Tough Decision for Town of Preston on Feb 24

As most of our long term campers are aware, the Town of Preston has been trying to find a developer for the former Norwich State Hospital property, over 400 acres located across the river from Mohegan Sun. The first preferred developer (Utopia, an amusement park plan) wound up being dismissed due to an inability to meet requirements established by the town, primarily financial in nature. Following that, a new search narrowed the field to a pair of potential parties, each of which involved some housing, a golf course and other components. Due to the current economic environment, the chosen developer was unable to guarantee that certain elements of the project would be completed in a timely manner. The town once again was forced to part ways with another potential developer. As all of this was happening, Preston's option to purchase the property from the state of CT for $1 was quickly running out of time. While it may appear that the chance to buy over 400 acres for $1 is a no-brainer, there are serious contamination issues on the property. Although the state has not wavered on the time limit, it has offered to continue to pay upkeep on the property for an extra year if Preston were to purchase. The Board of Selectmen have voted 2-1 to go forward with the potential purchase, and it will now be put to a vote. Residents and those on the grand list (such as long term campers who pay personal property tax on their RV) are eligible to vote. Unlike some prior referendums where Strawberry Park has felt our best interests were served by a vote in one particular direction, it is not as clear this time. The advisory committee has worked long and hard to steer Preston in the right direction, but there are now two key elements at play in this vote: maintaining control of what is developed on the property vs potential tax increases. If Preston does not purchase the land, the state of CT can do whatever it deems appropriate with the land...and while it would seem like a wasteful use of such a prime piece of real estate, there is no guarantee that it would not become an ash landfill, a prison or a housing project that could greatly impact Preston's school enrollment. Conversely, if Preston buys the property, there is no assurance that a developer will be found to not only create a desired project, but to pay for the clean up (estimated to be in the $10 million range). If no developer is found, Preston will be facing a tax shortfall, as currently the state makes PILOT payments (payment in lieu of taxes) to the town. The vote will take place on February 24. Just for fun, we are conducting a survey in this week's "blog poll", so let us know your stance. If you ask me, I must admit to being rather ambivalent. Sorry. For more information, the following articles may shed more light on the situation (especially since I wrote most of the above from memory, unlike reporters who usually do research).

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=bd3ebb7f-f0ae-4a2f-aa01-6d4a0bda0f08

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=7e830fc4-c2e5-4aca-ace4-4a16ec10e39a

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=5e115ed9-88e0-4ed2-9b3d-9ca040dcb865

Or visit the Preston web site (which is well organized and kept up to date very nicely) http://www.preston-ct.org/

Enjoy the weekend, and perhaps you will see Strawberry Park at the camping show in Springfield, MA or Suffern, NY (but I will be tied up running a wrestling tournament). Oh, and a Happy Valentine's Day to everyone from Dave, Jen, Brock and Reed!