Kudos to Cromwell for land purchase process

Recently, the Cromwell Town Council held a session to consider and vote on a number of matters. Principally of which, to this writer’s view, was a vote on the potential sale of a parcel of property owned by the town that was considered a “park,” or expendable over time.

In March, our council tabled a vote to sell the property pending the receipt of additional information that council members requested. The meeting was attended by a number of residents potentially impacted by the sale, but just as importantly by residents who were imploring the council to consider the nature of having open spaces and how we address properties of this type in the future.

Our town manager surfaced the idea to sell the parcel and I firmly believe that both he and the council considered it worthy of selling. Who would fault a town looking for an additional source of revenue in an environment where the state of Connecticut has indicated that funding for teacher retirement plans would need to be funded by the local governments?

The residents who attended expressed their opinions and council members were totally engaged, occasionally nodding and taking notes. After considered debate among council members, a motion was presented to postpone any sale at this time. The motion passed unanimously.

This letter is not about gloating or celebrating victory, it is about respect for the process. The reason our democracy works so well is that we can have a discourse that has opposing opinions and views, yet at the end of the day, literally, the vote of our elected officials consider the impact of a their vote on its citizens. My plaudits go to the town manager, council members and the citizens who showed up to make this process work. — Edward E. Pratesi, managing director, UHY Advisors, West Hartford