A $10.5 Million Town Hall

Is Not A Political Issue

To the Editor:

In 2001, taxpayers approved $21.85 million in funding for Fairfield Hills (FFH). That funding was to pay for nine initiatives including buying the property, preparing the master plan, improvements to Edmond Town Hall, upgrading the playing fields at the high school, constructing new ball fields, remediation of the site, demolition of buildings, infrastructure improvements, and renovations and improvements to the existing buildings to be used for school and other municipal purposes.

Our town leaders often reference the 2001 town meeting and voter-approved funding as justification for what is happening at FFH today. Unfortunately, what the town is building and planning at FFH is nothing like what we agreed to in 2001.

For example, if you agreed with the funding because it included seven new ball fields, the good news is that the first ball field is nearly complete. The bad news is that fields 2–7 have been scratched. If you voted Yes because you agreed that we should repair, improve, and bring up to code our historical town hall on Main Street, the good news is that the work is finally complete. The bad news is that our town leaders have decided that it will no longer be our town hall.

If you voted Yes in 2001 because you agreed that we should use $6 million to renovate one of the existing buildings to be used for school and other municipal offices, the good news is the renovations are about to begin. The bad news is that after the funding was approved, town leaders modified the plan from a $6 million project to a $10.5 million project and the cost will continue to climb. That means moving town hall from Main Street to FFH, which wasn’t even on the list in 2001, will cost half of the funding package!

The good news is that in an official, legal, townwide referendum in 2003, taxpayers voted to reject the new town hall plan. The bad news is that after the votes were counted, our town leaders told the public that the referendum was “nonbinding” and moved ahead with the project anyway, with a new town hall plan as their centerpiece.

These are not political issues. These are serious violations of the public trust and voting as usual won’t fix them. If you agree, ask your favorite candidate how they and their party intend to return control of FFH to its owners. If you are dissatisfied with their response, or if you are undecided, I personally recommend that you support the Independent Party of Newtown and its candidates, including those candidates of other parties that share IPN’s platform.

The FFH campus is a valuable treasure, and its purchase along with a number of necessary initiatives was approved by taxpayers in 2001. A $10.5 million new town hall never was.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown                           October 24, 2007