12/18/2018
DTC Fact Checker delves in to Mary Jane Lundgren, DTC Chair, Letter to the Editor!
Recently Mary Jane Lundgren wrote a letter to the editor as Chair of the Democratic Town Committee. The letter can be found at:
https://www.newmilfordspectrum.com/news/article/Questions-decisions-about-town-buildings-13441747.php
Many statements were made and our research is as follows:
Mary Jane Claim:
For months, the Pettibone Community Center Committee (which was formed by Mayor Pete Bass) has been conducting research on community centers....
Fact Checker Findings:
Perhaps a Freudian slip on Ms. Lundgren's part but it is called the Community Center Committee not the, "Pettibone Community Center," as she says. This is an important distinction because the Town Council minutes state that they were charged with NOT looking at specific properties, completely contrary to what Ms. Lundgren states.
Mary Jane Claim:..and a survey was conducted through Parks & Recreation to gauge interest of the townspeople in a community center. Respondents answered numerous questions posed by some members of the Town Council.
Fact Checker Findings:
Parks and Recreation conducted NO surveys regarding community centers.
Mary Jane Claim:
He (Mayor) instead chose to table the motion without regard to Roberts Rules of Order and thus continue the charade of supporting/not supporting the Pettibone Community Center that is up and running and could be generating more income for the town if the Republican leadership was not bent on preventing that from happening.
Fact Checkers Findings:
The Pettibone building does not generate revenue. Former Mayor Gronbach made it free for any non-profit to use the facility. So even though it costs money to open the facility, clean the facility and close the facility he made the decision to not cover the costs associated with a non-profit using it. In fact, several organizations used to pay to use the Maxx and the BOE facilities but have all migrated here because they used to have to pay fees. This has led to a decline in revenues at the BOE and Youth Agency. The Town Council, per their minutes, is looking at changing this policy.
Mary Jane Claim:
Last month the Town Council irresponsibly approved a $20,000 grant for yet another study of the East Street building. The building has already been studied twice in the past few years.It has already been determined that East Street building is not a viable option or a financially responsible choice for the town to continue maintaining this building.
Fact Checkers Findings:
The actual studies provided by KG&D show no immediate work is required, contrary to the claims of Ms. Lundgren. This grant which was applied for reviews what the highest and best use for the property would be with input to be gained from the public. Factually speaking, East Street School is significantly less to maintain than Pettibone. I will providing more information on this in a future post.
Mary Jane Claim:
The building is non-ADA compliant with a cracked foundation and full roof replacement needed.
Fact Checkers Findings:
The reports provided by the BOE show no real issues with the foundation. Further, there are no ADA upgrades that are actually required as the building is grandfathered in. Factually speaking, the roof replacement at East Street of 8,500 square feet (pitched roof) is approximately 15% of the roof replacement cost for the 75,000 square foot roof at Pettibone (several portions flat) that needs to be replaced.
Mary Jane Claim:
What has happened to the offer by Dakota Partners to buy this building, renovate, and create apartments thus bringing in needed tax revenue? Approving and spending money on yet another study for East Street is a misuse of state and local funds.
Fact Checker Findings:
This is the same company that owns 34 East Street which has had several police calls for drugs and other issues, utilizing police resources. This is the same Dakota Partners that had their assessment significantly lowered after their certificate of occupancy so that their taxes are well below market rate. On top of it, they admitted having several children in the facility so when you look at the cost per student in our budget their taxes don't even cover the cost to educate the children at the apartment. Factually speaking, if they were to buy the East Street School our taxes received (income) would be LESS than our costs (expenses) that the Town would have to bear.
Based on the facts, Ms. Lundgrens letter, as chair of the DTC, is filled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
