Golf Course Pitched For Tabor Land

The Board of Selectmen Wednesday night unanimously approved an appointment to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), but took no action on a motion by Third Selectman James Cosgrove to appoint his aunt, Susan Cosgrove Barnes, to another vacant RTM seat.

The board also heard a proposal to install a golf course on the Tabor property.

Madeleine Janover was appointed Wednesday night as a Democratic RTM representative in the 4th District. She will fill the seat vacated by Gail Chapman-Carbone, who retired from the RTM in October after serving since 2001. Janover will serve the remainder of Chapman-Carbone’s two-year term, which expires December 2013.

First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos said Janover was recommended by the chair of the Democratic Town Committee, Chris Sullivan, the RTM moderator. DaRos said that since the RTM did not make a nomination within the allotted 30 days, the selection is up to the Board of Selectmen (BOS). DaRos said that since an RTM seat is an elected position, he likes to receive guidance from the town committee. In this case, the elected position was a Democrat, so it would be up to the Democratic Town Committee to make a recommendation.

Second Selectman Andy Campbell said Janover has a ​“substantive resume” and is ​“very interested” in serving on the RTM.

According to her resume, Janover taught social studies the past 12 years at the Common Ground High School in New Haven. She previously taught for 12 years at the Booker T. Washington Middle School in New York City. She received a Masters Degree in education at Bank Street College of Education in New York City; and a bachelors degree from the University of Colorado. Among her political experiences, she once served as a congressional intern for former U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder, (D‑CO).

“An Independent Thinker”

Town resident Ann Devlin asked when the seat in the 6th District will be filled. The seat has been vacant since Democrat Anthony Giardiello resigned in September when he moved to East Haven. Giardiello served on the RTM for almost 12 years and was the Democratic Majority Leader for five years. Click here to read a story about him.

“We have some people who are very important who are interested,” Devlin said as she suggested the name of Susan Cosgrove Barnes (pictured) as a nominee. ​“She has been a good Democrat all her life,” Devlin said.

RTM member Marc Riccio, the vice-chair of the Republican Town Committee, stood up to recommend Barnes to the 6th District Democratic seat. Riccio described Barnes as a lifetime Democrat and said, ​“She has been an independent thinker.” The Democratic Town Committee has not made a recommendation yet for the 6th District.

Riccio (pictured), who represents the 6th District, listed Barnes’ accomplishments, including volunteer work, and past or present board membership with the Blackstone Library, Orchard House, the Community Dining Room, and the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter.

Barnes’s nephew, Republican Third Selectman James Cosgrove, then made a motion to seat his aunt on the RTM. The motion did not receive a second, and was technically out of order since there was no agenda item on the issue and Cosgrove did not move to amend the agenda.

DaRos told Cosgrove that Barnes could let the Democratic Town Committee know of her interest.

Barnes did not address the BOS. She is the daughter of Dan Cosgrove, known as the ​“Boss of Branford,” was a longtime leader of the 12th District Democratic Central Committee. He recently celebrated his 95th birthday. He left the Democratic Party and formed the Taxpayer’s Party in 1989, after which he was elected to the Board of Selectmen on the Taxpayer ticket.

His grandson, James Cosgrove (pictured), left the Democratic Party and became a Republican before he was elected to the RTM and then to the Board of Selectmen. Click here to read about James and Dan Cosgrove. 

A Golf Course On Tabor?

Resident Jacey Wyatt made a 20-minute presentation to the BOS to illustrate her idea of building a public golf course at Tabor instead of placing the proposed public works building on the property, seized by eminent domain years ago.

Wyatt told the press that she holds degrees in interior design, architecture and landscape architecture from New York Institute of Technology. They were awarded in 1995, she said. Wyatt made an unsuccessful run for both RTM and Tax Collector on the Republican ticket in 2011. At that time, she described herself as a supermodel, in addition to her architectural enterprises.

“There is another way we can use Tabor,” Wyatt (pictured) said as she described her plans for an 18-hole public golf course she called Indian Dunes. Her plans also include a club house, senior citizen center, tennis courts, a community swimming pool, bocce and horseshoes, and walking trails. She did not explain how an 18-hole golf course could fit on 77 acres, including two major buildings. An 18-hole golf course usually averages about 150 to 200 acres.

“My plan restores the land, has a low impact to the surrounding neighborhoods, and has limited use throughout the year and could generate income for the town,” Wyatt said.

She said there could be four access roads to the property — at Tabor Drive; Arc Road at Marshall Road; and new roads exiting onto Pine Orchard Road and Hotchkiss Grove Road.

According to Wyatt’s estimates, there would be between 240 and 288 players on a typical golf day, with each person paying $59 per game. ​“The town could actually make about $2 million a year in revenue” and possibly up to $4 million, Wyatt said.

Wyatt did not mention an ongoing economic slump in attracting golfers to the game and in growing golf courses, both public and private. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), 2012 started with 15,753 courses in the U.S — down 299 from 2005. The number of golfers and the number of rounds are both down in the last seven years. The NGF estimates that 25.7 million Americans were considered golfers last year — down 4.3 million from 2005. NGF also reports that 463 million rounds were played last year — that’s down from 500 million in 2005 and 518 million in 2000.

She distributed charts illustrating that it would cost about $2 million to build an average golf course; and $5.98 million to build an upscale course. Those charts did not include estimates to build the club house, senior center, swimming pool or other recreational features or road construction. She said she would like to return another evening to continue her presentation.

“We are looking to the future,” she said as she talked about the possibilities. ​“We’re actually able to find a solution to make money here.”

Wyatt also suggested building the public works facility near the town’s Transfer Station, on property owned by Bittersweet Partners LLC. ​“Why put it in the middle of Tabor?” she asked, when other options are available.

Wyatt told the press she hopes that her initial presentation will ​“break the ice” for future discussions of a community golf course.

Following Wyatt’s presentation, Cosgrove said there are alternatives for the Tabor site. ​“I feel like there’s a huge potential to do something that is beneficial to the town,” he said, adding that ​“I’m not saying it’s a golf course.” Cosgrove has been an outspoken critic of placing the public works facility on Tabor.

Riccio then asked DaRos if Wyatt’s plans ​“have any legs.”

DaRos did not rule out the possibility. He said he knows that neighbors of the Tabor property have concerns regarding the public works facility. ​“If we can’t address those concerns, then we have to do something else,” he told Riccio.

DaRos later told the Eagle that he has questions regarding some of the data in Wyatt’s report. ​“I think her numbers need closer scrutiny,” he said.

DaRos presented master plans for the Tabor site at the December meeting. In addition to the public works facility, those plans include softball fields, baseball fields, a BMX bicycle park, and walking trails. Click here to read that story.

The BOS voted 2 – 1 in November to build public works at Tabor, with Cosgrove voting no. The decision came after two years of efforts by the Public Works Building Committee which searched numerous sites throughout town. The sites were analyzed by Consultant Jeff Alberti, an engineer with Weston & Sampson, a firm that has designed 60 public works buildings from Maine to New York.

The public works issue will eventually be discussed by the Board of Finance (BOF) and the RTM. DaRos Wednesday night said the Tabor plans won’t be forwarded yet to the BOF while he addresses the neighbors’ concerns.

Ray Ingraham, who chairs the Republican Town Committee and is a member of the RTM, gave an update on the petition drive he is spearheading in opposition to building the public works facility at Tabor. Ingraham said there are now 577 people opposed to the plan. ​“It’s still growing,” he said of the opposition.

Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story. 

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