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Middletown council approves $499,000 purchase of Newfield Street site for proposed fire substation, reallocates ARPA funds
Summary
The Common Council approved purchase of property at 876 Newfield Street for $499,000 and authorized reallocation of $550,000 in unobligated ARPA funds for acquisition and demolition; some council members criticized the process for lacking prior notice.
The Middletown Common Council on Dec. 2 authorized the city to purchase two parcels at 876 Newfield Street and Mile Lane for $499,000 to construct a new fire substation, and approved reallocating up to $550,000 in unobligated American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover acquisition and estimated demolition and remediation costs.
Council member Slavia (speaker S6) moved approval of the purchase and associated authorizations, including a demolition estimate of $50,000 and authority for Mayor Benjamin D. Florsheim to sign documents subject to review by the office of general counsel. The motion passed by voice vote.
Supporters argued the site will reduce emergency response times in a rapidly growing area. Rob Kronenberger, the city’s emergency management director and a retired fire chief, told the council the Newfield Street area now includes large housing developments and schools and that response times there can be as much as 13 to 15 minutes. “They need to move. They need to expand. They need to breathe,” Kronenberger said, arguing the location is well suited for quick truck access and that existing infrastructure would support a station.
Christine Marks, the city’s development director, said the property had been on the market for several years and that the city negotiated a substantially lower price than earlier asking figures; the council later recorded the sale price at $499,000 during consideration of item 10f. She also said the potential loss to the tax rolls would be minimal because the site previously drew little interest for redevelopment.
Some council members raised procedural concerns about transparency and timing. One councilor noted they had not been notified in advance that an offer had been made on the building and said the council needed to be “a little bit more forthcoming” about acquisitions and mayoral negotiations. Despite that objection, members voted to approve the ARPA reallocation (item 10d) and the subsequent purchase authorization (item 10f).
The council also approved an item (10e) authorizing any remaining unobligated ARPA funds — including funds not used for the Newfield purchase — to be reallocated to the water and sewer department for improvements and materials.
Next steps: the mayor was authorized to prepare and sign purchase documents subject to legal review. The council did not set a public timeline for construction; additional planning, demolition permitting, and budgeting will follow.
