Finding Space For Newtown

To the Editor:

In response to growing concerns relative to the total space needs in the town of Newtown, I would like to submit the following comments.

As I stated in response to The Newtown Bee’s questionnaire during last November’s election cycle, the most critical governmental matter facing Newtown was the population explosion and the resulting impact on the town’s ability to provide the increased infrastructure and services needed by the town. At that time, I recommended the creation of a “Blue Ribbon” committee representing all boards, commissions and agencies of the town to investigate, study, prioritize, and recommend to the voters a long-range master infrastructure plan. I still feel this is the way to go. The five-year capital improvement plan, recently approved, is a good start but it is only a portion of the solution. The town, as a whole, needs to decide what its projected needs are over the next 10 to 15 years.

In addition, as a member of the High School Space Needs Committee, I made the following recommendations during a meeting on April 5, 2004:

1. Make all elementary schools pre-K through third grade. Some redistricting would be required to balance the load at Sandy Hook School.

2. Grades four and five would be housed at Reed Intermediate School.

3. Grades six through eight would move to the existing high school.

4. Grades 9 through 12 — build a new high school at Fairfield Hills campus.

5. Renovate middle school building to accommodate town offices, Board of Education, Senior Center, Park & Recreation, Kevin’s Community Center, and possibly the fire department.

6. Edmond Town Hall could become a social and cultural center.

Advantages to the above proposal:

1. Eliminate the need to build another elementary school.

2. Except for Hawley and St Rose schools, it would eliminate most of the school bus traffic in the Church Hill Road/Queen Street area.

3. We could coordinate school athletic facilities planning with Park & Rec to avoid the expense to the town for duplicate facilities on the same campus.

4. Renovation and code update of the middle school building would be less costly than building a new Town Hall/BOE facility at FFH campus. Also, it would keep town offices in the center of town, which is what the townspeople seem to want.

5. If the town facilities were located at the present middle school, it could possibly further reduce traffic on Queen Street since people would not need to go to a new town hall at Fairfield Hills to conduct their business.

I know I don’t have all the answers to the town’s problems. But I really care about Newtown. If this letter does nothing more than get people to “think outside the box” and make their voices heard, then it has accomplished its purposes.

Sincerely yours,

Joseph E. Borst

10 Beechwood Drive, Sandy Hook                         January 24, 2006