hook School on December 14th, 2012 make?  How long is the healing process? Does our town have the resources to help these children make healthy mental and physical judgments in their lives? 

It's undeniable that the families and friends of the children and educators we lost that day, and the kids who survived, were at the epicenter of trauma. But we were all affected to varying degrees by the tragedy regardless of age or how involved we might have been in the community.  So I was hopeful when I read The Newtown Bee in November 2013 and learned about the generous donation from General Electric for the “development, construction, and operation of a community center.” 

Statements from town leaders promised the gift would help develop a facility that “connects people of all ages” and would be a place that “fosters inclusive community participation through recreation, the arts, and community outreach programs."  GE chairman Jeff Immelt came to Newtown, stating “we are committed to supporting our friends, families and neighbors as they continue to heal.” 

From the article, it was clear that Newtown would design an inclusive center, expressly to support the healing process for those most affected by the tragedy. At Tuesday's information session, I saw plans for a town pool and a senior center wing representing roughly a third of the building.  While heated discussion indicated that the senior center would be a shared space, I still question who will have the priority once constructed.

Representatives from the Commission on Aging and Parks & Recreations were tasked with developing a collaborative plan. However, judging by Tuesday's meeting it's clear these two well-intentioned groups cannot represent the holistic needs of our community.  We heard the voices of everyone but the seven-to-ten-year-old kids who were at Sandy Hook that day.  Has the town reached out to child development professionals and resiliency experts to understand how these funds can be used to design a facility that encourages healthy lifestyle decisions for this unrepresented, but most important, demographic?

The donation is wonderful but the plan looks rushed and poorly conceived. Worst of all, it has reopened the wounds of 12/14. A proper plan would take into account all of the town's constituencies, not just those voters who consistently vote down each budget referendum, and then again when it fails to pass. I’d like to see additional planning and more than one drafted design of community center concepts, with clear models for financial sustainability.

I’m ready to vote Yes to GE's donation and on developing a center that benefits the entire community. But I cannot support a half-baked plan that fails to meet this noble objective.

Kris Kenny

6 Concord Ridge Road, Newtown  March 26, 2015