In 2-1 Vote—

Selectmen Support

 FFH

Town Hall

By John Voket

Newtown’s newly seated Board of Selectmen wasted no time in getting to the heart of what First Selectman Joseph Borst called “a problem that the people of Newtown want solved,” by voting to continue the course on a municipal office project at Fairfield Hills that voters approved more than four years ago.

In moving the matter, which was added to the agenda after nearly an hour of public comments and clarifications, Republican Selectman Paul Mangiafico said he looked forward to seeing town employees and school board staff occupying the new space “in less than a year, God willing.”

That public commentary led off with a report compiled by Legislative Council Chairman William Rodgers who said he was asked by “a selectman” to provide a “one-sheet” summary of his research on additional taxpayer costs associated with delaying the current phase of demolition at Bridgeport Hall, or stopping the municipal office development altogether.

Saying that the majority of the Legislative Council continues to back the town hall project in progress, as well as related commercial leases that are approved and in the process of being signed, Mr Rodgers detailed costs that included a net cancellation of work contracted to O&G Industries to date at $800,000. If the town hall project is stopped, the town will lose $280,000 tied to duplex land leases, $480,000 for the loss of a Stratford Hall lease, and the likely loss of a $650,000 lease for Newtown Hall.

If that Newtown Hall lease is lost, a $500,000 grant to relocate and improve Kevin’s Community Center’s free clinic within a planned Hawley Construction / Danbury Hospital medical facility will also be lost. In addition, taxpayers would foot a $500,000–$1 million cost to mothball Bridgeport Hall, and immediate costs for mothballing all the buildings that were about to be leased.

‘Misstatements’ Clarified

Newly elected councilman Gary Davis representing the Independent Party of Newtown said he had communications with 80 people in recent days, and none of them backed continuing the town hall project as planned. Mr Davis later told The Bee that 50 to 60 of those constituents responded to an e-mail survey circulated among IPN supporters on the fledgling minor party’s e-mail list.

Confirming the informal survey about the future use of Bridgeport Hall did not circulate to the general public, or random residents, Mr Davis said after the meeting that he did not know how many recipients were on the IPN e-mail list, but promised to provide that number to the newspaper Tuesday. The information was still not available at press time on Thursday morning.

Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle and authority member Amy Dent also supported moving the projects forward as approved. Mr Geckle took the opportunity to clarify “misstatements of fact,” asserted earlier by Mr Davis regarding the length of time certain leases were negotiated, that the authority was lax in its provision of information about ongoing projects on the town-owned campus, and denied the accusation that the authority was offered and declined a $3.2 million cash lease offer from a prospective tenant.

The lack of consensus in Monday 2-1 selectmen’s vote authorizing completion of the new municipal facility reflected the first selectman’s call for a delay so he could personally visit Bridgeport Hall, the site of the town hall project that is already in Phase 1 of construction. But Mr Mangiafico was apparently not willing to put the issue on hold without Mr Borst at least committing to call a special meeting to finalize the matter.

While Mr Borst said he would consider calling such a meeting within a week, he would not go as far as setting that meeting for next Monday as Mr Mangiafico requested. When Mr Borst refused to set a definitive date to finalize the town hall matter once and for all, Mr Mangiafico moved to complete the project as planned.

Selectman Herb Rosenthal, who long supported the project as first selectman, voted with Mr Mangiafico to finish the project.

Contentious Debate

The gathering was contentious, especially during public commentary, which included information from officials about the potential taxpayer cost to delay or stop the project. Occasional heated points of debate were generated among project supporters, Mr Davis, and newly elected council member Po Murray, who failed to sway the board to delay or stop the project.

During the meeting, Mr Mangiafico reminded the first selectman that as a Republican councilman, he supported building the new town hall. Despite his support early on, Mr Borst became increasingly critical of the Fairfield Hills project about the time he received an endorsement from the Independent Party of Newtown, whose platform included halting all new construction on the campus until a spring 2008 public review of the master plan.

One member of the public Monday suggested both Republican selectmen of being manipulated by the IPN to stop the town hall project after receiving the political committee’s support and endorsement. But moments before moving the matter to a successful conclusion, Selectman Mangiafico reminded the crowd of more than 30 attendees that he was inclined to make his own decisions.

“I’m a puppet of no one, except Mrs Mangiafico,” he said, eliciting some chuckles from the crowd.

On Tuesday, Mr Borst said despite the selectmen’s vote, he was still planning to visit Bridgeport Hall, and to conduct “cost-benefit analyses,” on each of the pending leases this weekend. The first selectman said he was planning on “having other people” participate in running these analyses, but when asked who would be assisting him, Mr Borst replied, “Let’s just leave it at that.”

While Mr Borst would not say whether or not he was considering trying to renegotiate the leases, he did say he wanted to be certain the documents reflected negotiations conducted in the best interests of the town, and to see if there was any “money left on the table.”

“That is still a concern to me,” Mr Borst said.

Mr Rodgers, as well as Councilman Francis Pennarola, who helped write the enabling ordinance permitting the formation of the Fairfield Hills Authority, told The Bee that the first selectman does not have unilateral power to call back and renegotiate the leases.

“If all approvals are done, and the leases are about to be signed, why [is the first selectman] looking at them again?” Mr Pennarola questioned.