Killingworth residents want Parmelee farmhouse lease repealed

Former First selectman Gerald Lucas and WATCHDOG partner Michael Board spoke to a standing room only crowd at the Killingworth Library Wednesday evening, answering questions on the growing concern of the undisclosed financial impact on the town by the Parmelee Farm complex, located off Route 81 in Killingworth.

Under the terms of the Parmelee Farm lease signed in 2010, the town of Killingworth is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Parmelee Farm’s centerpiece 150 year old farmhouse and its surrounding area, which is intended to be restored and used as the Killingworth Historical Society’s headquarters.  The farmhouse, observers say, is in such a deteriorated shape that the cost to make it suitable for occupancy is estimated at upwards of $700,000, grossly exceeding the estimate provided by the Killingworth Historical Society when it originally applied for the lease.

“I want to stress that we are not against the restoration project itself,' Mr. Lucas said in a statement made after the meeting. “The problem is that the price tag is far beyond what we’ve been told. With our taxes being raised and with so many people of Killingworth being out of work and having to pay for this project, this is quickly becoming a ‘let them eat cake’ situation and residents are becoming more and more upset about this one sided lease.”

Residents at the meeting pledged to help secure the fifty signatures necessary to call a special town meeting to overturn the lease in order to review the total cost expenditure to the town, as provided for in the town charter. Mr. Board said that one or two more meetings to address people’s concerns on the issue may be necessary because many could not attend Wednesday night’s meeting.

Killingworth First Selectman Cathy Iino, who is currently being summoned for further information on the Parmelee Farm contract under the Freedom of Information Act, was unavailable for comment.