Town officials have called a briefing regarding the proposed Newtown Community Center and an April 5 referendum to vote on the project for Tuesday, March 29, at 6:45 pm. The special event will be conducted in the council chambers at Newtown Municipal Center.

Tuesday's briefing is the first of several independent efforts scheduled to reach and inform residents about the project - a proposed facility of some 43,000 square feet comprised of two main features, including at least 13,000 square feet of flexible, programmable space for general community use and an aquatics component with two pools, a lap pool of up to 50 meters and a zero-entry pool.

The proposed facility will be located within Fairfield Hills, adjacent to NYA Sports & Fitness Center. Site work, parking and support features such as locker rooms, offices, and bathrooms are included in the project, which comes as a results of $15 million gift from The GE Foundation that came in the wake of 12/14.

The referendum to vote on the project is the first call for registered residents to authorize or reject a $14.55 million special appropriation and $5 million bond authorization for the planning, design, and construction of a Newtown Community Center.

That spending plan includes $9.45 million remaining in a gift from General Electric that was provided to the town specifically to create a new community center. That money would be combined with $5 million already approved in the Capital Improvement Plan in the current fiscal year, also earmarked for a community center project.

The referendum on Tuesday, April 5, will be conducted from 6 am to 8 pm at Newtown Middle School, 11 Queen Street.

Q&A Sessions

Newtown's Commission on Aging will be conducting a series of four forums and information exchanges beginning this Wednesday for the "seniors and boomers," according to a notice from COA Chairman Curt Symes. These forums are meant to help residents clarify any confusion regarding the community center proposal and upcoming April 5 referendum on the issue, also according to Mr Symes.

The 30-minute forums are scheduled for Wednesday, March 30, at 11 am, at Nunnawauk Meadows Community Building, 3 Nunnawauk Meadows, and also on Wednesday at 1 pm at Newtown Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road.

These will be followed by a 7 pm session on Thursday, March 31, at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; and a final session at 11 am on Saturday, April 2, at NYA Sports & Fitness Center, 4 Primrose Street.

Questions can be directed to newtowncoa@aol.com.

The Community Center Commission has also announced a series of informational sessions. Residents are welcome to ask the commissioners questions about the referendum for the proposed center on Thursday, March 31, from 6 to 9 pm, at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street; on Friday, April 1, 2-5 pm, at Edmond Town Hall; and on Saturday, April 2, 9 am to 4 pm, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

The commission's final session will be on the eve of the referendum, Monday, April 4, 6-9 pm, at Edmond Town Hall.