The Fairfield Hills Authority held a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 in the meeting room at the Cyrenius Booth Library. John Reed called the meeting to order at 7:32p.m.
Present: John Reed, Jim Bernard, Brian White, Ross Carley, and Mike Holmes.
Absent: Andy Willie and John Madzula.
Also Present: Maria DeMarco, (DeMarco Management) and Mike Struna (Advantage Realty).
Public Participation: No Public Participation.
Acceptance of Minutes: John Reed asked that corrections be made to the minutes of the January and February, 2011 Authority meetings:
January 19, 2011: The count of votes for the motion to approve a parcel of land of approximately 3 acres for use by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Association. The motion was made by Jim Bernardi and seconded by Andy Willie. Brian White and John Madzula abstained because of their involvement with the Ambulance Association. The count for the vote is as follows:
Jim Bernardi – Yes
Andy Willie – Yes
John Reed – Yes
Mike Holmes – Yes
Ross Carley – Yes
Brian White – Abstained
John Madzula – Abstained
Motion: Mike Holmes made a motion to accept the January 16, 2011 minutes as amended. Jim Bernardi seconded the motion. All in attendance voted unanimously.
February 16, 2011: Correction to a motion - At the February meeting Ross Carley made a motion to have all proposals presented to the Fairfield Hills Authority in Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Andy Willie. In the final version of the minutes it was stated incorrectly that Andy Willie made the motion and Ross Carley seconded.
Motion: Jim Bernardi made a motion to accept the minutes from the February 16, 2011 Authority meeting as amended. Mike Holmes seconded the motion. All in attendance voted unanimously.
John Reed stated that the reference to voting in Executive Session that appeared in the February minutes was stated by a member but that statement was incorrect. There are no votes taken in Executive Session.
Property Management: At this time Maria DeMarco gave an overview of her monthly report. (See Attached).
Ms. DeMarco told the Authority of a request made by the Fire Marshall William Halstead to see if it was possible for the Fire Department to use one of the old white staff houses on the campus for training. Ms. DeMarco stated that some damage would occur. John Reed said that because the Planning and Zoning Commission is now considering the re-use of those houses it would not be appropriate at this time to act on the request. There was not motion made on this matter.
Ms. DeMarco informed the Authority that she has ordered 6 of the solar security lights and they should be installed by the end of April.
Ms. DeMarco informed the Authority of a proposed movie shoot for the campus and do to the nature of the film the Authority had denied this request.
At this time John Reed informed the Authority that the authorization for Campus Use will now be done through Parks & Rec for the fields and trails and any other use of the campus will have to now be confirmed through the Department of Land Use. The calls will still be channeled through the Fairfield Hills Office and then distributed to the correct contact for the event. The First Selectman is having a written procedure drafted to provide guidance to all.
Broker: Mike Struna, Advantage Realty took this time to discuss the increasing inquires that he has been receiving for possible development of the Fairfield Hills Campus. There was an article in the New York Times that has sparked a lot of interest in the Campus. One of them is for senior housing. Mr. Struna said that these developers are using their own resources to decipher the feasibility of developing on the Campus. Mr. Struna also reported about the initial interest of a party in Stratford hall as a possible restaurant.
Mr. Struna also gave the Authority members a copy of a Proposal to Ground Lease at the Fairfield Hills Campus (See Attached).
Mr. Struna stated that this proposal is for public re-view and he will be sending a copy of the proposal to the Newtown Bee. John Reed asked that that a copy of the document be put on the Fairfieldhills.org website.
John Reed stated that he thought it would be a good idea to have the developer come to a meeting of all commissions i.e., Board of Selectman, Planning & Zoning, Legislative Council, Economic Development, Fairfield Hills Review Committee and the general public to help garner more information about the possible project.
Motion: Brian White made a motion that the Fairfield Hills Authority was in receipt of a Proposal to Ground Lease at the Fairfield Hills Campus from the Broker for review and are in agreement that the proposal should be forwarded onto the Board of Selectmen. Ross Carley seconded the motion. All Authority members in attendance voted unanimously.
At this time the business portion of the meeting was ended at 8:32 because Brian White had to leave so there would no longer be a quorum necessary for voting. The remaining members discussed a request for the use of the Fairfield Hills Campus for a seed exchange for gardeners. Also discussed was the wording drafted by the town attorney for the Legislative Council modifying the current regulations establishing the Authority. The basic change makes it clearer that any monitory obligation to the Town of Newtown incurred through a lease would have to follow the normal approval process prescribed by the charter.
The meeting was officially adjourned at 8:57.
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