By Elizabeth Regan
The Day, New London, Conn.
LYME, Conn. — The Board of Finance on Tuesday slammed what members described as a “not fully baked” plan for a firefighters’ frat house in the guise of affordable housing.
The idea for a First Responders’ Village was first pitched by Affordable Housing Commission Co-Chairwomen Carol House and Carleen Gerber as a way to help retain young volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians who otherwise might not be able to afford to live in town.
The proposal rests on a request for $750,000 to purchase a 3.6-acre property about a half mile from the Hamburg Road fire station, where as many as six volunteers could live in the main house and detached apartment already on the property.
But the finance board called the commission’s request premature, sending it back with a directive to come up with a well-vetted plan and the full support of selectmen.
Finance board Chairman Alan Sheiness said he wanted a “strongly endorsed, ready to go” business plan as opposed to a “good idea, not fully baked.”
Members agreed there were a lot of unanswered questions that were being overshadowed by the co-chairwomen’s urgency to be competitive in a fast-moving real estate market.
First Selectman and Affordable Housing Commission member David Lahm last week got the endorsement from his two fellow selectmen to bring the idea to the finance board, though they expressed reservations about the lack of details and the timing.
On Tuesday, Lahm told the finance board the main house would provide “single-sex, dormitory-style living” with private bedrooms and common kitchen and living areas.
“Obviously I think it has merit or I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Lahm said. “But it’s a big ask. It’s one mill of our taxes.”
House has reiterated there would be potential if zoning regulations are amended to build cottages or duplexes on the property as well. But the Planning and Zoning Commission has declined to immediately propose such updates.
She said she’s been in talks with the property owner, who died last month, for half a year. She emphasized the property will be going on the market soon.
Gerber said making funds available in the budget would not commit the town to buying the property.
“It simply puts the money there in case all these questions can be ironed out in the next two or three months,” she said.
Finance board member Dan Hagan reiterated there are not enough details for the finance board to go on and expressed concern about what little information they had.
“It sounds like we’re going into the rental business and we’re opening a frat house, or a barracks,” he said. “Call it whatever you want. And I don’t think that’s the kind of business we want to be in.”
Hagan also questioned the legality of the single-sex dormitory model: “How are we possibly going to designate it as one-sex and not get sued?”
Member and former First Selectman Steven Mattson expressed skepticism that enough of the firefighters who volunteer for the town outside of their regular jobs would qualify for affordable housing.
A single person must make less than $64,240 to qualify for reduced rents using a scale established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development .
“So what is the Affordable Housing Commission doing?” Mattson asked. “Are they doing affordable housing, or are they doing something else?”
John Evans , chief of the all-volunteer fire department, said in a Tuesday statement that the proposal for a First Responders’ Village “could have merit” in support of the need for in-town housing.
” The Fire Department has been actively looking at other potential first responder retention solutions along with researching what neighboring communities are doing to address the same issue,” he said. “With that said, the needs of the Town of Lyme are unique.”
Evans has said there are about 18 active volunteers responding to calls currently, with “quite a few” residing just outside of town.
“With the fire department’s recent increase in membership of young active and qualified first responders, the affordable housing need is only growing,” he said.
House after the meeting said the commission will meet to discuss next steps. She did not specify if that means pursuing the First Responders’ Village concept or something else entirely.
“Sometimes it’s doing something along the same lines and sometimes it’s taking a different shot,” she said.
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