After months of pressure, members of the Board of Aldermen toured the Red Wing Pond House at the Ansonia Nature Center Saturday morning.
Unfortunately, it was a day too late to save a nature-based preschool that had been proposed for the building.
Plans for the pre-school have been put on hold because the Board of Aldermen didn’t give its blessing for the project before the deadline for a $25,000 state grant.
Without the formal approval of the Board of Aldermen, the Ansonia Nature Center Friday had to rewrite its application to have the grant money go toward other nature center programs.
BACKGROUND
The Friends of the Ansonia Nature Center have been planning a nature-based preschool at the Red Wing Pond House. The building was constructed about a decade ago for the purpose, according to Donna Lindgren, the director of the Nature Center.
The building housed a city preschool program for several years before it was moved to Ansonia Middle School this year. Now, the building houses an occasional children’s program or event at the Nature Center.
But Nature Center leaders wanted to start their own preschool — with science and nature-based curriculum — in the building. The Friends of the Ansonia Nature Center conducted feasibility studies and a business plan for the preschool, which they hoped to have 18 to 20 children attend.
They planned to use the grounds of the Nature Center as the school’s extended classroom.
The start-up costs were estimated at about $150,000, Lindgren said.
Lindgren said the Friends of the Nature Center have raised about $8,000, and they were expecting to receive more money from a Valley Community Foundation grant to help offset the start-up costs.
Once the preschool was up and running, Lindgren said they expected it to pay for itself by incoming tuition.
Reluctance
The Nature Center needed written support from the Board of Aldermen in order to use the state grant it received for the project. The Friends of the Nature Center weren’t asking for financial help, just a resolution stating the city’s support.
But board members have been reluctant to give the ok. because they were concerned about hidden costs to the city that would crop up based on housing a preschool in their building.
Last week they discussed the issues at the Board of Aldermen meeting.
“We see this as a worthy cause,” said Alderman John Marini. “I think the disconnect may be in the numbers. We need more concrete numbers.”
Aldermen questioned whether the city would be responsible for plowing the driveway, as it did when the city preschool was housed there.
Acting Mayor Stephen Blume also questioned utility costs, noting that there was a $900 bill for one month’s heating while the city used the building.
Lindgren said the utilities would average about $10 a day.
An Offer
The City had offered the Friends of the Nature Center to lease the building for $1 a year, as long as it took over all the maintenance and utility costs associated with it, and assume liability for the property.
The group turned down the offer.
“It would be ridiculous to assume a volunteer organization could run the building,” Lindgren said during the meeting. “The entire park is a liability to the city of Ansonia, as are all the parks in the city.”
Second Chance?
Lindgren said if the climate is different in a year, she might try again to get the program up and started.
But Blume this week said the city’s offer ends with the leasing proposal.
“We’re not going to do it,” Blume said Monday night. “We offered them the Red Wing Pond House for a dollar a year if they leave us alone.”
Blume said without the preschool, the city will continue maintaining the building as it has been.
Perhaps they should have thought about financial liability before bringing charges against a police officer that left the City holding the bill for the officer’s defense attorney.
When it comes to adding value to the City the alderman shut the purse but money is piddled away in foolishness.
“We’re not going to do it,” Blume said Monday night. “We offered them the Red Wing Pond House for a dollar a year if they leave us alone.”
IF THEY LEAVE US ALONE?! What kind of talk is that? Here you have a group of people practically begging to something worthwhile in the city, for the city, and Blume wants to be left alone. What is his problem? He can’t even speak with any respect. He’s the alderman for that ward (7th) for crying out loud. You would think he would welcome and at least entertain the positive attributes of the Nature Center’s idea. The Nature Center is just about the only good thing in town with its fields, trails and programs. The playscape is starting to crumble but only because Public Works has been put in charge of maintaining it. That means that eventually it will be closed off and condemned because, obviously, they can’t maintain anything. Blume thinks it’s OK to blow off the Friends of The Ansonia Nature Center. Arrogant beyond compare and just as worthless. The city is in an economic disaster and he’s not even smart enough to turn the taxpayers’ attention to something positive. Stop electing this guy. He is bad for the Nature Center, bad for your wallets and bad for the city.
Who is paying the heating bill at the STUPID and useless fire museum that the city has an line item for?Why dont they lease that building for $1 and assume all responsibilities?Maybe they want to make it a fire training facility. Concerns for plowing the driveway be for real are you kidding!!
WAKE-UP ANSONIA! Sheesh! THERE IS STRENGTH in numbers! ABOA is as worthless as the Mayor. Arrogant bunch of smooth talking clowns. They don’t give a rat’s a$$ about you or your town. This is all about THEM! BTW… What fire museum? Good question. Stop by the building taxpayers (old Pine High). It’s your tax dollars maintaining this alleged facility. Keep an eye on the trucks parked to the back of the building. Your hard-earned tax dollars are pissed away or underhanded, by this lousy administration. Listen, if this town wants to play a game of hard-ball, then, it’s time to do some investigating.