Winstanley Enterprises Project Granted Tax Break By Enfield Council

ENFIELD, CT — For nearly a full hour Monday night, residents of Enfield came before the town council to express their feelings about a proposed tax assessment reduction resolution under consideration for Winstanley Enterprises, a Massachusetts-based developer seeking a tax break for a half-million square-foot warehouse and distribution facility it had constructed on former farmland at 113 North Maple Street.

This was the second go-round for the company, which had been turned down by the council nearly a year ago on a proposed "phase-in of taxes" over a 7-year period which would have been on a sliding scale of 80 percent assessment reduction for the first year, down to 30 percent by the end of the agreement. On Feb. 7, 2022, the council rejected that plan, with seven votes against and three abstentions.

A revised resolution, calling for a 30 percent reduction for seven years on the 71-acre property, was the subject of not only opposition from neighbors, but also several councilors, referring to it as "a bad deal for Enfield" and "not beneficial to the residents."

District 3 Councilor Matt Despard, whose constituents include the Hazardville area where the facility is located, told the audience, "I think you deserve far, far better than what you're about to get."

Contrarily, several council members cited property owner Adam Winstanley's previous contention that he had been promised a deal by prior town managers Bryan Chodkowski and Christopher Bromson. Last February, he told the council when he bought the former Hallmark Cards property on Bacon Road in 2016, he was offered 50 percent off taxes by Chodkowski. Likewise, a similar offer was made in 2020 by Bromson on the North Maple Street project.

Councilor Lori Unghire said, "Maybe I'm old school, but I was brought up that if you agree to something, you should live by it and stand by it."

Following an extensive explanation of the proposal by Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu, a 7-4 non-partisan vote gave approval to the resolution. Mayor Bob Cressotti, Deputy Mayor Gina Cekala, Democratic councilors Cindy Mangini and John Santanella, and Republicans Unghire, Ken Nelson and Marie Pyznar voted in favor of the agreement, while Democrats Despard and Nick Hopkins and Republicans Mike Ludwick and Doug Finger voted no.

The reduced assessment will be effective with the Oct. 1, 2023 Grand List.

The entire meeting may be viewed here.