(Left to right) Selectman Robert Findley, Selectwoman Trish Danka, First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis and Deputy First Selectman Al Bruno.
SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectmen met in private on Tuesday to talk about a court action involving Tri-Town Plaza, the under-developed shopping plaza on the border of Seymour and Ansonia.
The town’s building inspector is asking a judge to intervene to get Connecticut Properties Tri-Town Plaza, LLC to deal with allegedly unsafe conditions at part of the plaza, according to court filings.
The board met in executive session, a type of closed-door meeting allowed under state law when discussing things such as lawsuits or real estate deals. The board is prohibited by law from venturing off the stated topic, and are not allowed to vote on any matter in executive session.
After about 30 minutes behind closed doors, the board came back into regular session and took no action regarding the matter. First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis declined comment.
Legal Action No. 1
Over the summer the Seymour building inspector, after issuing several orders to deal with safety issues left behind after the Ames section of the shopping center was torn down in 2018, asked a court to force the groups controlling the Tri-Town Plaza property and buildings to do something.
The Tri-Town Plaza land at 814 Derby Ave. is owned by Goodyear Property Management, LLC, along with Mark and Ellen Shaw, the trustees of the William H. Shaw Connecticut Realty Trust.
Connecticut Properties Tri-Town Plaza, LLC is the tenant, and controls the property, according to court documents. Ron Spector, of Nevada, is the managing partment of the Tri-Town Plaza, LLC. Spector has been the public face of the shopping center and the point person for town officials.
Spector’s Tri-Town Plaza, LLC has a 1961 lease agreement with the owners valid for 99 years.
Court documents allege building inspector Jim Baldwin has notified the owners and Tri-Town LLC several times about safety issues at what’s left of the Ames section of the shopping plaza. The property was cited with a blight violation in 2021.
The problems include:
* Unsecured and failed structural components in the roof assembly
* Structural components not protected from frost and weathering
* Exterior walls with extensive cracks
* Walls that appear to be failing
The owners and tenant have done nothing to address the problems, despite ample time and notice, the town alleges. A court complaint filed in July asks a judge to force the owners or tenant to fix the problems.
Spector denies there are any unsafe conditions on the property.
The owners (Goodyear Property Management, LLC and the Shaw trust) filed a cross claim on Aug. 23. They say that, according to a 1961 lease, the tenant (Tri-Town Plaza LLC) is responsible for making the repairs.
The owners allege that since no repairs have been made, Tri-Town Plaza LLC is in breach of the long-standing lease agreement.
The owners are threatening to terminate the lease, cut Spector’s Tri-Town LLC out of the picture and take possession of the property entirely.
Legal Action No. 2
In addition to the building inspector’s court action against Spector and his Connecticut Properties Tri-Town Plaza, LLC, Spector has an appeal of his property tax assessment pending in court.
According to court documents filed in April 2021, Spector is appealing the assessment of three properties he controls through his company: 814 Derby Ave., 842 Derby Ave. and 850 Derby Ave.
A property assessment, which represents 70 percent of a property’s value, is a key factor in determining how much a property owner pays in taxes each year.
According to the court action, Spector’s first property is assessed at $1.17 million, the second property at $363,160 and the third at $1.55 million.
Each assessment is more than 70 percent of the value, Spector says in court documents, and is “excessive, disproportionate, and unlawful.”
Spector first attempted to appeal to the Seymour Board of Assessment Appeals but the group would not hear his complaint, according to court documents.
A court hearing on the tax assessment appeal had been scheduled for Aug. 8 but a continuance was granted by a judge.
A remote hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 15, 2022.
