Groton Open Space Association

Stonington Officials Skeptical On Bond Issue But Want Town To Decide

STONINGTON — The town’s first selectman is dubious about whether the town can afford an open space bond issue, and the chair of the Board of Finance says it can’t, but both agree the matter should be put to voters in a referendum, the Mystic River Press reported.

An article by reporter Tom Kasprzak in the July 13, 2006, MRP issue quoted First Selectman William S. Brown as saying he isn’t optimistic about the Conservation Commission’s effort to raise $3 million to $5 million to help fund open space purchases. Mr. Brown said, “I think it’s a great idea. It’s just finding the mechanism to pay for it… Financially, I don’t think we’re in the position to do…[this].”

Glenn Frishman, chair of the Board of Finance, said he opposes any increase in the town’s bonded debt, and added, “I don’t think that at this time the Board of Finance would make a favorable recommendation.”

The referendum is being promoted by the town’s Conservation Commission, which in May unveiled a report by the Trust for Public Land encouraging the town to use a bond issue raise $3 to $9 million, which it could leverage with funds from other sources to buy up open space in the beautiful coastal town that otherwise would be lost to development.

Alicia Betty, a New Haven-based project manager for the TPL, said in presenting the report to a public meeting in May that capital improvements to schools and sewers are “very important” but added that “capital improvements will always be there. Open space won’t be.”

Ms. Betty said that a 20-year, $2 million bond issue at 5% interest would cost owners of a $245,000 house an additional $13.70 a year. A similar $10 million issue would cost the same owners $68.48 a year (both examples assuming a 70% assessment rate). Conservation advocates frequently lament that town officials tend to give lip service to preservation of open space but find what they consider to be more pressing needs in the community, with the result that beautiful natural assets get lost forever.