“I feel like we’re chasing our tails,” said Community Center Commission member John Boccuzzi, Jr, after almost three hours in a meeting Tuesday evening. He wondered about the goals and direction of the group. Most of the meeting was spent discussing details for costs of mailing informative postcards, filling out a timeline for coming months’ activities, and breaking briefly into subcommittees. The panel concluded the session with more questions about their charge and few answers.

Member Brian Leidlein had asked if they wanted a building with one floor or two, saying that “sometimes building up is cheaper.” He asked about what types of spaces the buildinng should contain.

“We need a draw, a purpose for people to go, and flexibility within that ‘box,’” he said.

Mr Boccuzzi questioned Co-Chair Andy Clure, a member of a previous task force that had spent 14 months researching and planning a community center proposal that failed to gain public support. He asked how many people had attended meetings earlier this year for that  plan’s presentation. Of the several meetings inviting the public to see that proposal, Mr Clure estimated that about 200 people had attended overall.

In late April, the Board of Selectmen chose commissioners who would fact-find, survey the community, and, after research and planning, render a recommemdation on how to use a $15 million gift from the GE Foundation for a community center project. This new commission, seated in early May, comes on the heals of the prior task force that had presented a proposal for an aquatic center, senior and community spaces, which could include additional phases and expansions. First Selectman Pat Llodra chose to pause that planning when public concerns about the scope and direction of the proposal were voiced by residents.

Mr Boccuzzi then noted they were “chasing stakeholders and spending time on surveys, and 200 or so [people] drove us in one direction or another? I was frankly disappointed when we got the charge to start all over,” adding “we’re struggling with a timeline without knowing what we’re trying to accomplish. I don’t know where we’re headed.”

Regarding the GE money, he asked, “What can we build?”

Of Mr Boccuzzi’s suggestion that a 200-plus group had driven the project, Mr Clure said, “It was enough that the first selectman paused the project.” He said it was “enough of the population that she felt the need to step back and hear more from the public about what to do with this gift from GE.”

Kinga Walsh said, “We have a charge to make a ‘box.’” She mentioned doing due diligence to the public and wondered if the “box” — a term members are using for the as yet undefinied space within a building that will be the community center — could be expanded with the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funding. She felt they “owe it to the public to make sure it is expandable.”

Nicole Hockley then addressed to Mr Boccuzzi’s point, saying, “You’re never going to please all the people; it’s just trying to do the right thing for the town.” She mentioned that rooms in the center could be multi-use rooms. She asked who would ensure fair utilization, and who would bear costs of paper, supplies?

“What if we create something that is a hellstorm to manage?” Ms Hockley asked.

Members then returned to a conversation from their previous meeting, when they considered who would oversee the center, mentioning a board of directors, as one possibility. Mr Clure mentioned something similar to the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, which manages staff and expenses for the historic Main Street building.

Members also have noted the CIP funds — several million dollars over the next few years — which could fund additional phases of the community center project.

Another puzzle piece is NYA Sports & Fitness Center. With plans to build the center at Fairfield Hills, next to NYA, conversations in the past discussed the possibility of the town buying and using the NYA space.

Mr Clure said, “Yes, the CIP and NYA are there, but we have to focus on what we have here and not let the CIP, etc influence what we have here, not try to look bigger than our task.”

Regarding the idea of having flexible space within a community center, David Wheeler said, “flexible space is the easy part. Revenue is the hard part.” He emphasized the importance of an upcoming survey planned to go out to the public.

“Ignoring survey answers would be wrong,” he said, adding “listening and building for one group would be wrong.” He thinks of the commission as a “filtering mechanism to get the best use of money for this town.”

“Why are we reinventing,” asked Bill Buchler. “I think we should try to reach more people, and I think ‘wow’ is important.” Earlier in the meeting, he had said, “We have to bring some wow to this or it’s just another building.” Referring to the last round of community center planning, Mr Buchler observed, “There was a lot of information and misinformation and strong feelings coming out, and now we’re trying to find out what people really want, synthesize that.”

He would like more public feedback, and he said they are waiting for the survey to go out and then to see responses “because people aren’t here,” at the commission’s bi-monthly meetings. He said, “It’s our biggest purpose, to be that filter.”

Noting that the town has identified building demolition costs in its CIP and plans in place to take down some of the former state hospital buildings, Ms Walsh asked if they were committed to the plot next to NYA. Several years ago, during an earlier even version of community center planning, the town razed an older building that had been adjacent to NYA.

Also on Tuesday, the commission moved to send out a first round of postcards within two weeks at a cost not to exceed $3,300 to households introducing the commission and providing information for residents to learn more through the town website and online. A second postcard mailing will announce the online survey, which they hope to launch later this summer.

The Committee’s Challenge

The Board of Selectmen in May charged the Community Center Commission to develop a proposal for construction and operation of facility that meets these standards:

*Be aligned with the conditions established by the donor (GE);

*Create a location that does not exist today;

*Act as an anchor for the people of Newtown to come together;

*Serve the needs of the entire community;

*Does not duplicate existing programs/services;

*Is based on $10 million to build; supported by a $1 million annual grant over five years;

*Is consistent with the long-term development plans of the community of Newtown;

*Considers the Capital Improvement Plan;

*Considers the Fairfield Hills Master Plan;

*Considers the Newtown Plan of Conservation and Development;

*Considers the Strategic Plan for Municipal Facilities (work in progress); and

*Is responsive to broad-based needs articulated by community.

 Further, the Board of Selectmen asked the Community Center Commission to engage the work products and knowledge of other Boards and Commissions, including the Community Center Advisory Committee, Commission on Aging, Parks & Recreation Commission, Cultural Arts Commission, the Strategic Plan for Municipal Facilities group, and others. Representatives from those bodies are committed to sharing their knowledge with the Community Center Commission so that project outcome is the best and highest use of the donor resources and so the facility meets the needs of the community in accordance with an over-arching vision statement it first develops.