Councilors, Residents Opposed To Tax Break For Project Developer

ENFIELD, CT — A year and a half after a massive industrial construction project on North Maple Street was approved despite considerable opposition from neighbors, two more scenarios involving the developer of that project have arisen which have rankled residents, as well as some elected town officials.

Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises, which is building a 502,000 square-foot distribution center on former farmland at 113 North Maple Street, is seeking a 50 percent tax abatement for the next 10 years on the property. Some town officials say a verbal agreement to approve the abatement was established between Winstanley and former town manager Chris Bromson.

In a Jan. 5 letter to Hazardville Fire Department Chief Jack Flanagan, acting town manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu wrote, "Per the Agreement, the assessed value for each year will be reduced by 50% for the 10-year duration of the Agreement. For example, for Grand List Years of 10/1/2022, 10/1/2023, 10/1/2024, and 10/1/2025 the assessed value, upon which the property tax amount is based, will be reduced from $35,000,000 to $17,500,000."

District 3 councilor Matt Despard, whose constituency includes the construction site and surrounding neighborhoods, wrote an email to nearby residents, stating, "I have been clear since day one that I believe this is a bad deal for Enfield. It fails on every metric: It does not bring in jobs. The truck impact on our roads will cost millions. It decreases the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhoods and Enfield as a whole. The only thing we are getting from this project is tax revenue and we are giving half of it back. I will be voting against this."

Councilor Nick Hopkins, who represents nearby District 4, posted on social media, "Please let my peers on the town council know your thoughts about this proposed abatement (negotiated by the prior town manager). I have a lot of concerns about it. I have been working diligently to make sure the rest of the council understands the lack of benefits for this proposal."

Zoppo-Sassu's letter to Flanagan indicated the council would act on the application at its Jan. 18 meeting. However, both Despard and Mayor Bob Cressotti told Patch no decision would be made at that time.

Resident Dale Butrymowicz said in an email to neighbors in the Misty Meadow subdivision, "It is a very important time to make these arguments by phone or email now. If we don't take action, this abatement stands a good chance of being approved. Get the word out to other residents, forward this email, talk with neighbors, etc. because otherwise this kind of behavior will just continue unless we pay much closer attention to what is actually going on in Enfield and let our opinions be known to our elected officials."

A new project

At 7 p.m. on Jan. 18, at the same time as the council meeting, a public hearing has been scheduled in the Enfield Room on the lower level of town hall, concerning Winstanley's application to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency for a wetlands permit to construct a 1-story, 819,000 square-foot distribution center with accompanying parking, loading docks, and trailer parking at the rear of the existing Winstanley Logistics Center at 25 Bacon Road.

The new project, more than 300,000 square feet larger than the North Maple Street site, would be mainly on a 182-acre parcel at 35 Bacon Road. The building would consist of two tenant spaces, measuring 501,000 and 318,000 square feet, respectively.

Seven distinct areas of wetlands would be included, encompassing 42.7 acres, including Freshwater Brook and a farm pond known for years as "The Oasis."

Neighbors are concerned about stormwater runoff, which would flow into the brook and the adjacent Shaker Pond, known to locals for decades as Shaker Pines Lake. Concerned residents of the area have formed a group called Save the Lakes.

"These things come at the cost of quality of life," Hopkins said. "We need to attract people to town. This is the wrong way to do so, especially if there are no jobs created and little or no net tax revenue after accounting for infrastructure costs."

Documents about the application, available on the town of Enfield website, include:

• permit application for Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency activity
• project narrative
• narrative maps
• vicinity, aerial and tax maps
• site plans
• soil map
• staff report