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Council refers proposed sale of Torrington Teen Center to Planning & Zoning, authorizes mayor to negotiate
Summary
The City Council voted Feb. 17 to refer the proposed sale of the Teen Center at 71 East Albert St. to the Planning & Zoning Commission under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-24 and authorized the mayor to pursue sale negotiations contingent on a favorable P&Z recommendation; Parks & Recreation said it learned of the sale via Facebook.
The Torrington City Council voted Feb. 17 to refer the proposed sale of the Teen Center at 71 East Albert Street to the Planning & Zoning Commission for review under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-24, and authorized Mayor Molly Spino to proceed with sale negotiations from the result of an RFP so long as the Planning & Zoning Commission issues a favorable recommendation.
Pat Fairchild, chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission, told the Council that the commission learned about the potential sale by “seeing the Agenda on Facebook” and said it had no prior knowledge of the disposition. Fairchild urged councilors to consider that the commission had not been consulted before a sale was placed on the agenda.
Facilities management and Public Works officials told the Council the building is not being used for a city function and requires significant repairs. Public Works Director Jamie Sykora said the building is “currently being used only as a dance studio,” and that Parks and Recreation is not operating programming there. Mayor Molly Spino said the Teen Center had been funded originally by a grant from the Board of Education.
Councilors emphasized fiscal considerations in the discussion. Councilor Chris Beyus noted the broader goal of returning non-taxed properties to the tax roll and said that putting underused, non-taxed buildings back into commercial use can help reduce the tax burden over time.
The Council’s referral sends the proposed sale to Planning & Zoning for a statutory review; the authorization to negotiate will only proceed if Planning & Zoning issues a favorable recommendation. No sale agreement was presented or approved at the Feb. 17 meeting.
