School deal splits NL councilors
Site being considered for community center
New London — The City Council remains deeply divided about whether or not to purchase the former Edgerton School as the future site of a community center.
The council’s finance committee on Monday voted 2-1 to move the $ 350,000 proposed purchase to a vote by the full City Council next Monday. Councilors Don Venditto and Martha Marx voted in favor while finance committee Chairwoman Erica Richardson voted against. Other councilors not on the committee chimed in with their own sometimes emotional opinions.
Venditto said while he was ultimately in favor, he had grappled with what he considered the fiscally prudent thing to do versus what he felt would ultimately benefit the city and its residents.
From a financial perspective he said allowing the land owner, Peter Levine, to sell the school to a developer with the potential of generating tax revenue from the property was appealing.
“But from a community- based standpoint I see the opportunity to buy a piece of property that is perfectly located, of the right size to allow for development of a community center that could benefit all of the residents of this city,” Venditto said.
He said someone looking to move into southeastern Connecticut weighs what each community has to offer.
“I would look at towns that were investing in themselves for the future, ones that understand building community character is important,” Venditto said.
The city has an agreement with Levine to purchase the 3.3-acre property at 120 Cedar Grove Ave. and to collect more than $54,000 in back taxes he owes the city along with $40,000 of a long-term loan the city gave Levine in 2006 as part of an assistance package for his $4 million renovation project at 13 Washington St., now the home of Washington Street Coffee House, 2 Wives Pizza and 25 apartments. The school property is in foreclosure.
The agreement with Levine expires on March 16.
Mayor Michael Passero has pushed the idea of purchasing the schools for a community center and said he would look to partner with a group, such as the YMCA, to ensure
the city has no long-term financial obligations.
Councilor Anthony Nolan said he did not agree with buying back a parcel of land for the same price the city sold it to Levine for, minus a portion of land. Levine bought the property from the city and has since sold off a basketball court-sized portion to the developer building an auto parts store off Colman Street.
Richardson said she was against the purchase and that the council should be looking to welcome development rather than purchasing land to take off the tax rolls. A potential buyer of Levine’s property has offered $425,000 for the property for a warehouse-type development.
“I don’t understand why there is such a big push for this right now,” Richardson said. “We’re about to bond for a brand new high school.”
“We can’t keep taking bites out of the apple and collecting property with big dreams and no money to do it,” she said.
Councilor John Satti said he was on the fence and still wondered about the cost of cleanup at the site and whether the city could afford it.
Councilor Michael Tranchida said while the city needs a community center, he was opposed to the purchase price and asked if the city should instead be looking at alternate city- owned locations, such as Bates Woods Park.