The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received July 18, 2024.
Updated 8/26/24.
It was a very long time ago, probably in grade school, that someone gave me an insight about Newton’s Third Law: Equal and Opposite Reactions. I don’t recall that I really grasped the concept but, when it was later introduced in a Physics class, my brain was ready to wrap around it. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Understanding that premise changed the way I looked at the world around me. Whatever project or activity I embarked on, I included the opposite reactions in my planning.
There’s a similar principle in the field of money and finance, commonly referred to as “Unintended Consequences.” The Town of Haddam is now faced with making some grandiose decisions with respect to the former Haddam Elementary School property. If you look at the proposals, and there have been many, nuggets have been included to appease many splinter groups as a tactic to gain approval from more of the masses. Housing, dog parks, playground, pickleball, etc., are a few.
All of them could be picked apart and scrutinized but the one that is most troublesome to me is the housing. I’ve heard it described as “Senior Housing,” “Low Income Housing,” “Affordable Housing,” but not one of those terms has EVER been defined. Each of those terms likely means something different in the minds of some people, but without a concrete definition of ANY of them, you don’t know what you’re going to get.
The latest figure I’ve heard is that it will generate $100,000 tax dollars per year. Sounds good, right? It costs RSD17 around $26,000 per year per student. (I looked up the numbers for the new RSD17 budget and divided that by the projected student count. That number came out to about $26,000 going forward).
If the housing were to include students as part of the residency, fewer than four students would consume that $100,000. You and I will pay the overage. That would be the Unintended Consequence. This could be corrected, of course, by having “real” Senior Housing, i.e., 55 and over, but that is not any part of this plan.
There is a legal mechanism called “Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions” (CCRs) that could remedy the tax (RSD17) exposure to townspeople. CCRs are used across the country to shape a neighborhood to the community and residents liking. I’ve seen it work wonderfully in retirement communities and I think such conditions should be a part of the agreement with the HES developer.
Be careful of what you ask for with your vote and don’t let this become a Nancy Pelosi: “We have to pass it before you can see it.” And, one last thought. We already have an unintended consequence here in Haddam and it’s called High Meadow. It’s a classic example of what happens when you take state money.
High Meadow was intended for the use of Haddam Seniors. Because state money was taken for the project, anyone from Connecticut can apply to go there. My grandmother died at the age of 97 before her name came up. That might not have happened if High Meadow was for Haddam residents only.
By Mr. Berchulski.
Thomas Berchulski, Haddam CT
