Should The Town Be In Real Estate Development

To The Editor:

The case made in last week’s issue of The Bee by Ruby Johnson is well intended, but my understanding of the presentations made to the townspeople on September 21, the town would not lose control of the development of Fairfield Hills if the right developer was chosen. One firm  talked clearly of a public-private partnership and stressed that the input of the people was crucial. This developer also said clearly that if his firm failed to live up to its commitments, it would be willing to have the title to the property revert to the town if the firm fails to meet its responsibilities.

If the town takes ownership of the property, we lose the property tax revenue to Newtown. We will have to pay for development and that will come out of our taxes. If we let Becker and Becker, the firm referred to above, do the job, it’s my understanding that we’ll get an estimated $2.5 million per year in tax revenues and they will pay to develop the site. As a private firm, they will be eligible for $17 million in federal historic preservation tax credits to help pay for the renovations. The town won’t qualify for that and the costs will come out of our pockets. You really have to ask if the town should be in the real estate redevelopment business with our tax dollars, especially when we can get all of the benefits on somebody else’s good business know-how.

Reading the Becker proposal on file at the library, it’s clear that we can get the fields, school and municipal needs, and more, and earn tax dollars if they, and not the town, are owners of the Fairfield Hills site.

Sincerely Yours,

Thomas Klucik

161 Huntingtown Road                                         October 6, 1999