Norwalk: Incerto House; Look Before You Leap Lesson

I’m really not sure what to make about this development. The spilt milk retrospective would go downt he path of why this house was “saved” by dissembling it and sticking it in trailers, while it’s original lot is a vacant, while the trailers attract vandals, while no discernable fund raising goes on …

Then there’s the usual self inflicted political drama, does Norwalk have a historical plan to preserve unique character and then capitalize on tourist dollars.  So The Hour reports:

 Norwalk Historical Commission Chairman David W. Park will ask fellow commissioners tonight to form a committee to reallocate $150,000 earmarked for reassembly of the Rogers-Ritch-Merritt House.
“The Historical Commission has been sitting on that money since (the) 2002 capital budget without any action. It is estimated to take well over $1 million dollars to fully reassemble house which we will never see from city budget or private donation,” Park said. “The committee will discuss over the next month exactly where that $150,000 should be spent and make their recommendations at the April 23 Historical Commission meeting. I want the commission (tonight) to approve the committee.”

At issue is whether to reassemble the Rogers-Ritch-Merritt House — whose beams and bricks have sat in storage for years — at Mill Hill Historic Park on East Wall Street. The structure, also known as the Incerto House, was disassembled in January 2002. It is believed to date back to between 1795 and 1820.

Park believes most of the $150,000 should go to fix the cemetery and buildings at Mill Hill Historic Park, with some dollars going to buildings at Mathews Park, The Norwalk Museum and various cemeteries.

He is proposing that Peter A. Bondi, commission vice chairman, and Kathryn A. Martino and Charles L. Yost, both on the commission’s Finance Committee, sit on the committee. Susan Gunn Bromley, Norwalk Museum curator, would serve as staff person to the committee, according to Park.

I suppose a comment about how no one with, oh say, architectural, historical expereince is apparently being included in this discussion. Norwalk heritage is something apparently that only Norwalk weighs in on, even though the entire Fairfield County region owes its very existence to Norwalk.

If commissioners were to vote to close the Rogers-Ritch-Merritt House account, the committee’s recommendation on where to reallocate the dollars would go to Director of Finance Thomas S. Hamilton, Mayor Richard A. Moccia, the Planning Commission, Board of Estimate and Taxation, and ultimately the Common Council for approval or rejection, according to Park.
Moccia on Tuesday indicated that he supports reallocating the money. The cost of rebuilding the house is “beyond the city’s ability,” Moccia said, and the city is running out of locations to store the trailers, which have been moved from Andrews Field to Richards Avenue to Ely Avenue.

At the same time, Moccia suggested that reassembly of the house could go forward under private initiative.

“If the council were so inclined, they could vote to put it out to bid, and we’ll see if we have some preservation group that might want to buy it. Maybe they could even find a place in Norwalk,” Moccia said. But “I don’t know who’s going to come up, with the land and everything, $1 million.”

This is actually a good avenue to explore, what privatefunding or state funding is available. I would think that someone would make sure those items have been thourghly investigated, my usual point about due diligence and accountability can be inserted here.

Last April, a similar motion by Park to reallocate the dollars failed. At that time, however, the commission included several members who staunchly supported the reassembly project.

Gail Wall, the only person among that group remaining on the commission, considers the project critical to the rehabilitation of the Mill Hill buildings and to the redevelopment of nearby Wall Street.

“This project could be the catalyst to the rehabilitation of the buildings at Mill Hill, because the buildings are in desperate need of repair and maintenance,” Wall said. “I believe that it’s a viable project. I would like to see the city get behind the project and support it. I would like to see the (city) grants writer seek grants that could facilitate funding for the project.”

Critical? I’m not so sure its a critical part of Mill Hill. Sometimes hyperbole just doesn’t aide teh cause.

According to Wall and Carol Ann Falasca, a former commissioner, reallocating the $150,000 also poses financial questions, as not all of the dollars were city appropriated — some were donated.

“If the money that was donated does not go for the (Rogers-Ritch-Merritt House), and the city decides to use it for something else, I believe the people have a right to get their money back,” Falasca said. “We can put this project back together, but we need to have the support of the city, and of course, the Historical Commission.”

And that is a very good point. And also illustrates the dangers of having  monies co-mingled in the city general fund instead of into specific organizations or projects. I would hope that someone is checking with Tom Hamilton on that as well.

source: The Hour, Historical Commission seeks to reallocate funds, March 26, 2008