Ridgefield News
February 21, 1999

Selectman Mike Jones Statement On Quail Ridge Bypass

Selectman Mike Jones Speaks Out Against Secrecy In Planning Bypass Route

[The following statement was issued today by Democratic Selectman Mike Jones.]

Democratic Selectmen Mike Jones (left), and Barbara Manners

Feb. 21, Ridgefield, Ct.

Dear Ridgefielders:

I, as a voter and as a member of the Board of Selectmen, hereby announce my complete and unswerving opposition to both the proposed "Quail Ridge by-pass road" which was announced by Mr. Morelli this Thursday last, and to the shabby governance which produced it.

We all know that traffic in town is difficult, at best, and impossible at worst. In conversations with some of the businesspeople in town I have come to believe that at least some of them are suffering financially due to the congestion. A plan to solve (or at least, moderate) the traffic situation is long over-due and I commend Mr. Morelli for picking up the cudgel on what always would be a thankless task.

But this misbegotten plan is not the way to accomplish an otherwise laudable goal.

• I am shocked to learn this plan exists in such a complete and final form and apparently has been under development for more than one year.
• I am appalled that the First Selectmen has accomplished this task without formally informing me (and I assume the other members of the Board of Selectmen) and the other elected bodies which should supervise such a project.
• I am embarrassed that town funds and engineering resources have been expended upon this project without debate, including the hiring of an outside consulting engineer to develop the detailed technical plans.
• I am dismayed to see that our First Selectmen appears to have taken upon himself the right to "concede" to Schlumberger building privileges for a series of townhouses in exchange for their support for this plan.
• I am disheartened that this plan calls for building a major thoroughfare immediately adjacent to existing private homes and down rural country lanes, with neither consideration for the impaired quality of life those residents would suffer nor compensation for the loss in value their properties would bear.
• Mostly, however, I am stunned by Mr. Morelli's lack of understanding of the democratic process and the concept of open government. If the newspaper reports are true, Mr. Morelli has forsaken open and honest government for the convenience of the legal staff at Schlumberger. This is unconscionable.

Let me be perfectly clear: this topic has never been on the agenda of any meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Neither I nor, to the best of my knowledge, any of the other Selectmen have ever been informed of the details of this program. At the close of a Selectmen¹s meeting about six weeks ago (as we were putting on our coats and walking out the door) Mr. Morelli mentioned that he had been chatting with officials of Schlumberger about this concept and if it materialized into anything he would keep us advised. In retrospect, was this a deliberate effort to misinform the Selectmen with a total misrepresentation of the true extent of the work he had commissioned?

This secret by-pass road represents a astounding lapse in judgment by Mr. Morelli. Indeed, this naïve attempt at urban planning shall have far-reaching consequences, I fear:

• It has justifiably alarmed the residents of Quail Ridge and Ivy Hill Road, Prospect Ridge and the western end of Branchville Road, and I regret the stress this has indubitably inflicted in their lives.
• This event will generate a hearty dose of "not in my backyard" thinking which will serve to further divide our community. I suspect that many people who live in other parts of town probably reacted positively to it. Secretly, many also were pleased that it did not affect their home. In effect, the folks on Quail Ridge shall pay dearly for the convenience of the rest of the town. Fostering "NIMBY" attitudes is a dangerous game, and one some Ridgefielders already play too well. None of us knows when our own neighborhood will be the next target. "NIMBY" thinking is antithetical to the proper functioning of a democracy. A proposal onerously detrimental to our neighbors' homes must be opposed as if it were detrimental to our own.
• Our First Selectmen unwittingly also may have just torpedoed the possibility of building a new school on Prospect Ridge. This is one of the sites recommended by the 40-person School Site Oversight Committee. I already have received messages by phone and email asking about the link between these two unrelated projects. I fear that in his desire to remove a potential objection to the Prospect Ridge site Mr. Morelli may have forever tarnished it.
• Lastly, this subterranean proposal undermines the already stressed fabric of public confidence in government. I think many of my neighbors would agree that our government has never seemed more costly, less ineffective and farther removed from the goals we seek in our personal lives. The secrecy with which this by-pass road has been developed is living proof that our distrust is not misplaced.

To summarize, I think most Ridgefielders would agree that we urgently need to improve the flow of traffic through Ridgefield. But the answer to that question must be developed under the searing light of public oversight. This project needs (a) detailed community input (b) so it can be developed into something more than a band-aid approach to the problem while (c) avoiding the appearance of providing profits to a single corporation. I always have been and forever shall be absolutely opposed to plans which are developed in secret, no matter how worthy the cause.

Therefore, I call upon Mr. Morelli to immediately freeze any further expenditure of town funds on this project. I call upon the Town Attorney and the Ethics Commission to independently hold public hearings and examine this situation to determine if any local ordinances or state laws have been violated in the development these secret plans. Lastly, I call upon my fellow Selectmen, plus the members of the Board of Finance and the Planning & Zoning Commission to immediately convene an emergency public hearing to fully examine the details of this proposal.

[signed]
Mike Jones

Illustrated map of the proposed route

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