Selectmen Back Survey On Fairfield Hills Issues

By Jan Howard

The Board of Selectmen on Monday voted unanimously to authorize First Selectman Herb Rosenthal to contract with the University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research and Analysis to conduct a survey that would address changes the selectmen made in February to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan.

The Fairfield Hills Master Plan was defeated in a townwide referendum in August 2003.

The independent survey, which would cost $10,000, would address whether residents agree with the modifications the selectmen made to the plan.

Prior to the vote, Selectman Bill Brimmer said, “I wrestled with this. I still have issues of the cost.” He noted, however, that there had been enough confusion about Fairfield Hills, and “we need to zero in on the issues about it.”

Mr Rosenthal said because the center is a state agency, it offers a reduced cost to municipalities. The center has completed 300 surveys of this kind, he noted.

“I’m impressed with the integrity of the survey,” Mr Brimmer said. “There is no agenda attached to it.”

Selectman Joe Bojnowski agreed. “It would be professional and unbiased,” he said. “This is what we have to do. We need to understand what the town thinks.”

Mr Rosenthal said Tuesday that the contract had been signed and mailed, and he would be contacting the center to find out when they would start the survey.

Following the defeat of the master plan in August, the selectmen in December decided to look at the plan to see what modifications they could make to it before they made a decision on whether a survey should be conducted to gauge public sentiment on the plan and possible changes.

In February, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to adopt changes to the plan and agreed to a professional survey to sample residents’ comments on the changes.

The survey would include 400 residents aged 18 or over who would be selected randomly. Questions would be asked in a scientific, nonpartisan way, and results would be scientifically sound, Patrick McGloin, the center’s project manager, told the selectmen in March.

He said 400 interviews would be a sufficient number to provide reliable data for analysis. Calls would be made from the UConn campus so that all interviewers would be asking questions the same way. Interviews would take from 12 to 15 minutes each.

Interviews would include an introduction, demographic questions, age and gender as well as questions regarding the master plan changes.

The survey would begin with a press kickoff that would make residents aware they might receive a call regarding the master plan changes.

Regarding Fairfield Hills, Mr Rosenthal said he met this week with Richard Nuclo of the Strategic Management Division of the state’s Office of Policy and Management regarding the purchase by the town of the Fairfield Hills campus. They are to meet again on May 24.

He said one significant issue remains as a sticking point to approval of the town’s environmental remediation plan. It came up as the town’s remediation plan worked its way through the state Department of Environmental Protection, he noted.

The issue centers about removal of pesticides around the buildings and the water quality of Deep Brook, which receives runoff from the campus.

“We want to know what our liability will be,” Mr Rosenthal said. “We want the covenant [for the state] not to sue to be as strong as we can get it.”

In other business, the selectmen set a special town meeting for Monday, June 7, at 7:15 pm, at the C.H. Booth Library meeting room to consider and act upon a resolution to authorize the issuance and sale of not exceeding $43,040,000 in obligation refunding bonds.

The resolution might be moot, Mr Rosenthal said, because interest rates have gone up again. He explained there is often a small window of opportunity to achieve a lower interest rate. The resolution would allow the town to act in a more expedient manner to achieve the lower rate.

He also explained to the selectmen a proposal that would create a separate ad hoc committee for trails that would work with the Parks and Recreation Department for the future maintenance of the trail system.

The creation of an ad hoc trails committee would change the focus of the Ad Hoc Open Space Task Force to the acquisition of open space, he noted.

Mr Rosenthal said the Parks and Recreation Department is interested in broadening its focus to include more passive activities and healthy pursuits for all segments of the town’s population.

He said that Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Larry Haskel would make a presentation at an upcoming selectmen’s meeting.