LITCHFIELD TO VOTE AGAIN ON THE SCHOOLS PROJECT Litchfield Board of Selectmen voted to hold Meeting |
| Back to News & Announcements |
| 06/09/2005 |
| Litchfield to Vote Again On the Schools Project |
| By: Dawn Caminiti |
|
LITCHFIELD-Opponents of the school building project went home happy Tuesday night after the Board of Selectmen voted 3 to 2 in favor of accepting their petition that seeks a town meeting on whether to halt the $33 million construction and renovation project for two schools. The town meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at either the Litchfield firehouse or Litchfield Intermediate School auditorium. Selectmen took the issue one step further and voted unanimously to take the issue to a referendum June 23. The building committee that has been working on the plans to upgrade the high school and intermediate school since the project was approved in April 2004 is almost ready for a groundbreaking. "I'm very pleased with the results," said Alan Landau, who led the petition drive. "Now the public will be able to vote on the project again based on all the facts and make an educated decision at the referendum." Selectmen were split in their decision to accept the petition. Selectmen Daniel Coelho and Kevin Creed, who have shown support for alternative projects that include a new high school, voted to accept the petition. Selectmen William Dranginis and Joan Whitbeck voted against it. First Selectman Leo Paul, tormented by the decision, cast the deciding vote to accept the petition signed by nearly 60 taxpayers. He has been an avid supporter of the Schools Building Committee, and lost sleep knowing he would likely have to vote to accept the petition. "The way I may have to vote tonight goes against everything inside of me," he told the public before the board voted, adding that he continues to support the project and will vote against stopping it in the referendum. His decision to accept the petition was based on the seven-page legal opinion of town attorney Michael Rybak, who wrote that the petition for the town meeting was legal and valid and failure to accept it would likely lead to a superior court order to call the town meeting. Opponents to the project, who call themselves the FACT Coalition (Fiscal Accountability for Community Trust) circulated the petition that was submitted to the town clerk's office May 30. Members have publicly stated that if the board did not accept the petition, they would pursue a court injunction to get the town meeting. "If the FACT group is bluffing, they won," Mr. Paul said after he voted to accept the petition and avoid any legal battle. Opponents and supporters of the school project spent nearly 45 minutes during public comment presenting their arguments to selectmen to either accept or reject the petition. The FACT group wants to stop the current project because members believe aspects of the proposal presented to voters before the referendum last year have significantly changed. These changes include the renovation of the high school's gymnasium instead of building a new one, and no expansion to the high school's cafeteria or the intermediate school's auditorium. Opponents claim Litchfield could get a new high school and a better overall project for not that much more than the amount being spent on what they call a substandard effort. However, officials warn that if the project is halted, Litchfield will have to pay for almost $2 million worth of work already done, and get nothing in return. In the referendum last year, taxpayers voted 2-to-1 to spend up to $33 million on construction and renovation projects at the Litchfield High School and Litchfield Intermediate School. It was one of two school building projects to be approved at a referendum. The first project, presented three years ago, included an addition to the intermediate school and renovations at both schools. That approval was rescinded after a different Board of Selectmen voted 3 to 2 to accept a petition similar to the one considered Tuesday. The town spent the past three years trying to find another project to meet voters' approval. Resident Audrey Blondin, a former selectman who voted against the petition three years ago, urged the board to reject the new petition and allow the current project to continue. "Look where we ended up on that 3 to 2 vote," she said. "We can't keep doing this as a community." |
| Back to News & Announcements |