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08/23/2017 08:00 AMWhen good things happen, politicians take credit, when they should be giving credit. When bad things happen, it’s someone else’s fault.
Clinton has had a string of bad luck and disappointments: the loss of recreation center plans for the Unilever building, the false hopes dashed for an ice rink, the loss of $6 million in state aid, and now the collapse of Mill Pond at the old Morgan School interchange development zone.
The hands dealt Clinton’s leaders weren’t good. That they were totally unanticipated and poorly played is another matter.
Clinton’s Economic Development Commission (EDC), on which I have the honor of serving, has repeatedly reached out to First Selectman Bruce Farmer and the Mill Pond developer to offer assistance and been rebuffed by both, who said everything was under control, that it was a matter of being patient and waiting on delayed approvals from Connecticut’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. That was clearly inaccurate.
The EDC is a resource the first selectman has neglected to use. He has never attended EDC regular meetings. Only one selectman, John Giannotti, has attended an EDC regular meeting recently to seek support for the relocation of CVS to his property.
For months, I’ve urged the EDC to begin the process of developing a plan B for the interchange development zone, as a lever with the developer and a contingency anticipating this unfortunate turn of events. Now the EDC is organizing a meeting to address the crisis, and hopefully the first selectman will accept the commission’s help for a change and maybe even attend.
The cost of misplaced priorities like subsidizing a pump-out boat and a private water main is measurable. Every week that the interchange development is delayed costs Clinton more than $10,000 in anticipated tax revenue. The urgency is tangible!
Kirk Carr
Clinton
Kirk Carr is challenging endorsed incumbent Bruce Farmer to be Clinton’s Republican first selectman candidate.