Submitted by Krishna Winston
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Dear Friend of Honest Government in Middletown,
Mayor Florsheim is poised to sign an agreement to essentially give away 35 acres of City property on Country Club Road. We must appeal to him by Tuesday 5/17 to prevent this from happening!
Please ask the Mayor to stop this 35-acre Country Club Road property “giveaway,” require Middletown Youth Soccer/Sporting CT to pay for their own field maintenance at this site, and make this Open Space truly accessible to the public as it was supposed to be.
- Contact e-mail for all members of Common Council: council@middletownct.gov
- Contact e-mail for Mayor Ben Florsheim: mayor@middletownct.gov
- Contact e-mail for General Counsel: brig.smith@middletownct.gov
- Call the Mayor's office at: (860) 344-3401
In 2005 the City of Middletown spent $400,000 to purchase from Middletown Youth Soccer (MYS) a parcel of open space ($200,00 for 18 acres and $200,000 for construction of 4 soccer fields). This property, at 395 Country Club Road, was adjacent to a 17-acre parcel that the City already owned. The two parcels appear on the City’s 2018 listing of open space.
MYS is a private 501(c)(3) (non-profit) organization established in 1985 that provides reasonably priced soccer programming for Middletown youth. MYS also operates Sporting CT, an elite soccer club established in 2012 by the retired Middletown tax assessor who serves as its president (he is also vice president of MYS). Sporting CT offers multiple programs for young people and adults— from both Middletown and other towns—who can afford the hefty participation fees.
After the purchase, the City leased the land (originally a gift to MYS) back to the organization, along with the adjacent parcel, while continuing to provide about $78,000 in annual maintenance services and additional funds for upgrades to the property. At least part of that funding was earmarked for Middletown open space. But MYS has fenced off the property, barring the general public from accessing it for passive recreation.
Now the Common Council has voted to “sell” the entire 35 acres back to MYS. I ask you: is it proper for Middletown-owned space, maintained for 17 years by the City, including with open-space funds, to be quietly given away—for $1.00—to the same private entity from which the City purchased it in the first place? Is it right to have property categorized as open space not accessible to the public? And why has the City been pouring money into maintaining these parcels when MYS/Sporting CT has had the exclusive use of them?
If you think all of this is wrong, please communicate your objections to the members of the Common Council, the Mayor, and the City’s General Counsel by Tuesday 5/17!
Sincerely,
Krishna Winston, Middletown resident
Thank you to the 3 council members who voted against this Country Club Road property giveaway at the May 2nd council meeting: Jeanette Brown, Vinnie Loffredo, and Ed McKeon.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know why the other council members supported this $1 property sale.
As a member of the Commission on Conservation and Agriculture, I wonder what’s the point of having such a commission to oversee open space properties as well as a Land Use Department if neither is consulted when the Common Council decides to sell a property assessed at $1,094,890 (for tax purposes), appraised at $1,564,120 (based on the assessed value being 70% of the appraised value), and taxed at nearly $56,000 per year based on the current mil rate? Is this land not worth more than $1?
ReplyDeleteRight on Krishna, we need to keep our open space actually open to the public! And we don’t need to give away our land.
ReplyDeleteWhat next? We have spent an awful lot of money to procure open space, but it should not be sold back to anyone for $1.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I get in on this deal? Taxpayers are subsidizing this outrageous misuse of public funds!
Grady Faulkner also voted no.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the City spending $78,000 on maintenance annually, and what for? Could it be, dare I ask, for the artificial turf City officials approved for the property? How have Middletown residents benefitted since the property is fenced off?
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to our attention! How is this good for Middletown residents?
ReplyDeleteThank you, for this Liz. I support all that's been said here and want to point out something else: there is no entity with a million-dollar budget that supports passive recreation and preserves natural areas within the city of Middletown. There is no organization to lobby steadily for these purposes, to be a bug in the ear of the right Commissions and commissioners, to be persistent and patient and to always be ready. Yet, those who support and benefit from open space preservation and its passive use are arguably more numerous. We need folks within government to watch out for our interests -- a big thank you is owed Brown, Faulkner, Loffredo, and McKeon. But where's the early warning system? Why isn't the Conservation and Agriculture Commission in the loop??
ReplyDeleteIf this is irreversible, then can I expect $78,000 per year to start going to maintenance of our neglected and disrespected open space parks, such as Guida, Middletown Nature Gardens, and Ravine Park?
This is unconscionable. Where is the community outrage. We get more comments about coyote sightings!
ReplyDeleteSubmitted. Always the government giveaway and fuzzy math to prove it.
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy! I moved here because I(we) like the area and the City's stance on the balance of residential/commercial/public open space(s).
ReplyDeleteIf it is City owned "Open space" then why is it fenced off and not accessible to the public?
The money involved to purchase it in the 1st place should be, at least, the purchase price and not $1.00. At least make it worth something??
The money the City spends on maintaining it, where is that going to go or be allocated to?
I'll volunteer to buy it for $10.00, and keep it open TO THE PUBLIC!...