City officials are talking about buying Telescope Mountain, the land on Derby’s west side where the Regional Water Authority wanted to build a 2 million gallon water tank.
A subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen met Tuesday (July 2) in executive session to discuss the matter with corporation counsel Joseph Coppola. Executive sessions are closed-door meetings, but are allowed in certain cases under state law, such as when officials are discussing a real estate deal.
The board then unanimously voted to recommend “that the full board (of Aldermen) discuss in executive session the purchase of the property called Telescope Mountain.”
The three Aldermen in attendance Tuesday were Scott Boulton, Carmen DiCenso and Joseph DiMartino. DiCenso made the motion.
Click the play button below to hear audio from the meeting.
Background
The Regional Water Authority submitted a plan to the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission in late 2012 for a 2 million gallon water tank on Telescope Mountain. The company said the tank was badly needed to improve water service in Derby, which currently does not have a back-up supply.
However, the proposal was met with stiff opposition from residents — and local elected officials — during a public hearing, because many homes surround the proposed location.
In April, resident Sharlene McEvoy, who has led opposition to the tank, urged the Board of Aldermen to find a way to purchase the land and preserve it.
In June the Regional Water Authority announced — but did not formally submit — a new plan for the water tank and set up an informational website called Community Water Tank.
New Plan
The new proposal moves the tank to the south, away from Indian Avenue and Mountain Street.
A map produced by the company shows the tank closer to the top of Summit Street and a condominium complex off Coon Hollow Road and Mistyvale Lane.
Access to the tank — a controversial issue in the original proposal — appears to be off Mistyvale Lane and Coon Hollow Road, according to a map distributed to the press by the Regional Water Authority. The tank itself will be 500 feet east of Coon Hollow Road, according to RWA.
The utility company has also said it wants to preserve the woods around the land as open space, to be used by Derby residents for hiking trails. Click here for more information.
Have a look at the RWA map:
However, the Regional Water Authority has yet to submit that revised plan to the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission.
Alderman DiCenso, who spoke publicly against the original proposal during public hearings, said he is not convinced the new plan is much better.
“That’s the highest point on the west side of town. You’re going to see that tank from Ansonia, Seymour, Shelton. I can already see the Shelton football field from the Derby football field. And this is going to be even hire than the Derby football field,” DiCenso said Tuesday. “The trucks are still going to have to go up behind the condominiums,” DiCenso said.
Coppola, the city’s lawyer, said the city is simply having a discussion at this point.
“If they (Regional Water Authority) don’t buy it (the land), we’re going to try buy it. If they’re not interested in buying it, we’re interested in buying it,” he said.
The particulars of the deal, such as how the city could pay for it, were not discussed Tuesday (at least not during the public session).
Reaction
Telescope Mountain is owned by Summit Hill, LLC, which shares the same business address as the John J. Brennan Construction Company of Shelton.
It’s not clear whether the owner is even interested in talking to Derby.
“(This is the) first I heard of this. I have no comment at this time,” attorney Dominick Thomas said in an e‑mail Wednesday. Thomas represents the land owner.
Meanwhile, Regional Water Authority spokesperson Kate Powell said the company is proceeding with its application for the water tank.
“RWA is still pursuing plans to put the tank on Telescope Mountain, although at a different location,” Powell said in an e‑mail. “There is a map that shows the new proposed location on the community water tank’s website – www.communitywatertank.com. We are planning to submit the plans to Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning in August after meeting with neighbors of the proposed tank at the end of July or in early August.”
Neighbors who opposed the tank had four major complaints about the proposal — potential damage and dust from dynamite blasting, concerns over excessive tractor-trailer traffic on narrow roads, potential damage caused to city infrastructure and the potential loss of property value.
But officials from the Regional Water Authority said the lack of water storage on the city’s west side puts “public health and safety at risk in the event of a water main break or large fire.”
The city had been pushing Regional Water Authority toward land the utility company owns on Silver Hill Road in Ansonia, which is much less populated than the roads surrounding Telescope Mountain.
Telescope Mountain stretches from the top of Summit Street north to a cemetery off Chatfield Street.
The tank would be 40 feet high with a 90-foot diameter.
An e‑mail seeking comment was sent to Derby Mayor Tony Staffieri Wednesday morning.
The issue could be discussed again — but in executive session — during this month’s regularly-scheduled Derby Board of Aldermen meeting.
The Aldermen usually meet the fourth Thursday of each month on Derby City Hall’s second floor.
