nothin Beaver Hills: Thanks For Base Deal. Now Move… | New Haven Independent

Beaver Hills To City:
Thanks For Base Deal …

Robert Caplan and Peaches Quinn.

As the city moved forward to relocate its police academy to West Rock, Beaver Hills neighbors asked the question: How soon can you move the firing range out of earshot?

Robert Caplan and Peaches Quinn were the only two members of the public attending a hearing of the Community Development Committee of the Board of Aldermen Wednesday night. The neighborhood management team stalwarts said they represented Beaver Hills in supporting a resolution authorizing the mayor to accept a property transfer of the U.S. Army base on Wintergreen Avenue.

That is part of a three-way arrangement by which Columbus House, which had had first legal dibs on the property, relinquishes it to the city in exchange for a housing authority complex on Frank Street in the Hill to develop into affordable housing for the homeless.

Click here for an article on that arrangement.

The deal calls for moving the police academy to the Army base, but without an outdoor firing range. The firing range would follow only if the city can find the money to build an indoor facility there.

Beaver Hills neighbors have complained for years about the racket from the outdoor shooting range on Sherman Parkway. The ultimate plan is for the city to transfer the shooting range to the base, which is a non-park, non-residential setting.

The resolution passed unanimously with a favorable recommendation for consideration by the full Board of Aldermen.

I know of no Beaver Hill residents who are against [the new proposal]. We have our base. Now we need to search for firing range money,” said Caplan, who has served as the chairman of the Whalley Avenue Beaver Hills (WEB) community management team.

Allan Appel Photo

Rob Smuts and Darnell Goldson.

You like free money, this is free property,” said Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts, who led the negotiations for the city.

Smuts said the only provisions attached to the transfer is that the city never have an outdoor firing range at the new site and that no heavy machinery repair operations with potential contaminants be located at the base without first getting aldermanic approval.

Smuts said the new site is ready to go, with only another bathroom needing to be added before the base can begin to help solve the overcrowding of police services at Union Avenue.

He said plans call for the academy to be moved immediately to the former base, along with the evidence storage unit. Before moving the garage function, the city would return to the board for permission.

Which still leaves the firing range operational, fueling ongoing concerns of neighbors. Beaver Hills Alderwoman Claudette Robinson-Thorpe asked Smuts if the city is moving diligently to find funding.

My sincere hope is we get funding this year. It’s one of the two or three priorities [of the city’s efforts] in D.C.,” Smuts said.

Marcus Paca.

He added that city officials want to continue to work with U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman on the project. In 2009 Lieberman was instrumental in securing $225,000 in a federal appropriation toward the cost of new indoor firing range on the former army base.

Smuts said the last option was to return to the aldermen. If it became necessary, however, to reach into the pockets of our taxpayers,” he said the approach would be to mitigate that with other towns [paying for their police to use the New Haven facility]. But we hope it won’t come to that.”

Quinn and Caplan were also at pains to praise Smuts for the fabulous job” he had done, even while they offered their services to find funding to move the range.

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