Failure at Fairfield Hills

To the Editor:

Now that the Fairfield Hills Authority has run out of money and wants $40 million more, it’s a good time to measure our progress. Eight years ago, the town voted to purchase the Fairfield Hills campus with broad support. Since that time $25 million has been spent, so we should ask: how has the town performed?

On the original purchase, we get an “A.” Many of us fell in love with the campus, with all it’s potential. On crafting a vision to execute on that potential, we get a “D.” The Master Plan was a noble vision but it was built on the false hope of attracting private investment into the campus. On the implementation of the plan, we get an “F.” At the onset, the cost estimates were too low, the assumed conditions of the buildings were too good, and the expectations of private development overhyped. The promise to the town was that with $20 million we could complete the demolition of several buildings, the construction of seven ball fields, the rebuilding of infrastructure and the renovation of space needs for town and school use. Now, $25 million later, we have just one partially demolished building, one ballfield, one trail, unfinished infrastructure, an unfinished office building and a privately owned indoor sports center that couldn’t survive without our tax dollar subsidies.

It seems to me that the vision of the master plan was really just a fantasy. At the core of that fantasy is the promise that building the town hall would attract developers that would transform the campus into an economic development zone. If we build it, they will come, they said. Well, we built it, and they didn’t come. Instead Fairfield Hills now looks like an abandoned mining town after the gold has run out, (only missing are the tumbleweeds).

By any measure, Fairfield Hills is a failure. But by far the worst grade goes to project managers; the Fairfield Hills Authority and ranking members of the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council. They neglected to obtain consensus for the master plan or for the town hall from residents. They bypassed town commissions like Economic Development and Public Building & Site (until very late). They failed to adapt to changing conditions and costs, they neglected to measure success against benchmarks or take corrective action in the face of mounting problems. In short they failed to utilize good management practices.

These failures are an example of a greater systemic problem affecting our town government as a whole. Bruce Walczak and I are running for Board of Selectmen on a reform platform of better government. We believe that getting Fairfield Hills right comes first. We need to stop, catch our breath, take the time and effort to reboot the Fairfield Hills plan, then build a real consensus for that plan and execute it over a time frame we can afford. Stay tuned for more, and visit us at www.independentpartyofnewtown.com.

Bill Furrier

9 Erin Lane, Sandy Hook                                                  July 22, 2009