ANSONIA — A court dismissed an appeal brought by a resident who challenged the process by which property on Olson Drive was acquired by the city and sold to a private developer.
In a 79-word order, the state’s appellate court points out the arguments in resident Matthew McGowan’s appeal are moot because the land was already sold to a third party, so “there is no longer any practical relief that can be afforded.”
“Practical relief” refers to a court decision that might benefit the plaintiff, in this case McGowan, who first filed a lawsuit against the City of Ansonia in June 2022. He was represented by Thomas Egan of Ansonia.
In the initial lawsuit, he argued that the city did not follow proper procedure when it made an “8 – 24” referral to the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission for the purchase of Olson Drive from the Ansonia Housing Authority in September 2019.
The land was then sold to The Primrose Companies, a Bridgeport company that received approvals from the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission to build a private sports complex on Olson Drive, previously the site of the federally-subsidized Riverside Apartments.
The lower court ruled in favor of the city. McGowan appealed, and that appeal was dismissed on Wednesday (July 26).
McGowan is currently the interim chairman of the Ansonia Town Democratic Committee. Egan is running on the Democratic line for mayor.
“The dismissal comes as no surprise,” said Ansonia Corporation Council John Marini.
Marini initially represented Mayor David Cassetti’s administration in the lawsuit, but said he opted to recuse himself from the case after the plaintiffs moved to have him disqualified for an alleged conflict of interest. Marini pointed out that the court said he did not have to leave the case.
Marini’s wife, Nancy Marini, represented the city in front of the lower court at no cost, according to John Marini.
The appeal also lists Barbara M. Schellenberg, of the law firm Marino, Zabel & Schellenberg, as representing the City of Ansonia. John Marini is employed by that firm, which is also the corporation counsel for the City of Derby.
“I’m grateful to the city officials and legal counsel (including my wife, who covered the Superior Court trial due to an alleged conflict raised by attorney Egan) for assisting in the defense of this absolutely frivolous and politically motivated attack on an important development project,” John Marini said.
Nancy Marini said the outcome speaks for itself.
“The lawsuit was nonsensical from the start. I’m appreciative that the appellate court recognized that an immediate dismissal was in order,” she said.
Egan, in an email, repeated the lawsuit’s claims that the city did not follow the procedures outlined in the city charter or state law when it comes to public land deals. He called the city’s actions “cavalier” and still questioned whether the sale was legal.
Egan said the lawsuit’s goal was to get the city to comply with the rules.
“I got demonized a lot throughout this lawsuit. Most people don’t understand that had the city allowed my client’s lawsuit to go forward we still would have had a sports complex. The process would have taken an extra three months towards development, but it would be done right,” Egan said.
Answering an inquiry on Thursday from The Valley Indy, Ansonia Chief Financial Officer W. Kurt Miller said the lawsuit cost the city $21,981.87.
That dollar amount includes legal fees of $19,030 through June 30, plus lost staff time estimated at $2,951.87.
The lost staff time is from city employees who went to court in Milford during the initial lawsuit in Superior Court. Miller also said Nancy Marini’s work was not billed.
The Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for the redevelopment of Olson Drive in December 2022.
The roughly 8‑acre property is being transformed into two buildings: a 39,000-square foot indoor soccer facility with an outdoor soccer field, and a 49,000 square-foot building that has been leased to a “Pick Up USA,” basketball training program, along with a separate business that trains lacrosse and football players.
The Cassetti administration also negotiated a tax break on the property in order to spur development. After finding mistakes in the original agreement, earlier this year the Ansonia Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a tax deal, where the owner pays no taxes for the first three years of the 17-year agreement. In years four, five and six, the owner pays $75,600 annually, and the taxes then incrementally increase in subsequent years.
The city has not collected taxes on the property since 1962 because the land on Olson Drive was previously owned by the Ansonia Housing Authority, which, as a government agency under the jurisdiction of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, did not pay taxes.
The Cassetti administration since 2014 has been trying to come up with a redevelopment plan that would get Olson Drive back on the tax rolls. At first the idea was to build a police department there, along with a municipal community center, a new fire house, and housing.
Those plans did not move forward, but the police department ended up at a retro-fitted building at 65 Main St. along with a new senior center.
Meanwhile, hundreds of new apartments are under construction on Main Street, and previously empty stores are now populated with restaurants. Federal and state grants are also being used by the administration to get rid of the glut of vacant, outdated manufacturing space in the heart of downtown.
The Cassetti administration lobbied for the Olson Drive project, saying it was an important expansion of what’s happening downtown. Olson Drive is across the Naugatuck River from West Main Street.
