Portland officials reject revised Elmcrest plan, approve earlier offer
Officials go back to earlier offer for Elmcrest property
PORTLAND >> The showdown over the fate of the Elmcrest property ended in a muddle.
As was widely anticipated, the Board of Selectmen on this week voted 4-3 to reject a counterproposal put forward last week by developer Daniel Bertram. But the selectmen then turned around and voted 6-0-1 to endorse their "last best offer," which amounts to granting Bertram $34,650 less a year than he was asking for in a 14-year abatement.
Selectwoman Kitch Breen Czernicki, Deputy First Selectman Brian M. Flood, Selectwoman Kathleen G. Richards and Selectman Benjamin R. Srb all rejected Bertram's proposal.
First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield and selectmen Frederick R. Knous and Michael Pelton voted to approve the proposal.
Last September, by an identical vote, the selectmen rejected a different version of a tax abatement plan presented by Bertram.
Rejection of the counterproposal frustrated and angered many of the approximately 100 residents who attended the special selectmen's meeting. Seventy-five people filled the Mary Flood Room of the Portland Public Library to watch the selectmen's debate in person. Another 25 people watched the proceedings at a closed-circuit system elsewhere in the library.
Bertram has proposed building 240 apartment units and 89,400 square feet of retail/commercial space on the 14.7-acre former hospital property at the intersection of routes 17A and 66.
1of3A developer has proposed building 240 apartment units and 89,400 square feet of retail/commercial space on the 14.7-acre former Elmcrest Hospital property at the intersection of routes 17A and 66 in Portland.Cassandra Day — The Middletown Press Show MoreShow Less
2of3The proposal also calls for "restoring the Brainerd House and the Sage House and allocating land on the property for placement of the Hart-Jarvis House." All three houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Cassandra Day — The Middletown Press Show MoreShow Less
The proposal also calls for "restoring the Brainerd House and the Sage House and allocating land on the property for placement of the Hart-Jarvis House." All three houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bertram was seeking a 14-year, 15-percent abatement. The town has offered a plan that rose from 15 percent in years one and two to 40 percent in year seven.
The debate over the project — and the abatement — has been going on for the better part of two years.
Bertram was not present for the showdown vote. But both the property owner, Fred Hassan, and Bransfield said they would report the result to Bertram on Friday.
In their post-vote comments, both Hassan and Bransfield appeared to leave the door open to further discussions.
Despite the passion the issue has generated, most of the public comment Thursday was measured and respectful.
The vast majority of the 15 speakers supported the Bertram counteroffer.
One speaker, Greg Piazza, a member of the economic development commission, laid out a negotiation strategy for the selectmen to follow. An IT professional, Piazza said he has negotiated multimillion-dollar and billion-dollar deals.
"First, there are two type of negotiations: one, the ones where you'll never have to deal with other party again (like buying a house or a used car) and the deals where you will have to deal with them (again)," he said.
In the first instance, Piazza said, "You can try everything you can — you can be outrageous and ask for outrageous things."
But in deals where individuals have to continue to negotiate with the other party, "You need to start by understanding what you really need, what would really be a win for you.
"Once you get what you need, you've already won. The trick then is to get some more while still leaving the other side with enough for it to be a win for them," Piazza said. "If you push too much and leave the other side with a loss, you may lose the deal completely — in other words, (you) risk losing what you needed for what you wanted."
"If the deal goes through, you will have an unwilling partner on the other side and since they need to make some money, they will do what they need to get to back to even — not what you want at all," Piazza suggested.
"After two years, the town has gotten into a position where they have their win: $30 million investment, additional revenue, a derelict property fixed, new taxpayers and new businesses," Piazza said.
"We have our win, (so) why are you trying to squeeze blood out of a stone?" he asked.
But developer Bruce Morrison proposed exactly the opposite approach.
The town has "bent over backwards for this developer," giving him a tax abatement for residential property, something Morrison said has never been done before.
When they presented their last best offer, "You drew a line in the sand — take it or leave it." With that declaration, "negotiating was done," Morrison said, demanding "You stand behind that line."
Lou Pear worried the opposition to the Bertram proposal was based "more on fear than on facts."
Pear recounted previous contested issues: building a new library; converting the former Central School into a town hall; leasing the Brownstone Quarry to the trio of brothers who developed the Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park.
The majority who voted to approve those issues were "brave," Pear said, calling upon the selectmen to be equally brave and support the Bertram plan.
And as they vote, "Think how your vote will affect the future of Portland," Pear said.
Alain Munnkittrick said a "yes" vote would put the lie to the idea "Portland is not business friendly."
Last week, Srb, had argued having 18 to 20 children coming out of the Elmcrest development would be a burden to the school system. Their education alone would cost in excess of $4 million, Srb said.
Several speakers — including former Board of Education Chairman Christopher Phelps — criticized Srb's argument and his math.
Before the meeting began, a resident characterized it as "math from another country."
Former selectman Dr. Howard Rosenbaum dismissed Srb's contention as "an alternate fact." Rosenbaum urged the selectmen not to think two or three years in advance but to think 10 years into the future.
"Do something that we would be proud to see in Portland," Rosenbaum said.
"That corner has been an eyesore for too, too long," resident Thomas White said. "It's obviously deteriorating, and it's not going to get better," White said, urging the selectmen to "Listen to your town's folk and let's go on with it."
"This room wants to see development," resident Drew France acknowledged. "But it has to be done the right way."
More than just "skeptical" about Bertram's motives, France said he felt he — and the town — "have been lied to," urging the selectmen to reject the Bertram proposal.
And then it was time for the selectmen to speak. In the main, they repeated arguments they have made numerous times in the past.
Frederick R. Knous said the proposal would encourage economic development in town and generate jobs and taxes. "If we don't go ahead, we're going to be left with a whole lotta nothing," he warned.
Srb began by defending his math, arguing that "Everyone in town should pay their fair share."
He then argued the board should stand by its last best offer.
The proposal was "not perfect," Michael Pelton said.
But the very fact that "everyone is a little unhappy is probably a good thing" Pelton said in arguing for approval of the Bertram proposal.
Alone among the speakers who addressed the proposal, Flood seemed somehow provoked.
Flood ripped the previous board for amateurish attempts at negotiating with Bertram and dismissed the Bertram proposal as "a bad, terrible deal."
Bransfield countered that the proposal would yield $4.2 million in tax revenue over 14 years, as well as fees, motor vehicle and personal property taxes, and jobs. "I'm for getting off the dime and getting something done that will create contagious development," Bransfield said.
Czernicki, who last week welcomed room for additional negotiations, rejected them Thursday and called for the town to make its stand on its last best offer.
Selectwoman Kathleen G. Richards, who had initially thought she would not be able to attend the meeting, was present. But she did not comment during the discussion.
Following rejection of the Bertram proposal, there was a rumble of discontent throughout the room. One longtime resident — who declined to give her name — dismissed the idea of seven people deciding an issue of this magnitude. She said the only fairest way was to hold a town-wide referendum.
But that was an issue for another night.