Mrs Johnson Petitions Selectmen To Purchase Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

Ruby Johnson showed up at Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting to present the selectmen with a petition urging the town to purchase the 186-acre main campus of Fairfield Hills. It contained the signatures of 1,593 residents.

In handing the petition over, Mrs Johnson reiterated the importance of purchasing Fairfield Hills and the importance of listening to the people. The longtime Newtown resident has spearheaded a year-long push to convince the town to purchase Fairfield Hills. Recently elected to the Legislative Council, Mrs Johnson believes Fairfield Hills holds the key to many of Newtown’s growth problems, mainly excessive development, poor municipal facilities and a lack of sports fields.

“Let’s grab it while we have the chance so that the town will have it in perpetuity,” she stated last winter.

 Mrs Johnson helped establish the group, which calls itself “Save Fairfield Hills for Newtown.”

Things have changed significantly since Mrs Johnson first started circulating the petition last January. At the time, the town appeared to have made up its mind that buying Fairfield Hills was not a good idea. In late 1997, a Board of Selectmen-appointed committee recommended against the purchase, citing liability concerns and the high cost of marketing and administering the land. Today, sentiment has changed significantly, especially since many town officials and residents are disappointed with the proposals submitted by three private development firms.

Mrs Johnson is concerned that there may be some misunderstanding about what she and her group stand for. While the preservation of open space and creation of athletic fields sit atop the list, the wish list also includes town offices, schools, housing for the elderly and some economic development. On Monday, she pointed to similarities between her group’s platform and the recommendations made in the 1994 re-use plan for Fairfield Hills. That report was done by a special task force headed by State Rep Julia Wasserman.

“We find that we are in complete agreement with Mrs Wasserman’s group that studied the re-use plan for Fairfield Hills,” Mrs Johnson said. “I think the town government should take her study very seriously.”

In its recommendation, the task force called for the preservation of open space and vistas, identifying of space for expanded recreational purposes, use of buildings for general administrative office space, economic development, an educational presence, and developing housing for the elderly.

Mrs Johnson said she is disappointed to hear town officials oppose the creation of a 40-acre sports complex at Fairfield Hills. That’s what the people want, she said.

In addition, she urged the Board of Education to look to the future. The school population will bulge in different areas as the years pass. The elementary school crunch of today will be the high school crunch of tomorrow. We want enough schools, but we don’t want too much. We need to be flexible, like an accordion, she said.