Marcia Chambers Photo
The Foote Family Charitable Trust, the Town of Branford, and two churches have agreed on major changes that will enable the trust to donate Foote Memorial Park to the town and will enable the town to oversee the operation and maintenance of the park. The agreement also greatly expands the Trust’s annual funding to Trinity and Zion Episcopal Churches, both named in the Foote will.
The agreement of the parties, announced yesterday morning at a hearing in Branford Probate Court, came about as a result of a series of meetings requested by Probate Judge Frank J. Forgione. It is dependent upon the approval of the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, and the Representative Town Meeting. The judge took the first steps after the hearing, authorizing the Bank of America, N.A, the Trustee of the Foote Trust to convey or transfer the park lands to the town of Branford along with park equipment and a pickup truck.
In the court hearing room at Town Hall, Judge Forgione told the 23 people gathered in the room “a real dialogue has been established. I hope it will be maintained. I am grateful that you all maintained an open mind. The Foote Trust is a vital asset to the town of Branford.”
The trust, the legacy of Wallace (Wally) H. Foote, who died in 1966, is now valued at about $11.3 million and is overseen by the bank, which is located in East Hartford. The annual cost of maintaining the park, along with its employees, is about $340,000, the trust’s attorney, Kelley Galica Peck, said at a hearing two weeks ago. Bank of America’s Trustee is Regina J. Collins. Both representatives attended yesterday’s hearing.
Town Attorney Takes Lead
Town Attorney Bill Aniskovich, who took the lead in the settlement talks, told the Eagle after the 40-minute court hearing that he and First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove would discuss whether to suggest special meetings for the town boards in order to expedite the process of turning the 44.6 acre park over to the town.
There were smiles all around as Judge Forgione thanked all the parties for resolving the issues. In all, there were two sets of meetings over the last month, Aniskovich told the Eagle.
Aniskovich told the judge that there was a general understanding of the nature “of the grants to be made to the churches and the town has a general understanding of what to expect as well.”
Aniskovich said at the end of their most recent meeting, “We all walked out with a sense that we were comfortable recommending to the group that you move forward with a resolution.”
The most recent meeting took place among representatives from the town, the churches and the trustees, the judge said. He told the Eagle he would soon issue a decree enabling the transfer of the park. And he did so by day’s end. The Trustee, the Bank of America, N.A., said running the park had become a burden on the trust and that it wanted to divest itself of the park’s operation and maintenance.
Two weeks ago Aniskovich asked Judge Forgione what level of detail was needed when the parties returned to his court yesterday.
“I would love the churches to come back, the town to come back and say we have an understanding with the trustee regarding what we expect to receive from the trust. Although we are not as happy as we would like to be, we can live with it if it is mutually beneficial.”
And that is what happened yesterday.
Church Pastors React
At the Nov. 5 meeting, the Rev. Sharon Gracen, of the Trinity Episcopal Church on the Branford Green, spoke to the reality the churches have faced over the years “We have a much greater stake in this than has been historically recognized. That is our concern. Our budget is essentially what it is for the (Foote) park. Does that mean the park gets what it needs and we don’t?” She also asked then if other ways could be found to support the park. Click here to read our story.
According to the 2014 Trust filing, Trinity received $15,000 and Zion $20,000 as their yearly gift. Foote attended both churches during his lifetime and gave generously to them.
Yesterday Rev. Gracen was delighted with the results of the settlement discussions. Trinity and Zion will each receive about $75,000 for the 2016 – 17 year once their submitted grant is approved. She was joined at the hearing by the Rev. Lucy LaRocca, pastor of Zion Episcopal Church. The first set of grants are contingent on the transfer of the property, Attorney Peck said.
“One of the things that is so nice to come out of this is that we now have a true relationship with the trustees,” Gracen said, “through the attorney and through Regina Collins, who represents the trustees. And a relationship is everything. We are now able to build on that,” she said, adding that her church has “a shocking list of capital needs,” and that the new funds will help enormously.
“Our intent is to continue to work with the town, with our churches and with Branford so that we are clear about each others needs and mindful of each other needs so that nobody becomes, to use the colorful phrase, the one to suck the air out of the room. We want to be in a healthy relationship for the purposes of the trust,” she said in an interview.
Rev. LaRocca said, “We are happy with the agreement we have come to. We look forward to a continued relationship and meeting regularly to discuss the Branford of the future.”
The judge asked several times if regular meetings would be held among the parties and everyone agreed that they would be.
Park Needs Capital Improvements
Foote Park is in need of various capital improvements, which will be undertaken once the park is officially transferred to the town. The town’s recreation department will oversee the maintenance of the grounds.
Aniskovich said yesterday that two plans were being discussed, a plan for ongoing maintenance and a plan for capital improvements based on actual projects for the park. “We are in process of doing that,” he said, adding that the plans for each will be separate from one another.
First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove told the group that the park’s transfer to the town “is a benefit to the trust’s beneficiaries. We are all in agreement on that.”
In answer to a question from Bill Horne, who asked about possible funding down the road for potential Branford Land Trust acquisitions, the trust’s attorney said if a grant proposal meets the trust’s conditions, “We will consider it.” (The BLT has received Foote funds in the past.) She also said next year is a “transitional year.”
The Finch Plan
Jim Finch, the town’s finance director, explained at a prior meeting that the park’s capital projects could be achieved via town bonding, thus making the projects cheaper and enabling more distribution to the trust’s beneficiaries.
Finch also addressed Horne’s question at yesterday’s hearing. He said, “For all of the stakeholders it is basically a win-win. Basically the town is taking on a park, which is freeing up money for the beneficiaries. A lot has been said about the capital needs for the park. And as was mentioned at the last meeting one of the benefits of the town owning it is that the town can actually borrow money at very inexpensive rates, leverage the bond rating and work at an arrangement with the trust essentially so that it still remains revenue neutral. That also benefits all the other stakeholders.
“And, Sharon, you also mentioned at the last meeting, which is a very good point, that if it is town owned there could also be opportunities for other funding,” such as grants, he said to Rev. Gracen. In the end, he said, this new arrangement “frees up the trust to do more.”
Aniskovich also said at the meeting that the relevant town boards and commissions would be given a detailed narrative of the history and the plans, which will be prepared by Finch’s office for presentation.
Before the hearing ended, Judge Forgione noted “This is not a purchase or a sale; it is a donation.” The trust comes under the legal purview of the probate court to which it reports yearly. The judge told the participants that he was grateful that all of them “maintained an open mind and came and talked and resolved the issues.”
One of the Foote Park’s strongest supporters is Bill O’Brien, Jr., a former banker, a longtime member of the Board of Recreation and the unofficial town photographer for decades (he is also the Eagle’s sports reporter and photographer).
O’Brien provided a fascinating story of his journey to obtain Foote Trust funds for various town programs. He eventually succeeded for some of them.The trust has funded grants for kids to go to town camps and has provided lighting for sports fields, among other grants, O’Brien said.
He thanked the trustees for all they had done for Branford.
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