Letter: Ansonia Real Estate Deal Smells Fishy

In a recent Valley Independent article, Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti claimed that his administration is, the most transparent…this city has ever seen.” This is laughable.

Despite multiple inquiries, the administration hasn’t been open about how they intend to spend — or already have spent– $5.5M in ARPA funds from the federal government. Other towns have had community surveys on how to spend, have posted their spending on their websites, and have had town meetings specific to ARPA funds. Ansonia has done none of this, ignoring public inquiry, pushing ahead behind closed doors, and spending our tax dollars without our input.

The mayor’s claim that, they have FOI’d me to death and we give them everything they request” is also laughable. The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) is an essential tool for the public to keep tabs on their government. While most FOI requests are acknowledged as received,” the cooperation usually ends there. Saying you’ve received an FOI is not the same as actually providing the info requested! I’ve seen many examples where the city’s lawyer has dodged and made excuses for not providing requested documentation, seemingly in an effort to delay and obscure. We know residents still waiting on information requested several months ago.

And when it comes to this Olson Drive situation — boy, does this city government have some explaining to do for itself.

–The Request for Proposal (RFP) was so oddly narrow — demanding one indoor and one outdoor recreation field – that only one developer applied. It looks an awful lot like the city tailored the RFP for a specific proposal they had in mind. Why only request proposals for such a strangely narrow and specific purpose?

Misleading the public, claiming that HUD required the city to use this property for solely recreationHUD did not. The city could have put an RFP out for a variety of purposes.

–Disregarding the charter requirement that after a property is purchased, if the city wishes to sell, a 13-step process is followed – including a public hearing BEFORE putting it out to bid. Instead, the city never formally put it out to bid, skipped multiple steps in the sale process, tried to hold a public hearing” an hour before they planned to sell it, which had to be cancelled as it was improperly, unlawfully noticed. They only canceled after I pressed the city on this issue, cc’ing the press, the morning of their planned meeting.”

And, let’s all not forget, this 8.4 acres of land on Olson Drive is valued at $2.8 million, yet the city government and alders are trying to sell it for $510,000, and with 17 years of sweetheart tax deals. 

Why haven’t they valued this property for all its purposes, put out a broad request for bids, and allowed the public to weigh in on all the options and their financial and community benefits? In my eyes, and the eyes of many residents, this transaction was baked from the start.

The new date for the public meeting on Olson Drive is Tuesday, July 12th. It is time for the residents of Ansonia to call out this suspicious back-room deal, and demand city government reject this deal” and start acting lawfully.

Claiming this administration is transparent is a joke, but no one’s laughing. 


John Feddern

The writer, an Ansonia resident, is chairman of the Ansonia Town Democratic Committee.

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