What Really

Happened

To the Editor:

Last week in a letter to the editor, Mr Fitzgerald [Letter Hive: “How To Save $15 Million”] made the comment that we should cancel “the new town hall project, which voters rejected in a townwide referendum.” More misinformation.

In 2001, a town meeting was held at the high school with a packed auditorium. Consultants were there to give a presentation on the $21 million bonding package for Fairfield Hills, which included buying the property, remediating contamination, upgrading ball fields at the high school, ball fields at Fairfield Hills, demolition of buildings, and a town hall at Fairfield Hills. The presentation and discussion was cut short when Po Murray moved the question, which allowed no more discussion and the motion for the $21 million carried enthusiastically. The next vote that evening was on the bonding to build the Reed School.

Once the master plan for Fairfield Hills was developed, a resident was insistent that there be a townwide vote, which is not a statutory requirement for master plans because they have so many different components that a consensus on all is impossible. However, the Board of Selectmen decided to hold a nonbinding referendum on the plan, which failed. The plan failed because people voted No for a variety of reasons — not enough commercial development; too much commercial development; some wanted a golf course; some wanted an outlet mall, etc. The Board of Selectmen then contracted for a professional survey to determine which parts of the plan were more acceptable than others. With the information from that survey, the master plan was revised. The master plan being implemented today by the Fairfield Hills Authority is not the same plan that was voted on at that referendum.

Jan Andras

16 Poverty Hollow Road, Newtown                               April 21, 2008