Preston Voters Approve Hospital Land Purchase

In a rather close vote, the town of Preston has elected to purchase the former Norwich State Hospital property from the State of CT for $1. The 400 acre property purchase excludes about 50 acres over the Norwich border, and also excludes about 30 acres that was used as an ash landfill. The closing is set for Friday, and then Preston can once again begin marketing the property, determining the costs of ownership (security, insurance, clean-up etc), with the State of CT covering costs for the first year. For more info, see the articles in today's New London Day http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=4736af89-4329-4eb9-993b-3acf2278c093 and Norwich Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x1056823423/Preston-narrowly-approves-buying-hospital-property. As noted in a prior posting, I was a bit unsure about the best outcome (and based on our Blog Poll, even more unsure about how the vote would play out), I remain confident in the group of individuals who have devoted thousands of hours as members of the advisory group for the town. Their efforts are probably not appreciated nearly as much as they deserve, and have been subjected to a variety of negative comments from folks who don't feel that anybody from rural Preston could possibly be sophisticated enough to deal with a project of this magnitude. Although the group did not always see eye to eye, and some members will no longer remain on board due to the outcome of this vote, they have always done what each believes is in the best interest of Preston...and they deserve the thanks of all residents.