Painted Into A Corner

To the Editor:

After Herb Rosenthal lost the recent election for first selectman, I was naïve enough to think that we could look forward to change. Unfortunately, I did not realize that even as a loser, he would continue to have a major hand in Newtown’s future as a selectman. And, this is even after the residents of Newtown resoundingly voted for change within his old administration.

I was appalled to read that our former first selectman moved forward with his plans for the development of Fairfield Hills despite the fact that his reelection was severely in doubt. Regardless of the townspeople’s pleas to hold off moving forward with his plan before a study of the town’s more pressing needs could be completed, he proceeded to the point that it may cost Newtown taxpayers $1 to $2 million to put the project on hold.

Why Mr Rosenthal and Newtown’s Legislative Council would put the taxpayers of Newtown in this position is unconscionable. The former first selectman told us to vote him out of office if we did not like his plans for a new town hall, which we did. Now, despite the former first selectman and our Legislative Council’s mismanagement and poor negotiating skills, they are attempting to force us into moving forward with Mr Rosenthal’s pet project.

Now that our former first selectman does not control the Ethics Committee, it is time for our newly elected first selectman to put his own people in charge to investigate how we as a town were forced into this untenable situation.

Assuming that our former first selectman and Legislative Council actually executed this one-sided contract with O&G Industries, it is still time to put this project on hold. Regardless of the terms of the contract, our new first selectman needs to meet with this contractor. The message to O&G should be a simple one: either allow Newtown to put this project on hold with out any additional costs or penalties or the town will never award them any other contracts in the future. Otherwise, we will meet them in court. Period.

Mr Rosenthal and our Legislative Council painted us into this corner and they have no vested interest in correcting their orchestrated plan to ram their Fairfield Hills project down our throats. Now is the time for Mr Borst to step up to the job he was voted in to do and to begin to pick up the pieces left behind for him by his predecessor.

Phil Dinielli

9 Copper Creek Circle, Newtown                         November 27, 2007