Army Reserve Center Good Compromise For Our City.

Yesterday we presented the latest plan to build a comprehensive Army Reserve Center on the Lee Farm Property.

The presentation was conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, various military officials, Congressman Murphy and me.

The meeting was well attended by members of the neighborhood and the Corps of Engineers was gracious in answering as many questions as possible regarding the size and the scope of the project.

The redesigned project is approximately 50% smaller than the initial proposal and uses just 18 acres of the property compared to the earlier version which used 30 acres.

Most importantly, the Army Corps has agreed to incorporate our recommendations as it relates to traffic flow and has agreed to utilize the Rt. 7 on ramps for military vehicles.

The $45 million project will generate a significant amount of construction jobs as well as permanent maintenance staff and will have an emphasis on using local vendors for supplies and services. Soldiers will be staying at our hotels and motels as well as eating in our restaurants and shopping in our stores.

Finally, there will be no live fire of weapons or moving of heavy equipment- and no helicopters.

Special thanks to Senators Lieberman, Dodd,  and Congressman Murphy for working with our city to make this a  compromise that we are all comfortable with.

I am honored to have played a role in bringing the Reserve Center to Danbury.