Council Stars At Forum

By Steve Bigham

It has been called the “sleeper of the year,” but Selectman Bill Brimmer was determined to add some life to Newtown’s 1999 municipal election Tuesday night at Pizza & Politics. The jovial politician opened the evening by inviting the 70 or so in attendance to join him in singing “God Bless America.” Mr Brimmer figured there were plenty of others on hand to talk about the issues, and since he was running unopposed, he opted to skip the political song and dance and… well, just skip the dance.

For the rest of the candidates, however, it was pizza and politics as usual. Sitting at a table that seemed to go on forever, the 16 candidates for Legislative Council (two were missing) fielded questions on Fairfield Hills, how to control growth and development, taxes, and the need for Parks & Recreation funding. Very few questions were actually asked of the candidates since it took so long for each question to make its way down the line. But the evening gave voters an opportunity to assess the candidates and to evaluate which answers were definitive and which ones were “wishy washy.” And although their answers were somewhat repetitive, the candidates’ means of expression and personalities kept the evening moving along.

For the first time in the history of Pizza & Politics, the Legislative Council took center stage. With no race on the Board of Selectmen, voters were forced to turn their attention elsewhere. The council seemed like the obvious place since its members are the ones in charge of town finances. Also, as incumbent Will Rodgers pointed out, Newtown finds itself at a “physical and financial crossroads” in its history. It will be the job of the council to make sure it does not make the wrong turn.

On the issue of Fairfield Hills, the council candidates spoke candidly about what they felt would be the best plan of development. None of them were impressed with the three proposals submitted by the development firms of Spectrum Skanska, Becker and Becker, and Wilder Balter.

Lisa Schwartz called Fairfield Hills an emotional issue, but remained undecided with strong convictions both ways on whether or not the town should purchase the property. Barring any catastrophic environmental problems, Brian White believes the town should buy the land. Fairfield Hills is not a linear question, according to Andrew Buzzi. There are many options to consider and Newtown needs to have all the facts before moving forward, he said. Peggy Baiad and Doug Brennan both called Fairfield Hills a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and believe the town should buy it to ensure control.

Joe Hemingway wants the town to buy it, but called for a plan. Otherwise, he said, it could sit there for a long time as residents and town officials try to find consensus. Tim Holian is skeptical about Becker and Becker’s partnership proposal, saying partnerships, like septic systems, usually fail. But should we buy it? Mr Holian still isn’t sure. “We must wait for all the balls to come down.”

Both Melissa Pilchard and Dan Rosenthal both intimated in their comments that town purchase is the only good option. Don Studley agreed, but only if Newtown uses some buildings and keeps the rest for open space. Ed Lucas fears the liabilities may be too great for the town to buy it. John Kortze called Fairfield Hills a “character of life” issue and said the only way to preserve it is to buy it. To no one’s surprise, Ruby Johnson said she wants the town to buy the land, calling it Newtown’s Central Park.

Pierre Rochman said he is inclined to buy Fairfield Hills, but he still just does not know for sure. It’s a numbers game and the council needs numbers before it can make decisions. “I’ve heard $2 million, $3 million, $20 million. We don’t know. I’d like to buy it, but I need to know the price, although I hope we end up buying it,” he said.

Anna Wiedeman said she favors town purchase and called for the hiring of a management company to oversee the site. Mr Rodgers said the town might have to buy FHH almost by default. “I wish the three proposals had a bigger commercial presence. I would be surprised if the town did not buy it,” he said. But, as Mr Rodgers points out, he can not make an informed decision without knowing the financial consequences.

In addition to Fairfield Hills, many candidates talked about the need to diversify Newtown’s tax base with additional commerce. In 1997, everyone was talking about the need to curb residential development. These days, most candidates are calling for more business development. Something has to be done to take the burden off the taxpayers, they say.

Several candidates took a stab at the question: “how do we control the growth of housing.” Some called for the hiring of a town planner; some said we need to buy up open parcels of land; and others called for the creation of development taxes to discourage “rampant” building. But Mr Hemingway reminded the crowd that it is not the council’s place to take on the development issue.

Mr Holian agreed. “The only thing we can do is make sure our land use agencies are adequately funded so that they’re working on a level playing field… in court.”

The Parks & Recreation’s need for more ball fields will, no doubt, be a big issue over the next two years. The number of children involved in youth sports has ballooned, and the shortage of fields is only expected to get worse. Judging from the responses given Tuesday night, local sports groups can expect the field shortage issue to be high on the agenda next year. However, don’t expect new fields to begin popping up all over town. Maybe a field or two per year, the candidates said.

New residents Lauri Cornelis and Dan Bates brought their young son to Tuesday’s event in the hopes of learning more about the candidates. The young couple was among the few “non-regulars” among the political veterans in the crowd. Both said they learned a lot from the event, but wished the candidates could have done a better job of identifying what district they were from. Also, they said, it was unclear what the job of the Legislative Council was.

Pizza & Politics was co-sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the Newtown Lions Club.