Ridgefield News
February 19, 2001

BOF Kills Bennett's Pond Purchase

Financiers Nix Bennett's Pond Purchase

Deny Petitioners; Urge Selectmen To Negotiate Deal With Eureka

BOF Chair Bernie Dzielinski (center, in sweater) questions town bond counsel Doug Gillette (back to camera) as Norman Craig (left) and John Scarbrough (center) look on. Town Controller Jay Wahlberg is at the far right. While the Board had a multitude of questions about the workings of the eminent domain process, Mr. Gillette made it clear this was not his area of speciality - he has never been involved in an eminent domain case.

A huge crowd of 150-some people jammed the Town Hall meeting room and the hallways outside for tonight's much-anticipated meeting. Selectmen, Planning and Zoning members, and other officials joined a legion of open space supporters to hear the financiers deliberations.

Feb. 19 -- Ridgefield's Board of Finance derailed a proposal for the town to purchase Bennett's Pond through eminent domain. Citing a lack of information about the eminent domain process and the ultimate cost to the town, the financiers voted 4-1 (with Norman Craig the sole "yes" vote) to deny the ROSA-backed petitions to submit the takeover proposal to referendum. An overflow crowd witnessed the sometimes-confusing deliberation, and many tried to gain the floor to state their positions. Most of the 8-10 people who were called on spoke in favor of the petition-backed proposal to take the property for permanent open space. When the Board announced their vote killing the petition drive, the numerous open space supporters were clearly extremely disappointed. In addition to concerns about the eminent domain process, several Board members spoke of the potential tax contribution which could come from some commercial development of the property. After voting down the proposal to buy the property, the Board concluded by voting unanimously to ask the Board of Selectmen to reopen negotiations over the tract with the current developer-owner, Eureka.

[Left] Marty Heiser appealed to fellow Board members to allow a representative sample of attendees to address the Board. Seven audience members were then allowed to speak for several minutes each. Without Heiser's intervention, it is unclear whether the public would have been heard from at all.
[Right] Open space advocate and ROSA member Pete Stewart urged the Board to let the petitioned measure proceed to referendum, and thereby let the townspeople ultimately decide the issue.

[Left] Ellen Burns, President of ROSA, explained the details of the property appraisal which had been relied upon to determine the proposed asking price for the properties - $2.8 million for the 155-acre south portion, and $7.8 million for the 458 acres in the northern portion. Ms. Burns, in an e-mail to ROSA supporters after the meeting, said, "[this] Board of Finance meeting was an eye-opener, and a call to arms. ... The Board of Finance denied our right to hold a town-wide referendum on acquiring the Bennett's Pond property by eminent domain. While this poorly considered decision was a blow to our efforts, it is not a fatal one. Four people cannot be allowed to thwart the will of 2,800 voters."
[Right] Even floor space was at a premium in the standing room only meeting. First Selectman Rudy Marconi (left, standing behind podium) stood by to answer any of the Board of Finance's questions.

Immediately after the vote killing the Bennett's Pond initiative, emotions ran high as several open space advocates questioned the Board of Finance about their rejection of the measure.

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