Groton Town Council Will Look Into Cost Of Extending Utilities Up Flanders Road

The Town Council on Tuesday authorized the public works director to look into how much it would cost to extend utilities across Interstate 95 to the Flanders Road industrial area.

The study would specifically look at the interchange, then come up with a ball-park estimate of extending utilities to reach 82 acres of developable land, much is which is zoned for industrial use. The area is home to the Mystic Business Park, LLC, which houses about 30 businesses, some of which would like to expand but cannot.

Town Councilor Deborah Peruzzotti said taxes have been a significant issue in Groton, and given this, encouraging development may be prudent.

“With the looming concern of current businesses sticking with this town, I think we need to find this opportunity to be proactive and start vying for other options for development of business in this area,” she said.

Groton is largely dependent on its three major employers - the Naval Submarine Base, Pfizer, and Electric Boat - for economic vitality.

Pfizer is also the largest taxpayer in town, and owned $597.3 million of taxable assessed value in 2010, accounting for 14.5 percent of Groton's “grand list”, or tax base. The company has said publicly it is committed to Groton as a research hub, but business leaders have expressed concern over the town's reliance on a few large employers. Pfizer announced in February it would cut up to 1,100 jobs within the next two years – 25 percent of its local workforce - in an effort to save costs and streamline operations.

Richard Dixon, a lawyer who represents an industrial park in the Flanders Road area, said an investment in utilities would yield a substantial return.  On the east side of Flanders Road, north of I-95, the area has 52 acres of undeveloped land assessed at about $6,100 per acre, he said.

If developed, the land would generate about $225,000 in taxes rather than roughly $5,900 in brings in now, he said.

Dave Cote, owner of Aqua Massage International on Noank Ledyard Road, said he was encouraged by the discussion Tuesday.

“This is what needs to be done,” he said. Cote said businesses must now show a return on the investment to gain public support.

Representative Town Meeting agreed earlier to spend $100,000 on an engineering study of the utilities project.

Public Works Director Gary Schneider said he would work with the engineering firm Fuss & O’Neil to look at the I-95 interchange, and the firm would consult with the state Department of Transportation.  The bridge that holds up Flanders Road above I-95 is on rock, so construction could require digging into the rock to bring lines through.

Schneider said the study would take 90 to 120 days.

The most recent cost estimate of the full project was done in February 2008, by the Flanders Road Utilities Extension Committee. The group estimated the full route, which could also be done in phases, would cost $14 million.