Fetzer, Hemingway Position Paper—

Public Consensus, Survey, Referendum

May Determine Fairfield Hills’ Future

By John Voket

Democratic First Selectman candidate Gary Fetzer has committed, via a position paper, to examine the many challenges and opportunities facing the community in regards to Fairfield Hills if he and his running mate Joe Hemingway are elected this November.

Among the ideas the candidates put forth are considering public consensus in determining the future of the former state hospital campus; publishing the details of how the initial $21 million in bonding for the campus was spent compared to what was originally promised ahead of the original bonding initiative; and reintroducing the idea of limited residential development as a possible future use.

In the position paper, Mr Fetzer and Mr Hemingway outlined their impression of where the town stands today, and outlined a five-step plan to initiate discussion on the topic.

“The state presented Newtown a unique opportunity with Fairfield Hills, to control its own destiny and enhance the overall well-being of the community,” the Democrats’ say. “However, over the years a public consensus on what to do on the campus has been elusive.”

The candidates hope to gain greater clarity on where the community is going regarding development and public/private use of the campus, considering the original $21 million in bonding to complete the first phase of the master plan for the campus is nearly exhausted.

“Perhaps the time has come to revisit and adjust the long-term vision for the campus, build a public consensus and alter the master plan to fit new realities,” the Democrats propose.

The five-step plan as outlined by Mr Fetzer and Mr Hemingway is as follows:

Step 1: Rebuild Trust — We should post in a very easy-to-read format exactly what we said we were going to do with the original $21 million bond, and then what we were able to accomplish with that money. In this way the public can understand the progress that has been achieved with their tax dollars, what needs to be done, as well as the obstacles that were faced.

Step 2: Priority Integration — We need to involve the Board of Finance in the planning process for Fairfield Hills. Only in that way will we be able to effectively prioritize exactly where additional spending for the site fits in with the other town priorities. Spending for Fairfield Hills is not done in a vacuum. If we allocate additional funding for Fairfield Hills, we must understand what will have to be deferred in other town projects, and conversely if we decide to fund another project, how that will affect the progress of Fairfield Hills.

Step 3: A Clean Slate — We need to remove those buildings we know will never be used. We should no longer pay for upkeep or security when it would be less expensive to build an identical building rather than to renovate the existing building. To the extent possible, we should continue to look to utilize grants and state and federal assistance to accomplish this task. However, even demolition will be expensive and we need to determine how these expenses fit in with the town’s other priorities.

Step 4: A New Vision — We must ask the residents of the town what they would like to see on the site. More importantly, we must pay attention to them, not only for the 32-acre core, but also for the additional 157 acres. Times change, priorities change and opinions change. We can utilize the Internet to post all of the positions, debate the various ideas, and even allow residents to vote online. This would all be available at various sites around town for those who do not have Internet access at home.

Choices could include passive open space, active open space, limited residential or commercial development or a combination. The public has already made it clear that they want to preserve as much open space as possible, but perhaps they also want to integrate such amenities as a band shell to enjoy outdoor concerts or a dog park.

Step 5: Building A Consensus — Once the town has decided where it wants to head, we need to build a wider consensus, and explain each step of the way the progress that is being made. We will look at creating a new name for the core, in order to enhance marketing if it is felt that “Fairfield Hills” still evokes images of a psychiatric hospital outside of Newtown. Perhaps we call it “The Hills of Newtown,” “Newtown Village,” “Parkside at Newtown,” or an idea yet to be generated by the public.

In response to a query by The Newtown Bee regarding the scope of choices for Fairfield Hills, Mr Hemingway said it was his opinion that selling the campus, or scrapping development plans as they stand today is a nonstarter. Mr Fetzer concurred.

“I don’t think the town made a mistake buying Fairfield Hills, and I wouldn’t consider selling it or stopping development,” Mr Fetzer said.

Both candidates also agreed that while the town and its elected bodies needed to determine where or if the cost to demolish all unusable buildings could be afforded, clearly the number one priority for the campus going forward is to take down unwanted structures.

“The demolition of buildings may not be a top priority town-wide, but it is the top priority at Fairfield Hills,” Mr Hemingway said.

While the candidates both agreed that they would ultimately let the residents of Newtown decide the future of Fairfield Hills, within the scope of several points of consensus they hoped to achieve, Mr Hemingway was not as outwardly supportive of a binding referendum to put the matter to rest once and for all.

Mr Fetzer, however, was strongly “in favor of determining a final direction” for the campus’s use, and would consider modifying the master plan for Fairfield Hills if the public called for it.

“I’m willing to let the public decide, whether its a binding referendum or a survey,” Mr Fetzer said.

“A referendum might have several choices,” Mr Hemingway said, adding that reaching a final decision might result from “something between a non-binding vote and a survey.”

“Basically we want to know where to go as a community and we want to know how to get there,” Mr Hemingway concluded.