An Interesting First Week

To the Editor:

It was an interesting first week in public office. In reviewing the coverage in The Bee last week, I thought it might be helpful to provide my perspective.

When speaking at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting concerning the proposed new town hall, I noted in my remarks that I might not know all the information concerning the leases at Fairfield Hills. Bob Geckle was kind enough to provide that information following my remarks, as well as his perspective on my comments.

While noting that I spoke at the meeting, The Bee did not report on what I said. Here are three of the key points I was trying to make:

Letters of intent for several leases were brought forward just weeks before one of the most competitive elections in recent history. Knowing the new town hall was a controversial issue, why push these letters forward at that time? Why not wait until results of the election were known and then move forward with a better understanding of the political landscape?

A development group did at one time offer $3.2 million as part of lease discussions at Fairfield Hills concerning a single lease. Ultimately, for several reasons, this proposal did not move forward. I raised this only to make the point that if for some reason the several proposed leases representing total one-time payments of $1.8 million were not signed because we took time to review projects at Fairfield Hills, I believed there would be future opportunities to lease these buildings.

I commend the Fairfield Hills Authority for its efforts to improve its communication with the community, including posting information on the town website and making offers to schedule speaking engagements. It is a challenge keeping up with all the facts concerning Fairfield Hills. (I also was not the only public official whose information was “clarified” at this meeting.) I think more can be done to communicate what we are doing at the Fairfield Hills property, as well as the various activities of our town government in general.

Finally, in a separate article on the town’s swearing in ceremony, I was misidentified as a legislative councilman from District 1. I am proud to be a legislative councilman from District 2.

I guess getting the facts confused can happen to anyone.

Gary Davis

Legislative Council, District 2

23 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook                  December 12, 2007

(Editor’s note: At the May 3 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle reported that the authority had not received and consequently could not decline a $3.2 million cash  lease offer for the use of property at Fairfield Hills. See “Selectmen Support FFH Town Hall” in the 12/7 edition of The Bee.)