Stanley Seligson wants the City of Norwalk to finance infrastructure improvements to his West Ave. redevelopment project. Norwalk’s Corporation Counsel says the financial plan suggested in beyond the staff’s expertise. So they recommended that outside counsel be hired to evaluate the plan. Bill Krummel and Carvin Hilliard don’t want to hire outside counsel because:
“I’m really concerned right now about the West Avenue corridor development and the statements about the amount of money that the city or state is going to have to put in for infrastructure,” Krummel said. “The authorization to have a law firm examine how to do this is, in effect, moving forward on the plan. I want to know how much (money) we’re talking about before we hire a law firm.”
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“I would support funding the garage because that’s general public use. But as far as private (development) we just want to ask questions,” Hilliard said. “We have to find out about the public funding and the private stuff.”
Chairman Matt Miklave understood exactly why its a good idea to seek outside expertise:
Matthew T. Miklave, chairman of the Planning Committee, said hiring legal counsel to investigate the financial plan seems to be a “reasonable thing to do.”
“I’m not adverse to the concept of (a special services district),” Miklave said. “In essence, the project developer is paying the cost of the development, albeit it’s over time. That seems to me to make a heckuva a lot of sense as long as the city’s interests are protected. But I need more information.”
One would hope that that our council flunkies will spend the time to fully understand the issue before committing the financial resources of the City of Norwalk to aide one developer of one area of town. Unlike the thinking of Nick Kydes.
Planning Committee member Nicholas D. Kydes said redevelopment projects for the city’s urban core will result in the “resurrection of Norwalk.”
Kydes added that the tightening of the housing and credit markets necessitate that Waypointe move forward quickly.
“We have procrastinated long enough on the West Avenue development,” he said. “Any time we lose now is going to work against us, because we’re working against economic conditions that are beginning to tighten up.”
Kydes seems to forget that its the developer that is supposed to be the one whose market is tightening up. Norwalk will be developed regardless, just like it and every other northeastern corridor town has seen development over the past 300 years.
source: The Hour Officials debate public bonds for West Ave. project, September 14, 2007
