In response to a published letter inviting Killingworth's candidates for First Selectman to address environmental issues, the town's Conservation Commission heard from Democrat Marty Klein at Thursday's regular meeting.

Klein preceded his answers to the questions posed in the letter with one of his own: "Water companies own significant acreage in Killingworth. As filtration and other technology advances they are not going to need that land. What will we do if they sell it?"

He went on to outline his strategy for dealing with this "tsunami in the closet". It includes anticipating the possibility of the land's sale; monitoring the situation closely; winning allies among stakeholders such as the Connecticut DEP, conservation organizations and advocates from the towns and cities that consume our water; building a strong coalition and developing a workable plan of action.

He warned that if Killingworth does not take these steps, "we will be vulnerable to the sprawl that has already turned so much of Connecticut into a landscape of asphalt, big box stores and homes that, however attractive, overburden their communities".

Addressing the questions posed by the Conservation Commission, Klein emphasized that open space is "vital to our health - the health of our water supply, our physical health, and our financial health. It's been shown over and over that open space does not cost communities money; it actually helps control taxes by reducing the need for services."

He said that, as First Selectman, he will pursue initiatives to provide dedicated funding for open space purchases, enlist Killingworth High School students as interns to identify grant opportunities, and encourage greater coordination among boards and commissions to "make irresponsible development not merely difficult but impossible".

Klein's approach is rooted in his many years of experience as a consultant for international aid agencies with responsibility for grass-roots projects all over the world. He said, "I know how to foster partnerships to help different interests find common cause and act together. I've done it in Africa, Europe, Asia and South America. I can certainly do it in our little corner of the world."