Final Public Hearing on Future of Schlumberger Property Proposal

The third and final public hearing on the town-owned Schlumberger property and the proposal to sell a portion to developers will be held next Wednesday, June 25.

The initial proposal to sell 9.858 acres of the property to Toll Brothers, INC. for $4 million was defeated at referendum by a narrow of seven votes, sending the Board of Selectmen (BOS) back to the drawing board.

However, before they carve out a new plan, they scheduled the public hearings to find out what the public would like to see in a new proposal.

“We haven’t had a good turnout” so far at the first two hearings, First Selectman Rudy Marconi said Wednesday. “But the people who did [attend] were very informative.”

Marconi said the majority of speakers at the previous public hearings brought up other potential uses for the 10 acres, as well as the remaining 30 acres of open space that the town would have retained under the initial proposal.

“What we’re hearing from the public hearing process is, ‘Take a step back, hire a planner and assess the property,’” Marconi said.

Though he originally voted in favor of the sale, adjustments will have to be made before the proposal is brought to the voters again.

“It was voted down, so we have to park it and listen to what the people want,” he said.

The June 25 hearing is set to start at 6:30 p.m. in the large conference room in Town Hall.

What do you think? Should the town sell a portion of the land?