A Google maps image showing the current community center on Pine Street.
SEYMOUR – The committee looking into building a new community center is slated to get back on track next month after a seven-month hiatus.
The Community Center Building Committee is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the existing Community Center, 20 Pine St.
The committee last met on Dec. 2, 2021, and every meeting from January to July this year has been cancelled.
The committee has been on hold as the town waited to see if federal money was available. In addition, the town had to make it through a tougher-than-usual budget cycle, including a projected deficit of $800,000 in the school budget.
Voters in November 2019 ballot were asked if they’d be willing to borrow upward of $15 million to build a new community center. No plan was in place when the voters were asked the question.
Voters said “no,” by 389 votes.
Despite the rejection, the town formed a committee in 2020 that has been looking at cost-effective ways to make a new community center happen.
Public/Private Partnership With Haynes?
The town is looking to form some type of partnership with Haynes Construction, which owns more than 220 acres of land spanning Seymour and Beacon Falls behind Stop and Shop on Franklin Street in Seymour.
Both Seymour and Beacon Falls were expected to receive $10 million in federal funding courtesy of a larger spending package U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro put forward, where the money would be used to build a two-mile access road into the Haynes property.
That road could open the land up for a large, mixed-use development project. A Seymour Community Center could be part of that development, according to Kurt Miller, the former Seymour First Selectman chairing the community center committee.
Miller said Haynes is “very open” to the idea.
It’s not clear at this point what that partnership could look like.
Miller has said the existing building on Pine Street is in need of many repairs, including a new roof and elevator. The current building as is, Miller has said, is holding the town back in providing more programming opportunities because it’s at full capacity.
Funding?
Seymour’s Chief of Staff Rory Burke said the town is waiting for more information from U.S. Rep. DeLauro about the federal funding to build the road.
“There are a lot of moving pieces to the project, so we’ve been coordinating things on the back end and there hasn’t been much for the committee to discuss. We have met with Haynes to discuss the road but we’re awaiting more definitive information from Congresswoman DeLauro’s office before we move forward with more substantive discussions. We’ve been told the Congressional funds are unlikely to arrive until next year at the earliest.”
DeLauro announced in May that she hoped to get Seymour and Beacon Falls $10 million for the access road as part of her Community Project Funding program for fiscal year 2023.
UPDATE: The Valley Indy spoke with U.S. Rep. DeLauro’s office on Friday afternoon, after this story was published. Her office pointed out they had sent an email Thursday night that went unnoticed by The Valley Indy.
Her representative said the $10 million request was a request that was made at the same time as funding requests from elected officials across the federal legislature.
However, there’s a cap on Community Project Funding that limits the spending to no more than 1 percent of discretionary spending. That limits available funding. The final funding number, through the legislative process, ended up at $3 million.
“Given the 1 percent cap — an implemented reform recommended by the bipartisan House modernization committee — some projects had to be right sized to fit within the cap,” the spokesperson said.
Original story follows:
A press release from DeLauro’s office last week showed that the U.S. House of Representatives approved a significantly lower amount of $3 million.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said she is looking into why the amount was reduced, and she hasn’t heard back yet from DeLauro’s office.
Whatever the outcome with the funding, Miller said moving toward a public/private partnership is a smart way to go.
“We think a public/private partnership give us the most options and would be the most cost-effective way of building the new facility,” Miller said. “We are looking to add a regional component as well if that is possible. Our goal has always been to build the best possible community center we can in the most cost-effective way.”
A survey in 2021 showed 65 percent of respondents were in favor of a new community center.
– Eugene Driscoll contributed to the updated version of this story.
