SRO tonight? Large crowd expected for Smiler’s Wharf hearing
Controversial project goes before Stonington officials and the public
Mystic — In what is expected to be the largest turnout for a public meeting here in at least 30 years, a huge crowd is expected to pack the Stonington High School auditorium at 7 p.m. today for a public hearing on the controversial Smiler’s Wharf plan.
The hearing before the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission had been slated for May 28 but was postponed after residents filled the Mystic Middle School cafeteria, exceeding its 300-person capacity and forcing the move to a larger venue.
The developers of Smiler’s Wharf are seeking to rezone a 7.5-acre portion of Seaport Marine’s 11-acre site off Washington Street from marine commercial to Neighborhood Development District.
A summary of the master plan for the project submitted by Noank Shipyard, the owners of Seaport Marine, calls for the demolition of all buildings on the site except for the popular Red 36 restaurant.
The master plan calls for construction of a five-story, 45-unit hotel; a 16,590-square-foot, three-story marine service and community event space; a three-story, 200-seat restaurant; six-story, 25-unit apartment building; 16 townhouses; six units of multifamily housing; a kayak rental building; an open-air plaza; a park; 120 boat slips; a 200-foot public boardwalk extension; 130 feet of new coastal access; a new boat basin that will require the removal of 13,000 square feet of land and a new bulkhead to protect against storm surge.
In his report on the project, Town Planner Keith Brynes summarized the pros and cons of the project for the commission.
He listed the possible positive impacts as increased property tax revenue, grand list enhancement, jobs, and increased spending at other area businesses; enhanced coastal public access in the form of the extended
Facchini is next due in New London Superior Court on June 24.
As the controversy unfolded and police arrest warrant affidavits and search warrants were unsealed in fall of 2018, the NFA Board of Trustees hired an attorney and launched its own investigation into the school’s response.
On Jan. 14 the board voted unanimously to clear Head of School David Klein of any wrongdoing in the school’s response to the initial allegations. Police affidavits revealed that Klein, Director of Student Affairs John Iovino and then-Athletic Director Eric Swallow were involved in meetings with Campus Safety Director Rodino discussing the initial allegation in April 2017.
NFA officials quickly dismissed the case after Facchini and the student denied the allegation. No school officials reported the issue to the state Department of Children and Families as required by state law.
The trustees authorized Klein to take action he deemed appropriate based on the investigation report given to the board by attorney Matthew Curtin. On Jan. 24, Klein placed Rodino and Curriculum Director Denise Grant on paid administrative leave for their roles in the school’s response to the allegation. The next day, Jan. 25, Physical and Health Education Department Head Susan Hopkins-Terrell was placed on paid administrative leave as well.
According to police affidavits, Grant had called Rodino after she learned of the allegation and discussed it with Hopkins-Terrell. Rodino termed the initial call anonymous, but Grant told police that Rodino knew she was the caller and even returned her call on her office desk phone.
Rodino was arrested on Jan. 25 by Norwich police and was charged with failure to report suspected child abuse, tampering with evidence, issuing a false statement and interfering with police in connection with his role in the school’s internal investigation into the first allegation in April 2017 and the subsequent Norwich police investigation into the second sexual assault allegation in June 2018.
Along with the arrest warrant, Norwich police released a letter from State’s Attorney Michael L. Regan explaining that while Norwich police sought four arrest warrants for NFA officials who had knowledge of the allegations regarding Facchini, the one-year statute of limitations on the charge of failure to report, a Class A misdemeanor, had lapsed. State law requires all school personnel to report allegations of abuse of minors to DCF.
Regan wrote that the prosecution of the three unnamed NFA officials would be “time barred” based on the one-year statute of limitations for Class A misdemeanors.
“The statute of limitations began to run on or about April 24, 2017, when the duty to report arose,” Regan wrote in a letter to Norwich Police Chief Patrick Daley, “and would prohibit the issuance of a warrant after April 24, 2018.”
Police said Rodino’s initial investigation report stated that Rodino met with Klein, Iovino and Swallow and asked Swallow to interview Facchini and Director of Guidance Jessica St. George to talk to the alleged student victim. School officials quickly closed the investigation after both Facchini and the student denied they were in a sexual relationship.
According to police, Rodino’s initial report also indicated school officials did not intend to report the allegations to police or to the DCF even if Facchini had acknowledged the relationship.
“Rodino states in the initial report that it was decided, after advising Iovino, Klein and Athletic Director Eric Swallow, that Swallow would meet with Facchini regarding this matter to gain additional information,” police wrote in the search warrant affidavit. “Rodino also noted that if the allegations were found to be true, Facchini would be advised the social interaction should stop immediately.”
Swallow resigned Sept. 10, 2018, two days before Facchini was arrested.
Two other NFA staff members are on paid leave pending school internal investigations into issues unrelated to the sexual assault allegations.
On Feb. 20, Klein placed Cranston House — the freshmen building — Principal Bryant Sheldon on paid administrative leave “pending the outcome of an investigation” relating to his employment, according to the letter released by the school in response to an FOI request at the time.
Most recently, on May 18, Klein placed English teacher Sally Derusha on paid leave pending an investigation into an allegation by a parent and student that she made inappropriate and bullying comments to a student. The letter to Derusha also stated she was placed on paid leave “pending the outcome of an investigation relating to your employment.”
In all five cases, the NFA staff members were instructed that paid leave prohibits them from going to NFA school grounds, performing any work or accessing work email or systems.