New Milford Mayor Fires Back After Heated Power Plant Discussion

NEW MILFORD — Mayor David Gronbach recently announced he has withdrawn a proposal to build a power plant on the former site of the Century Brass Mill after receiving opposition from Town Council and residents.
Panda Power proposed to buy the mill site for $2.8 million and said create hundreds of jobs during construction and 30 permanent jobs.

Gronbach said in a press release that the informational sessions have involved "shouting, accusations of collusion, blatant misinformation and scare tactics, threats and intimidation of people, including Town employees."

“To those that shouted down honest questions and answers, called my female staff ‘b**ch’ and ‘liar,’ accused me of being a ‘Nazi,’ and generally behaved without civility and decorum, I know that you do not represent the people in my town or even in the opposition. Nothing about my decision today diminishes my continued and forceful opposition to such poisoning of our town and the political process," Gronbach said.

"Because I know there are members of the community that support this proposal, I recently suggested a bipartisan committee to review it and provide a neutral forum for questions and answers to be presented. But it is clear to me now that such a Committee would simply nurture the opposition’s feeling that its government is not listening to them and prolong a rejection for which the die has been cast. That is not why I ran for office.”

The brass mill is located on the corner of Aspetuck Ridge Road and Housatonic Avenue, was built in 1959, closed in 1986 and was acquired by the Town of New Milford in 1999, according to a report on the News Times.

Gronbach said he wants "to acknowledge the professional demeanor and efforts of our Economic Development Director who worked with the State to identify development opportunities and handled this matter admirably, objectively and dispassionately."

"I also want to thank the representatives from Panda who spent significant time and resources trying to develop a project that would meet the needs and concerns of the community. They demonstrated patience, respect, and professionalism that should be a model for how we treat guests to our Town. This Proposal will not proceed here, but they are addressing our current and future energy needs. My hope is that they will continue their work of building modern plants that allow coal and oil-fired plants to be decommissioned."

Image via Google Earth