Dear Editor:

As reported in the local press the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Killingworth voted 2 to 1 against petitioning the DEP for approximately $180,000.00 for a conservation easement on part of the Town-owned “Bosco” property. The sum of $180,00.00 is not insignificant and would have provided painless funding for much of the currently discussed playing fields. First Selectman David Denvir also expressed uncertainty, based on a previous vote at a Town Meeting, as to whether there was a clear interest in Town to pursue the DEP grant.

Many of the reasons given for turning down the grant are worth considering. Furthermore, they express the need for the Town to keep its options open concerning our future. I find no argument with such reasoning. However, given the recent vote on this same parcel of land and the former Killingworth Recreation Complex proposal for it, I find it inappropriate to vote on turning down funding at a Selectmen's meeting.

The large turnout for the new complex vote clearly shows that voters in this Town are, indeed, interested in the fate of the Bosco property. If a Town Meeting was the forum for the original vote turning down the funding (with the stated purpose of building a complex), then a Town Meeting would logically be the place to determine by vote whether public opinion as changed.

It was made public knowledge that the Town's government was going to re-petition the State for these funds not long ago. Now that has changed abruptly, without prior notice or explanation. Surely Mr. Denvir could have made a statement or, perhaps, written a column informing us of this shift in position. In my opinion it is less than responsible to deny the voters of Killingworth the opportunity to express both their interest and their will on this matter. Whose Town is it, anyway?

Ray Celmer
Killingworth, CT