Reprinted from The Connecticut Post © Copyright 2009
May 21, 2009

By Susan Silvers

As officials in Trumbull and Bridgeport continue wrangling over terms of a sewer line contract, stalling construction in Monroe on a new Jewish Home for the Elderly, the project's developer has appealed to the Trumbull Water Pollution Control Authority to cite the compensation it wants to let the project proceed.

"I just need to get a number from you," said developer Robert Scinto, referring to the price that Trumbull would charge to let sewage flow from the Monroe project through its Main Street sewer line to waste-treatment plants in Bridgeport. Speaking at a special Tuesday meeting of the authority, Scinto said he would then be able to judge whether to pursue plans for the new Jewish Home project or look for an alternate site.

"It either gets nailed down here or it gets off the table here," he added, setting a 30-day deadline for an answer.

For three years, Scinto and Monroe officials have planned to relocate the JHE, currently on Jefferson Street in Fairfield, to a 40-acre parcel off lower Main Street in Monroe, just north of the Trumbull border. The acreage would allow the institution to offer the skilled nursing services it now does, plus facilities for assisted and independent senior housing. However, Monroe has no sewer system, and the complex would have to hook into the nearby Trumbull sewer line that runs into Bridgeport.

Despite Monroe's offers to share taxes the new facility would generate with both Bridgeport and Trumbull, theproject has encountered opposition in the latter two communities. Although Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, Monroe First Selectman Thomas Buzi and Trumbull First Selectman Raymond G. Baldwin Jr. reached a preliminary agreement, members of the Bridgeport City Council resisted it.

A proposal to establish a regional Water Pollution Control Authority was then suggested, but hit a sticking point over the failure of Bridgeport and Trumbull to resolve a long-standing dispute over the length of the existing agreement and the sewage-treatment fees.

Given 30 days to respond to Scinto, the WPCA took no immediate action, setting another session for 7 p.m. June 3.

Buzi said taxes generated by the JHE project -- and other potential corporate expansion on the site -- could be a partial answer to municipal economic strains.

"Taxpayers are looking for somebody else to pick up the tab," he observed.

As a way to help resolve the sewer standoff, some officials continue to favor a regional WPCA. But Trumbull officials have said the proposed terms don't represent a good deal for its taxpayers.

Scinto's appeal comes as Trumbull is poised to study the feasibility of constructing its own sewage-treatment plant. But WPCA members held off selecting a firm to do the study, pending interviews with the candidates.

Baldwin also urged the authority's members to be prudent as they consider what to tell Scinto.

"Remember, I've got to work with these two mayors," he said.