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In what its president says was a referendum on the future of the Legacy Theatre, Stony Creek residents last night elected a new and more moderate Stony Creek Association (SCA) executive board. Three current members lost their bid for re-election.
Six new board members, including well-known and respected leaders in the village, were elected to the board and four current board members were returned. The returning board members include Josh Brooks, a member of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM,) Sandra Fischer, Sam Kirby and Mike Richter.
Residents lined up at the Willoughby Wallace Library at 5 p.m. last night to decide the next slate of officers and a new board for the SCA. Voting ended at 8 p.m. and the results were in by 10:30 p.m. The new board meets for its annual meeting Tuesday night.
Dan Bullard was re-elected as the SCA’s president. He said in an interview after the election that he hoped this board would restore “village harmony and a moderate approach” to the Legacy Theatre building project.
While it is typically difficult for a small community to get people to run for public office, this SCA election drew what might be a record 17 people seeking election to the SCA board. The board consists of 10 people who serve one-year terms. The association’s nominating committee suggested a number of names, including leaders in the village who have served on the board in the past and know the issues well. Others tossed their names in as well.
In an earlier interview yesterday, Bullard said he viewed the election as “a referendum on the Legacy Theatre. That is what it really is. There are some people who believe the Legacy Theatre should be able to do whatever it would like and there are some people who say we don’t want them to do anything at all and just go away and then there is a bunch of moderates in the middle. So the people who will get elected will do so based on residents’ positions on that matter.”
Bullard said this election had nothing to do with Costco’s application to construct a warehouse near exit 56, a few miles from the village of Stony Creek. “We specifically said that this is not a Stony Creek issue but a Branford issue. The Stony Creek Association said we are not taking any position on Costco.” And it didn’t, although a number of Stony Creek residents have voiced their opinions pro and con at various public meetings.
Those who ran and won seats on the executive board include RTM member Jim Walker; Bob Babcock, head of the Branford Education Foundation; Ted Ells, an attorney and vice-president of the Stony Creek Museum; Mike Infantino, Jr., the owner and operator of Sea Mist Thimble Islands cruises, Jerald (Jake) Greenvall, the former Stony Creek Association tax collector and Christine Chiocchio, the co-owner of Seaside Gift Shop.
Walker described himself as “an independent moderate displeased with the tenor and direction of the past year and believe that individuals may successfully discuss appropriate conclusions to issues without spending our funds for legal fees.”
Linda Reed, who previously served on the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, but was not re-appointed to that board, was not re-elected to the SCA. She was adamantly opposed to the theater. DeeDee (Delores) Hakun and Peter Kusterer also lost their seats on the board. Some current board members did not seek re-election.
Legacy and Legal Issues
The legal difficulties the SCA faces with regard to the Legacy Theatre began after the former Puppet House was purchased in March 2013 with the intent of opening an upscale repertory theater at the former Puppet House at 128 Thimble Islands Road. After the town agreed to issue a permit, the SCA filed an appeal in Superior Court in New Haven. That appeal is now in court mediation. Click here to read about it.
The SCA has sought to ensure that neighbors won’t be adversely impacted by the theater’s traffic, parking, its uses or hours of operation. And yet another concern, Bullard said in an interview is the ultimate future of the property.
“In my opinion, there are people who would like the Legacy to make some concessions and others who think they needn’t do it at all. But this is not about the Legacy Theatre alone. If in the future the Legacy Theatre moves on and they sell it to somebody else, they (the next owners) have an open venue, a building with open-ended use. That could be an issue.”
Other officers re-elected were Greg Ames, the association’s treasurer and Nick Fischer, the village tax collector.
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