The Fairfield Hills Authority held a special meeting on Thursday, November 8, 2007 in the meeting room at Town Hall South, Main Street, Newtown, CT. Bob Geckle called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m.
Present: Bob Geckle, Chairman, Andrew Willie, Don Studley, John Reed, Walter Motyka, Michael Holmes, Amy Dent and Moira Rodgers.
Absent: Julia Wasserman
Public Participation:
Tony Colleto of 6 Whitewood Road, Newtown, CT discussed a letter he sent to the Authority regarding the Newtown Academy.
Bob Geckle said that Dave Grogins, the Town of Newtown’s Attorney was going to respond to his letter. Mr. Colleto had very specific questions regarding the lease of the property. Mr. Geckle stated that the lease was public record and a copy could be obtained through the First Selectman’s office. Upon Mr. Colleto’s review, a follow-up discussion will be held with Mr. Grogins and Mr. Geckle.
Discussion of Letter of Intent to Lease Newtown Hall at Fairfield Hills:
Bob Geckle presented to the Authority a Letter of Intent to Lease from the Hawley Realty Company. (See Attached).
The discussion opened with an overview of the letter.
The Hawley Lease with the Town of Newtown is contigent on the Hawley Realty Company renting 6000 square feet to Danbury Hospital.
Don Studley asked if the Hawley Realty Company could sign the lease with Newtown without having a commitment from Danbury Hospital. Bob Geckle and Walt Motyka assured that there would not be a lease from Newtown unless Hawley Realty had the Danbury Hospital lease “in hand”.
Bob Geckle stated that Hawley Realty has been very open to work with and they have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the building. For example, they are going to try to use salvaged bricks from one of the demolished sites for ADA access ramps to help keep an overall consistent appearance.
Walt Motyka stated that this is a “Building Block” project for Fairfield Hills and it is expected to help bring more interested parties to the campus.
John Reed asked if the Hawley Realty Company would be taking the lowest bid for the asbestos lead paint clean-up.
Andrew Willie asked if this could be included in the lease and if they take the highest bid can the Authority say no.
Don Studley made the suggestion that it be added into the lease that the Authority has the right to overview the bids to see which is the lowest.
Motion: A motion was made by Andrew Willie that the Authority recommend that the Board of Selectmen approve the Letter of Intent to lease Newtown Hall at Fairfield Hills as presented at this meeting with the caveat that the lease state that the Authority has the right to review all bids for asbestos and lead paint to ensure that the most reasonable lowest bid is accepted. The motion was seconded by Amy Dent.
A vote was taken. The vote was unanimous.
Andrew Willie made a motion to adjourn. Walt Motyka seconded the motion.
The Meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m.
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