Public Invited -

Council To Meet With Fairfield

 Hills Selection Committee

By Steve Bigham

The local debate on Fairfield Hills has hit a lull. While developers and townspeople alike may be anxious for a decision on the future re-use of Fairfield Hills, the state, which still holds all the keys to Fairfield Hills, has made it clear that a final decision will not be made until the Fairfield Hills Selection Committee has all the information it needs.

One town official, however, is making a push to keep Hartford on its toes.

Next Wednesday, the Legislative Council will meet with the eight-member Fairfield Hills Selection Committee at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library. The 7:30 pm meeting is open to the public and will allow for brief public participation.

Council Chairman Pierre Rochman said he requested the meeting to allow the council to provide financial input.

“Everything the state has heard from the public has been about open space and the need for more ball fields. The committee needs to hear from us from a financial perspective, too,” Mr Rochman said. “We’ve held off building a 5/6 school waiting for a decision on Fairfield Hills. Whether or not one of the three bidders provides that is key. If it doesn’t happen at Fairfield Hills, it needs to be somewhere else.”

The Selection Committee will have the final say on which of the three prospective companies will be chosen to re-develop the 186-acre Fairfield Hills property.  Before the property is sold, however, Newtown will be given right-of-first-refusal on the land.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, a member of the Selection Committee, welcomed the council’s comments, but urged the members to come to the table with a consensus viewpoint. That may be difficult at this point, since council members still have many questions about Fairfield Hills.

“My thought behind the meeting is for the Legislative Council to have an input for what we’d like to see happen in the process,” Mr Rochman said. “We’ve all been to the public hearings. We heard the presentations. We’re not there to decide anything, just to give input.”

The town’s own Fairfield Hills advisory committee has stated its belief that none of the proposals meet the existing needs of the town.

 Council members are also interested in seeing the results of an economic study of Fairfield Hills to help them assess the fiscal impact of Fairfield Hills’ development on the town.

Economic Study To Be Unveiled Next Month

 According to Mr Rosenthal, the results of the Herron-Michalowski economic report will be unveiled at a November 9 “planning and scoping” meeting of the Fairfield Hills advisory board, which is made up of Newtown residents assigned to assess the sale of Fairfield Hills from the town’s point of view.

Also on hand will be Russell Bartley, who was hired by the town to conduct an environmental study of both the Fairfield Hills buildings and the surrounding soil.

“The idea is to bring in all the economic and environmental information to help the advisory group decide what its recommendation will be,” Mr Rosenthal said. We’re trying to integrate all the data, review the three development proposals, develop a framework for a redevelopment vision, and talk about how to go forward with that.”

The state must also hire an environmental firm for its own study. However, the 90-day study was not expected to begin until late November, meaning the results may not be in until mid-winter.

Newtown residents Michael B. Taylor and Don Watson will serve as facilitators during the meeting to help steer the meeting(s) toward a conclusion.