Selectmen Support

Veterinary Hospital At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

Scott Schifilliti walked out of the Board of Selectmen’s meeting Tuesday smiling … finally. Admitting, “We gambled a bit,” he also said, “I guess the third time is a charm.” He and Debra Weisman of Glen Mountain Holding Company LLC had listened Tuesday evening as the three-man board unanimously agreed to sign a land lease agreement with the LLC for Woodbury Hall.

The 30-year, $760,000 lease for the former state hospital campus is just the beginning of an investment to renovate the site for a specialized veterinary hospital. The lease provides for two ten-year extensions, with the lump-sum payment due within five days of the mortgage closing.

Hours away from leaving for a business/vacation trip, the couple would leave with their minds at ease. “We’re going knowing that [the deal] is done,” Mr Schifilliti said. Mentioning that Claris Construction, which built the Newtown Youth Academy, is the preferred architectural firm, and that Newtown Savings Bank would be financing the more than $5 million mortgage the couple plans to borrow for renovations to a building unusable in its current condition, Mr Schifilliti also said, “It’s all going to be Newtown work,” from the mortgage to the labor.

Both veterinary doctors are leaving existing positions with commutes to New York and Cheshire; Ms Weisman said that they had been seeking a property for a new venture for at least two years. Two other sites had fallen through, and on their third try, with guidance from Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Stocker, they set their hearts on Fairfield Hills.

Excited by the prospect of their own specialized hospital, they anticipate that their marketing firm will soon propose a name for the facility. Glen Mountain Holding Company LLC was specifically designed for real estate acquisitions, they confirmed.

By 9 pm, the two left the selectmen’s meeting, a continuation from last week’s public hearing and discussion on the lease negotiations that found a protesting group of residents on its feet, and selectmen seeking answers and pondering aloud the merits — or not — of leasing the space.

Tabled until this Tuesday where First Selectman Joe Borst and Selectmen Herb Rosenthal and Paul Mangiafico all specified their reasons for supporting the lease, the terms were ironed out at last. Town attorney David Grogins and attorney Fran Pennarola representing the holding company had agreed on two points of payment and parking that had irked selectmen last week. Complying with selectmen’s wishes from a week ago, the lease will include a one-time, up-front payment for the 30-year lease of $760,000. Also, the site will see 105 parking spaces, rather than a slightly higher number originally proposed.

Despite arguments that the lease is too low and the town could do better renovating and leasing the site on its own, each member of the board soon voiced his support.

Also at the meeting, Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Bob Geckle had said, “There was a lot of discussion last time, and we spent a lot of time reaffirming that this is a good deal.” After speaking with Ms Stocker, the town’s financial director, and the authority’s real estate consultant, he added, “I am confident this is a good deal, properly valued for both parties.” Minutes later Mr Geckle found a nod of support from another town official. Shaking the authority chairman’s hand, Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Ed Marks offered his congratulations.

Public Comments

They entertained public comment first, however.

Resident Al Roznicki held more profitable equations in his hand. Referring often to his printouts, he reiterated scenarios he had spent time reviewing with town officials that calculated various investment that maximized return. Running through the numbers again, he hit his bottom line: “If you’re going to sign this lease, show me how $760,000 up-front is better than the scenarios I have provided.” Mr Roznicki’s numbers add up to returns of between $290,000 and $435,000 in lease payments annually if Newtown were to invest the roughly $5 million to renovate, then lease the space.

With thanks for his time and his efforts, selectmen declined to adopt his approach.

Why were they prepared to sign a lease with the holding company? Mr Mangiafico spoke first. “This is one of those issues that is going to be discussed for a long time from now … people will say the Board of Selectmen doesn’t know what it’s doing.” Pausing, he looked at the crowd, which included residents who insist the town is giving property away.

He began, “People are of the opinion that the lessee is getting a sweet deal. I think they got a good deal, which doesn’t mean we got a bad deal. People are confused and disturbed that the payment came down [from as much as $1.3 million] to $760,000; they want to know why. I think I know the answer.”

Taking a moment again, Mr Mangiafico gathered his thoughts. “Both parties negotiated honestly,” he said, “The market is controlling things …” If the town were able to get $1.5 million, it would, he pointed out. “But, no one is banging down our door to do it,” he said.

He is looking at things differently, he said. Assuming that Woodbury Hall sits on roughly an acre of land, he presented his logic. “Say someone wants to lease an acre of land for 20 years, and will give you $760,000 on day one. ‘What will you do with it?’ we ask? ‘Oh, I’ll take millions of my own money and build a building.’” Continuing to explain his vision of the deal, Mr Mangiafico then noted that at the end of the lease, the town now has a viable building, where an expense now stands.

Mr Geckle had previously explained that Woodbury Hall will cost money to raze, and money to mothball, or preserve from further deterioration.

What is happening here? Mr Mangiafico said, “They’re taking a building off our hands; they’re leasing it, will renovate, and at the end the building is ours.” He asked, “Can the town do better to renovate it ourselves?” Answering, he said, “Say we renovate and finish and call a realtor and say we want to lease this; I’m not comfortable being the developer.”

Also assuming the town will support the capital expense of several million in renovation costs, above school expansion needs, for one, Mr Mangiafico looked at the square-foot lease rates, wondering how prospective tenants would react. “I think we’ll wait a long time,” he said. “I am afraid we’ll spend money and — no tenants. We’re holding the bag until it’s leased. I don’t think we should risk that.”

After a lot of thought, he decided, “Even though lessees are getting a good deal, the town comes out ahead, we move along with Fairfield Hills; this is one more step in getting it done. Is it the best option? Maybe not, but it is the best we have now. I am prepared to sign the lease.”

Stressing that he, too, was comfortable signing the document, Mr Rosenthal asked, “It’s a good deal for the tenant; would they go into it if it were a bad deal?” Covering some of the same points Mr Mangiafico had noted about expenses to the town if the building is not leased, he considered the agreement the town is about to enter with the holding company, “I think we are both getting a good deal.”

Mr Borst explained that in better economic times, “We might try” renovating the site, “but with the current economy the building could stand empty for years.” Also supporting the lease, he wished luck to the prospective tenants.

The 44-page lease is available for public inspection in the first selectman’s office.