Along With Fairfield Hills ‘Conceptual’ Plan –

5/6 School Vote Back On Track For June

By Steve Bigham

School officials this week were breathing a sigh of relief after learning that the much-anticipated vote on the 5/6 school will not be delayed. A June town meeting to decide its fate is still in the cards, as is a vote on the purchase of the Fairfield Hills campus.

A committee of Legislative Council members last week agreed that in all likelihood they would present both the 5/6 school and Fairfield Hills to the public at one town meeting in June. But while both will be voted on at the same meeting and in one bonding package, they will be two separate questions and two separate votes. A final decision will be made at the council’s April 25 meeting. Each project comes with an estimated price tag of about $21 million.

There had been some talk about delaying the vote on both projects because town officials, wishing to package the two, were concerned that outstanding issues related to the purchase of Fairfield Hills would not be resolved in time for a vote. And they probably will not be. However, council members believe they will have enough information to at least present an abstract plan. They are quick to point out that the estimated $20 million Fairfield Hills price includes money for municipal space and ball fields that the town will have to spend even if voters reject purchasing the 185-acre campus from the state.

“We’re going to recommend that the two projects go to the town meeting together,” noted council member Melissa Pilchard. “We will go in with some kind of a conceptual plan for Fairfield Hills. It will not be exact, but it will list the town’s needs and the immediate plans, and if we don’t acquire Fairfield Hills then we have to do it someplace else.”

On Monday, the Board of Selectmen appeared to go along with the idea of presenting a “conceptual” plan for Fairfield Hills and next week is expected to make a formal recommendation to the full council. However, the selectmen will have to be careful. They can’t be too general or too specific, and as council chairman Pierre Rochman points out, “We need to satisfy the bond counsel and give people a good idea of what we’re going to spend without tying our hands.”

Mr Rochman appears to have shifted away from his suggestion last week to delay the school project. He now appears focused on coming up with the best Fairfield Hills plan possible in time for a June vote. He attended Monday’s selectmen’s meeting to help out with the details.

“All we want to say is, ‘If we buy it, this is what we’re proposing,’” Mr Rochman said. Town officials are now working out the details on how best to present this “conceptual” plan. The town’s bonding counsel has recommended that it list the various types of items that would be in there, i.e. town offices, ball fields, recreation facilities. But while an estimated cost will be placed on the overall plan, town officials will avoid tying dollar amounts to each item.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, along with selectmen Joe Bojnowski and Bill Brimmer, appears to be going along with the plan, although with some reluctance.

“I do have some reservations. There are some risks with this,” the first selectman said Monday.

Mr Rosenthal also expressed reservations last week. “It would be nice to have both projects go to a town meeting together. It is the greatest chance of having them both approved. However, I’m not in favor of speeding up one project that might not be ready, or slowing down another project that is much further along. It’s inappropriate to speed up one project and jeopardize it being approved.”

The first selectman said he expects to have an agreement with state officials over the sale of Fairfield Hills in the coming weeks, which would allow for the Board of Selectmen to recommend a purchase. But he does not expect to have enough information to put together a redevelopment plan, unless some sort of “miracle” happened.

“I just don’t see us being in the best position in time,” he said.

School officials last week were alarmed by the suggestion that the 5/6 school might be delayed even further, particularly since they had already begun the bid process. Last week, the Board of Education sent out letters to Legislative Council members urging them not to delay the vote on the proposed 5/6 school. The council has apparently heard the school board’s cries, and thanks to suggestions from members Doug Brennan, Tim Holian, and Ruby Johnson, has come up with a compromise.

At last week’s meeting, Mr Rochman defended his suggestion to delay the 5/6 school vote until Fairfield hills was ready to go.

“I don’t think Fairfield Hills will be ready. I also believe there will be 99 percent support for the school. If we approve the 5/6 school now and then come to the town six months later and ask for $20 million to develop Fairfield Hills and fix up Fairfield Hills, I think the chances of passing that will be very slim,” he said. “If we lose Fairfield Hills we will only have ourselves to blame because we would have allowed ourselves to bow under the pressure of the school system.”

No doubt, Mr Rochman added, a later vote on Fairfield Hills will not be met with support and the town’s “no” voters will come out in full force. Council members are reminded of the “no” vote to spend $800,000 on Town Hall South a few years ago.

The entire discussion on Fairfield Hills irks Mr Rosenthal somewhat, particularly since the Board of Selectmen has made no formal recommendation.

“Where in the charter does it say where the planning for the town is the responsibility of the council? Nothing has been recommended by the council,” he said last week.

Last week, School Business Director Ron Bienkowski reminded council members that the Board of Education is bound by state guidelines to adequately provide programs and facilities to students.

“The Board of Education is following the guidelines. We’re adhering to our responsibilities. Nobody is telling the council what the delay might mean. They may not be aware of all the repercussions,” he explained afterward.

Board of Education Chair Elaine McClure said she doubts the council’s fears will come true and believes the town will approve both projects.

“We have worked on this project it seems forever. I hope the council will continue to act in good faith. We have kept you informed, we have come up with a timetable. We heard nothing about [a possible delay] until last week after we had gone out to bid. I ask you to please not delay the school,” she said.

The entire discussion becomes moot, however, if the proposed $72.9 million town budget does not pass next week. That budget includes about $1.4 million in debt service, which will go to pay the first year’s installment for both projects (see related story).