The Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee
Monday, February 28, 2011 AMENDED MINUTES
Newtown Middle School, 11 Queen Street, Newtown, Connecticut
Mr. Floros called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm.
Present: Michael Floros, Paul Lundquist, Robert Maurer, Ben Roberts, Nancy Roznicki, Alan Shepard, Gary Steele, and Deborra Zukowski; Absent: Michael Mossbarger
Also Present: Ruby Johnson and Rosa Zubizarreta
Public Participation: ~Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill Road, Sandy Hook distributed five documents. She commented that she really liked reading the subcommittee reports online. Ms. Johnson suggested looking at the data and presenting it in alternate ways, such as a bar graph, to make it more accessible to the public. Ms. Zukowski responded that the subcommittee reports are not final reports and revisions may be made. Ms. Zukowski asked Ms. Johnson to work with her in making the reports more public friendly.
Ms. Johnson distributed a document from the Ridgefield Open Space Association discussing commercial development. She felt it is very well-written and would be interesting for the committee to read. Ms. Johnson also distributed an article on job recovery and a Time Magazine article on the future, 2045. She feels that the high meadow area at Fairfield Hills would be the only acceptable area for a new middle school in the future but she stated that in the future a “typical” middle school may not be needed. The town may need something different, such as, a STEM school. Ms. Johnson suggested that the committee consider making some bold recommendations.
Approval of Minutes: Ms. Zukowski made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 10, 2011 meeting as amended. Mr. Lundquist seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as amended.
Subcommittee Updates: The committee discussed and revised the reports.
Ms. Roznicki distributed the Education report. Mr. Maurer asked if we are looking at the “points to ponder” for the final recommendations? Ms. Zukowski responded no that these points are really to help with the public sessions during the public participation process. These points are supposed to bring the key issues to the public. Mr. Floros commented that consistency throughout all the subcommittee reports is important. He added that in the future Fairfield Hills should be part of the town wide plan, not something separate. Mr. Floros also said that the group is looking so far out into the future of education which is very hard to predict. Ms. Zukowski suggested that the report says that we don’t know the long term education needs of Newtown. Mr. Lundquist
suggested adding to the education report that long term needs are very difficult to project. Ms. Roznicki added that after this weekend, the Microcosm Council, we may have more points to ponder.
Ms. Zukowski said that she worked with the town clerk’s office to get the subcommittee reports on the website. She added that any changes to the reports should be completed by Tuesday so that the Newtown Bee can say in the paper that the documents are available online to the public.
Ms. Zubizarreta said that she is concerned that the people coming to the Microcosm Council this weekend might not have time to read all the documents. She doesn’t want people not to show up to the weekend because they either didn’t have time to read the documents or the documents were too overwhelming. Mr. Roberts suggested calling the people scheduled to come to the Microcosm Council before the weekend to check in with them and see if they have any questions. Ms. Zukowski suggested telling the participants that the Community Summaries are important as well as the points to ponder. Ms. Zubizarreta is concerned that there is a lot of material to read, she thinks it’s important for the documents to be accessible, not overwhelming. Ms. Zubizarreta stated that
when the committee members call the Microcosm Council participants they should stress that they read what they can before the weekend but the most important thing is to show up this weekend.
Mr. Roberts said that there is a change in venue for the Microcosm Council. It will not be at Edmond Town Hall. He is going to try and reserve the Alexandria Room for both Saturday and Sunday. Ms. Roznicki asked if the format for this weekend is small groups. Mr. Roberts responded that it was just one group of only about 18 people. Mr. Steele confirmed that all the participants have received letters from the FHMPRC about the Microcosm Council. Mr. Floros suggested that each member of the committee call the people that they personally invited to take part in this weekend. Mr. Floros said he will call Mr. Mossbarger’s people. Mr. Roberts suggested waiting to call until after he confirms the room location for the meeting. He will email the group once this is all
set. Ms. Roznicki is working on a schedule for the weekend. She is trying to keep no more than 4 members of the FHMPRC in attendance at the same time. Mr. Floros feels it is important for each committee member to show up at some point during the Microcosm Council. Mr. Lundquist stated that he will be a permanent observer throughout the weekend.
Mr. Shepard distributed the Water Supply/Infrastructure document to the group. Mr. Shepard expressed concern over the infrastructure at Fairfield Hills. He felt these issues should have been dealt with 5 years ago when the town acquired the property. He felt that an in depth engineering study is essential. Mr. Shepard said that they system is 70 years old and really needs to be addressed. Mr. Floros said that at least there is a sewer system at Fairfield Hills. Mr. Shepard disagreed with this since the system is not usable from an engineer’s point of view. Ms. Zubizarreta summarized Mr. Shepard’s report stating that the first issue is that there is a problem with the water system but if enough people come to Fairfield Hills the problem will basically solve itself.
The second issue is the sewer problem. Mr. Steele said that it seems like the group is trying to engineer a solution. Mr. Shepard said not necessarily, he felt it is important to acknowledge that there are issues with the infrastructure. Ms. Zukowski agreed that the committee can flag issues. Mr. Floros suggested that it should be the Water and Sewer Authority that should flag the issues. Mr. Shepard added that Fairfield Hills is not in the sewer district. Ms. Zukowski suggested pulling this document off the website since it doesn’t have much value for the public participation part this weekend. Ms. Zubizarreta felt that there are important issues in the document and that a summary providing the public with the important points would be helpful. Ms. Zukowski said that she will add a “points to ponder” section at the top of the document and add that it is a work in progress.
Mr. Roberts said that the dates for the larger public participation meetings will be Wednesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 23 in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall from 6:30-9:00PM.
More discussion took place around revisions to the subcommittee documents. Ms. Zukowski took note of the revisions and will revise the documents this week. They will be on the website in the next couple day.
Ms. Roznicki asked about the status of Kevin’s Community Center. Mr. Maurer responded that it was on hold. They are looking into other locations. He said the duplex is not big enough for both the Kevin’s Community Center and Newtown Youth and Family Services. Newtown Hall is big enough but there are privacy issues with using that building. Mr. Maurer added that Kevin’s Community Center is only open a few hours a week on Wednesdays and services 2 other towns.
Commercial and Housing Subcommittee Report: Mr. Maurer stated that he didn’t compare the commercial development at Fairfield Hills to other commercially developed areas of Newtown. He felt that Fairfield Hills is a hard sell to commercial developers because of the old buildings. He stated that the question is what we have to do to sell Fairfield Hills as an area for commercial development. He said there isn’t much of a tax benefit that would help homeowners but it would provide jobs. Ms. Zukowski added that commercial development would be secondary. Mr. Shepard contributed that money may have to be spent to entice people to come to Fairfield Hills.
The final document discussed was the summary of the Master Plan. Mr. Roberts asked the committee if they felt it was a readable document or too long. Ms. Zubizarreta felt that it was pretty readable. She then added that for the Microcosm Council this weekend the public will have the subcommittee reports, the timeline that Mr. Floros completed and an overview of the work that has been done written by Mr. Lundquist. Ms. Zubizarreta then distributed two documents regarding the Microcosm Council. One document was titled: How might we best realize the potential of the Fairfield Hills Campus to benefit our community? And the other was a flow chart showing the public participation process.
Ms. Zukowski stated that she will send updates (no more than once per week) of the documents to Debbie Aurelia (Town Clerk).
Public Participation:
Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill, Sandy Hook, said that often when fields, etc are proposed for different neighborhoods often the neighbors fight the development. People don’t want things in their neighborhoods. She also said that she felt that the type of commercial development is a critical issue.
Mr. Roberts made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Steele seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. ~
Respectfully submitted by Allison Sharlow, Clerk.
These minutes are subject to the approval of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee
The Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee
Monday, February 28, 2011
Newtown Middle School, 11 Queen Street, Newtown, Connecticut
Mr. Floros called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm.
Present: Michael Floros, Paul Lundquist, Robert Maurer, Ben Roberts, Nancy Roznicki, Alan Shepard, Gary Steele, and Deborra Zukowski; Absent: Michael Mossbarger
Also Present: Ruby Johnson and Rosa Zubizarreta
Public Participation: ~Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill Road, Sandy Hook distributed five documents. She commented that she really liked reading the subcommittee reports online. Ms. Johnson suggested looking at the data and presenting it in alternate ways, such as a bar graph, to make it more accessible to the public. Ms. Zukowski responded that the subcommittee reports are not final reports and revisions may be made. Ms. Zukowski asked Ms. Johnson to work with her in making the reports more public friendly.
Ms. Johnson distributed a document from the Ridgefield Open Space Association discussing commercial development. She felt it is very well-written and would be interesting for the committee to read. Ms. Johnson also distributed an article on job recovery and a Time Magazine article on the future, 2045. She feels that the high meadow area at Fairfield Hills would be the only acceptable area for a new middle school in the future but she stated that in the future a “typical” middle school may not be needed. The town may need something different, such as, a STEM school. Ms. Johnson suggested that the committee consider making some bold recommendations.
Approval of Minutes: Ms. Zukowski made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 10, 2011 meeting as amended. Mr. Lundquist seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as amended.
Subcommittee Updates: The committee discussed and revised the reports.
Ms. Roznicki distributed the Education report. Mr. Maurer asked if we are looking at the “points to ponder” for the final recommendations? Ms. Zukowski responded no that these points are really to help with the public sessions during the public participation process. These points are supposed to bring the key issues to the public. Mr. Floros commented that consistency throughout all the subcommittee reports is important. He added that in the future Fairfield Hills should be part of the town wide plan, not something separate. Mr. Floros also said that the group is looking so far out into the future of education which is very hard to predict. Ms. Zukowski suggested that the report says that we don’t know the long term education needs of Newtown. Mr. Lundquist
suggested adding to the education report that long term needs are very difficult to project. Ms. Roznicki added that after this weekend, the Microcosm Council, we may have more points to ponder.
Ms. Zukowski said that she worked with the town clerk’s office to get the subcommittee reports on the website. She added that any changes to the reports should be completed by Tuesday so that the Newtown Bee can say in the paper that the documents are available online to the public.
Ms. Zubizarreta said that she is concerned that the people coming to the Microcosm Council this weekend might not have time to read all the documents. She doesn’t want people not to show up to the weekend because they either didn’t have time to read the documents or the documents were too overwhelming. Mr. Roberts suggested calling the people scheduled to come to the Microcosm Council before the weekend to check in with them and see if they have any questions. Ms. Zukowski suggested telling the participants that the Community Summaries are important as well as the points to ponder. Ms. Zubizarreta is concerned that there is a lot of material to read, she thinks it’s important for the documents to be accessible, not overwhelming. Ms. Zubizarreta stated that when the committee
members call the Microcosm Council participants they should stress that they read what they can before the weekend but the most important thing is to show up this weekend.
Mr. Roberts said that there is a change in venue for the Microcosm Council. It will not be at Edmond Town Hall. He is going to try and reserve the Alexandria Room for both Saturday and Sunday. Ms. Roznicki asked if the format for this weekend is small groups. Mr. Roberts responded that it was just one group of only about 18 people. Mr. Steele confirmed that all the participants have received letters from the FHMPRC about the Microcosm Council. Mr. Floros suggested that each member of the committee call the people that they personally invited to take part in this weekend. Mr. Floros said he will call Mr. Mossbarger’s people. Mr. Roberts suggested waiting to call until after he confirms the room location for the meeting. He will email the group once this is all
set. Ms. Roznicki is working on a schedule for the weekend. She is trying to keep no more than 4 members of the FHMPRC in attendance at the same time. Mr. Floros feels it is important for each committee member to show up at some point during the Microcosm Council. Mr. Lundquist stated that he will be a permanent observer throughout the weekend.
Mr. Shepard distributed the Water Supply/Infrastructure document to the group. Mr. Shepard expressed concern over the infrastructure at Fairfield Hills. He felt these issues should have been dealt with 5 years ago when the town acquired the property. He felt that an in depth engineering study is essential. Mr. Shepard said that they system is 70 years old and really needs to be addressed. Mr. Floros said that at least there is a sewer system at Fairfield Hills. Mr. Shepard disagreed with this since the system is not usable from an engineer’s point of view. Ms. Zubizarreata summarized Mr. Shepard’s report stating that the first issue is that there is a problem with the water system but if enough people come to Fairfield Hills the problem will basically solve itself. The
second issue is the sewer problem. Mr. Steele said that it seems like the group is trying to engineer a solution. Mr. Shepard said not necessarily, he felt it is important to acknowledge that there are issues with the infrastructure. Ms. Zukowski agreed that the committee can flag issues. Mr. Floros suggested that it should be the Water and Sewer Authority that should flag the issues. Mr. Shepard added that Fairfield Hills is not in the sewer district. Ms. Zukowski suggested pulling this document off the website since it doesn’t have much value for the public participation part this weekend. Ms. Zubizarreata felt that there are important issues in the document and that a summary providing the public with the important points would be helpful. Ms. Zukowski said that she will add a “points to ponder” section at the top of the document and add that it is a work in progress.
Mr. Roberts said that the dates for the larger public participation meetings will be Wednesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 23 in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall from 6:30-9:00PM.
More discussion took place around revisions to the subcommittee documents. Ms. Zukowski took note of the revisions and will revise the documents this week. They will be on the website in the next couple day.
Ms. Roznicki asked about the status of Kevin’s Community Center. Mr. Maurer responded that it was on hold. They are looking into other locations. He said the duplex is not big enough for both the Kevin’s Community Center and Newtown Youth and Family Services. Newtown Hall is big enough but there are privacy issues with using that building. Mr. Maurer added that Kevin’s Community Center is only open a few hours a week on Wednesdays and services 2 other towns.
Commercial and Housing Subcommittee Report: Mr. Maurer stated that he didn’t compare the commercial development at Fairfield Hills to other commercially developed areas of Newtown. He felt that Fairfield Hills is a hard sell to commercial developers because of the old buildings. He stated that the question is what we have to do to sell Fairfield Hills as an area for commercial development. He said there isn’t much of a tax benefit that would help homeowners but it would provide jobs. Ms. Zukowski added that commercial development would be secondary. Mr. Shepard contributed that money may have to be spent to entice people to come to Fairfield Hills.
The final document discussed was the summary of the Master Plan. Mr. Roberts asked the committee if they felt it was a readable document or too long. Ms. Zubizarreta felt that it was pretty readable. She then added that for the Microcosm Council this weekend the public will have the subcommittee reports, the timeline that Mr. Floros completed and an overview of the work that has been done written by Mr. Lundquist. Ms. Zubizarreta then distributed two documents regarding the Microcosm Council. One document was titled: How might we best realize the potential of the Fairfield Hills Campus to benefit our community? And the other was a flow chart showing the public participation process.
Ms. Zukowski stated that once a week she will update the documents to Debbie for the website.
Public Participation:
Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill, Sandy Hook, said that often when fields, etc are proposed for different neighborhoods often the neighbors fight the development. People don’t want things in their neighborhoods. She also said that she felt that the type of commercial development is a critical issue.
Mr. Roberts made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Steele seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. ~
Respectfully submitted by Allison Sharlow, Clerk.
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