Questions Abound over Capital Projects Referendum

At two informational meetings this week, Granby residents questioned the $11.4 million in proposed capital projects including the controversial plan to buy the Evonsion Farm property.

Members of the Granby Capital Program Priority Advisory Committee (CPPAC) hosted two meetings Wednesday in the Police Department community room to provide information and answer questions concerning the $11.4 million capital improvement projects referendum scheduled for Jan. 17, 2012.

Twenty-two residents attended the morning informational session on Wednesday, while about 20 people were in attendance in the evening.

Because similar questions arose out of each session, and for the purposes of simplicity and brevity, the following is a list of queries that came out of the meetings. The questions are provided without attribution, followed by the answers given by town officials as well as opinions, when provided, of residents in attendance.

What is CPPAC?

CPPAC is comprised of the town treasurer, as well as two members each of the Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education, with several town officials serving as ex-officio members (the chairman of the school board, the first selectman, the superintendent of schools, the chair of the finance board and the town manager). The committee meets periodically to advise the town on major capital improvements that the town, in its opinion, needs.

What are the projects and what will they cost?

There are 11 big-ticket projects — nine from the town, two from the school district — that, if approved by voters, will cost a total of $11.4 million. Several  projects are subject to federal reimbursement or state grants, which would reduce the total cost to the town to $8.4 million. The projects, which would be financed through 20-year bonds, are listed below along with their total estimated cost and the estimated cost to the town.

Why are the projects grouped together under one referendum question rather than broken out individually?

Several residents expressed their concerns over specific projects, most notably the potential acquisition of Evonsion Farm, and wanted to know why they could not vote on each project as individual line items.

The reasons, according to CPPAC Chairman and Board of Finance member Gordon Bischoff, are a combination of the philosophical and practical.

“We don’t break out the the town and school district budgets,” Bischoff said. “That’s how we are presenting it to voters. It’s how we do the budget and how we have done it with capital projects in the past.”

What’s more, Gordon and Town Manager William Smith said that breaking the projects out into separate bonds would cost the town additional money.

Smith said that it costs $75,000 to $100,000 to go out for one bond package. Breaking the projects out would eventually be cost prohibitive, according to Smith.

“There’s definitely an advantage to [putting all the projects together] bonding-wise,” Bischoff said.

Are some projects more important than others?

All of the projects are, according to Bischoff, “fully formed,” meaning that, for CPPAC members, this is the time to act with regard to each of them; the projects are not rated one through 11.

With that said, the Silver Street bridge, which was built in 1969, is considered by the state’s Department of Transportation as “functionally obsolete” and has been rated “poor.” Bischoff said that the bridge “could reach the point of being shut down,” though not necessarily in 2012.

That project has been approved by the state for 80 percent of the project's funding this year and the town has already solicited bids for it.

“That’s driving the package of projects,” Bischoff said.

The library roof is also 30 years old and is in need of repair, according to Bischoff, while the Department of Public Works wash and storage bays must be constructed to be in compliance with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The athletic fields improvements at the high school have been discussed for many years, as well and would be brought into compliance with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

If the projects are approved, what impact will the projects have on the town’s budget?

According to CPPAC’s modeling, the Granby's mill rate is estimated to increase a total of approximately 15 percent over the next five years. The projects, if approved, would account for about two of those percentage points, said  CPPAC and finance board member Mike Guarco.

Why does the potential acquisition of Evonsion Farm cost $3 million when it’s only valued at $565,000 for tax purposes?

The project that elicited the most comments from residents was over the potential acquisition of the 124-acre Evonsion Farm, located on East Street in North Granby. Among the questions was why the farm was valued by the town at $3 million when it is assessed by the town at $565,000.

First Selectman John Adams said that the reason why the farmland is taxed at that amount is due to a policy that is designed to encourage farming and the preservation of open space. Acquiring the farm on the open market, however, will cost any entity - the town or a private developer - far more than the town’s assessed value, according to Smith. As The Granbys Patch reported last week, a February 2009 appraisal valued the land at $2.6 million, though 10 years ago the land was almost sold for $5.25 million to a private developer.

“It’s comparing apples and oranges,” said Adams, who added that the assessed value of the property “does not reflect its fair market value.”

Not everyone was for the farm’s acquisition.

“I’m not sure that $3 million is a judicious use of taxpayer funds,” Granby resident Terry Wright said. “I wish there was a way for townspeople to not vote against this [resolution] because of this one item. There should be a line-item vote.”

One resident, who declined to be identified, said that he would vote in favor of the projects, including the farm, because the prices will skyrocket once the market improves.

“This package can turn into $15 million overnight,” he said.

Another resident agreed.

"I personally don't want more housing in town," Jim Warnke said. "I think everything on here is great. ... It's not the best time, but it's the timing we have to deal with."

Why is the town interested in acquiring Evonsion Farm and what does the town plan to do with the land if it’s successfully acquired?

Bischoff said that Evonsion Farm is one of the last large parcels of land available in Granby. Should the town be successful in its acquisition, there are no immediate plans for the land outside of preserving it as open space, Bischoff said.

With that in mind, the land could be used in the future for town use, such as the construction of a new school or athletic fields, Bischoff said.

Bischoff said that the town was not specifically acquiring the land to prevent the the construction of houses on the property by a private developer (one plan called for the building of 80 homes). If that were to happen, however, Bischoff said that the influx of children in the schools - 160 if there were two in each new household - would be “a dramatic shock” to the school system.

Adams said that it would cost $360,000 to educate two children for 13 years in the Granby schools system. It would take 35 years to recoup the tax money from a home valued at $350,000 to educate those children, Adams said.

One resident, who declined to be identified, asked whether there would be an overflow in the schools given the recent decline of school-age children in town.

Adams said that it wasn’t the number of children in the classrooms as it was the number of teachers. If the number of children continues to decline, then the number of teachers would decline as well.

“It’s simple math,” Adams said.

The town does not, according to Adams, propose to buy just half the land, nor is there a plan to sell it back to private developers if and when it is acquired.

With the acquisition of the land around Cossitt Library, does the town envision any other use for the building as anything other than a library?

The town is proposing to acquire the land adjacent to Cossitt Library to build additional parking and install a septic system. Bischoff said no other plans were in place to use Cossitt as anything other than a library.

Has the town consulted Salmon Brook Street homeowners who might have sidewalks installed in front of their property?

Adams said that he had spoken to several homeowners would be affected, and they viewed the project favorably.

“They thought it was badly needed; they didn’t object,” Adams said, noting that about 200 people on the recent historic house walk were doing so without the benefits of a sidewalk. “If we can improve public safety, we should do that.”

What would the town get for the $3.2 million athletics fields project?

The project, estimated for completion in the summer of 2013, would consist of a six-lane regulation track with eight straight lanes, an artificial field within the track, lighting, a secondary artificial field, handicap-accessible bleachers, fencing for fields and a press box.

Football games could be played on the artificial field, though it could not be used for football practices.

What happens next?

The town will host two more information sessions at the Police Department community room on Jan. 5, one at 3:30 p.m., the other at 7:30 p.m. A special Town Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2012, with the referendum to take place on Jan. 17, 2012.

What happens if the referendum is voted down?

Without giving a definitive answer, Bischoff said that should the referendum fail, town officials would most likely act in a similar fashion as when a budget is voted down. That is, the town would repackage the projects list accordingly and present a new referendum question to voters.

“I can’t say for sure what the outcome would be,” Bischoff said.