Council Approves The Sale Of Queen Street Properties

By Steve Bigham

The Legislative Council Wednesday voted 6-5 to call a town meeting to approve the sale of the town-owned Queen Street properties.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said the town meeting would be held sometime this summer. If approved by voters, the six homes and a handful of vacant lots will likely be sold at a public auction. Up for sale will be all of the former state-owned lots, except for three one-acre lots most known for the scenic rolling hills and meadows behind them. The town plans to keep those properties.

The entire council appeared to be in favor of the sale of the homes. However, there was a difference of opinion among members over how many of the lots should be sold. Doug Brennan favored selling all the lots, while Will Rodgers wanted to hold on to most of the lots.

In the end, Peggy Baiad’s motion to sell all the properties, except lots 16, 17, and 18, with deed restrictions was approved.

The town purchased the homes from the state two years ago after residents approved the $1.2 million acquisition at a January 1999 town meeting. All along, the plan was to buy the homes to ensure that the town had control over future development along this scenic parcel. Then, it would turn around and re-sell the homes with deed restrictions. Most residents said they voted in favor of the purchase in an effort to control future development along Queen Street. Town residents felt that area might become vulnerable to higher density housing since the properties are all hooked up to municipal water and sewer facilities.

Mr Rosenthal has been an advocate of the prompt sale (or demolition) of the Queen Street homes, especially in recent months as the homes continued to deteriorate.

“I get more calls from the public annoyed that we haven’t sold them. They see them deteriorating. Two homes have been broken into and have had vagrants living there,” he told the council.

Recently, Mr Rosenthal entered one of the homes with police to find mattresses and pillows on the floor.

It costs the town $10,000 per year to maintain the lots located on a half-mile strip along the eastern side of Queen Street.

The sale of the Queen Street properties has been held up by uncertainty over the town’s future with Fairfield Hills. That came to a rest two weeks ago when voters approved the purchase of the campus from the state.

During budget meetings this past spring, the Legislative Council established a mechanism for the sale of the town-owned Queen Street homes and for using the proceeds to purchase open space as an alternative to development in the coming year. It recommended that $750,000 worth of anticipated revenue from the sale of the properties be added to the budget. At the same time, the council allocated that money to the town’s capital reserve fund.

Last year, some council members, ignoring a recommendation from the Board of Selectmen, suggested the town hold onto the six homes and eight lots. They argued that it would cost the town more to sell the homes in the long run that to hold onto them, especially if the homes were sold to families with school-age children.

The town purchased each home at a cost that ranged from $76,500 to $140,000.

The homes were once a part of the Fairfield Hills campus and were occupied by staff members.