Voters Decisively Reject Aquarion Sale

A deal to sell Bethel's water rights to Aquarion was roundly defeated by Bethel voters Tuesday, spurring action from town officials and celebration from those who had vocally and publicly fought the sale.

Opponents congratulated each other as results showed a decisive defeat for the measure at the Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center Thursday night. A crowd of about 20 had gathered to hear the results, including some town officials.

"I'm going to sleep well tonight," said Board of Education member William Duff.

First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker, on hand to hear the results, distributed an outline of the steps the town would take in the future, including asking for between $400,000 and $500,000 from the town's general fund for the water department to cover the cost of completing the South Street pump station.

"Are [the steps] difficult? No, they're just expensive," he told Patch. "The voters have told us they want to go with security of having their own water system even with the risk. We'll make the repairs, we'll make it work. That's what we're going to do."

At nearby Greenwood's Grille, Bethel Action Committee chair Billy Michael and Cynthia McCorkindale, who spearheaded efforts against the sale, said they were "celebrating" the victory, crediting "the amount of work put into this" for their success. McCorkindale said she suspected some residents were bothered by a lack of transparency from town officials.

"I think a lot of the people objected more to the process than the actual substance of the sale," she said. "Once they found out they didn't have the information, they were upset."

The two said they were already planning for future action.

"Now we can reset the dial and have a debate about the town wants to do with the water department," said Michael.

Unofficial results, subject to slight change, showed a 1774-693 defeat for the measure. The unofficial numbers as reported by voting officials:

Districts 1 and 4:
Yes: 199
No: 829
District 2:
Yes: 181
No: 267
Districts 3 and 5:
Yes: 290
No: 648
Absentees:
Yes: 23
No: 30