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Pound Ridge Town Supervisor Richard Lyman.
In a terse letter received Aug. 1 by the New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission, Pound Ridge Town Supervisor Richard Lyman said Grace Farms Foundation and its president, Sharon Prince, were “not exactly brimming with Christian charity” for what he said was a refusal to meet with him to address issues his town may have had when the project was still in its formative stages.
Additionally, he mocked the idea of having lunch at Grace Farms, labeling it “a perverted twist” on a church basement soup kitchen. While admitting there was no Pound Ridge traffic problems arising from Grace Farms’ existence, he wrote that the P&Z “fell victim to a bait and switch,” and urged the commission to help ensure that Grace Farms does not “negatively affect our [Pound Ridge] taxpayers.”
The supervisor position is part-time. As of 2015 Lyman was a property manager for a company that owns golf courses. In the 1970s he was a Pound Ridge police officer for four years.
When contacted by the Advertiser, Lyman affirmed his stances, but grew agitated when other questions were posed.
Asked what spurred him to send his letter, he said, “A New Canaan resident sent me the letter from [P&Z Town Planner] Steve Kleppin [to Prince], and I found it frankly a little bit amusing.”
He was referring to the letter Kleppin sent a few months ago suggesting that Grace Farms apply to modify its special permit for operation. That letter expressed his [Kleppin’s] non-binding opinion that some of Grace Farms’ use of its property may vary from the originally permitted use.
Lyman’s letter to P&Z mostly concerned traffic issues in the past and potentially in the future. But as the letter stated, and which he confirmed in the interview, there have been few grumbles from Pound Ridge residents.
“I had a couple of complaints when construction first started because of trucks, and then those complaints subsided,” he said. “I did have police over there for awhile. It didn’t seem to be that much of an issue. I’ve had one complaint based upon the letter I received from the New Canaan resident trying to drum up people in Pound Ridge. But has anybody been contacting my office on a regular basis complaining? The answer is no.”
When asked if some Grace Farms neighbors, who sent letters to P&Z about what they feel is Grace Farms’ overstepping its original special permit bounds, contacted him because he is Pound Ridge’s highest elected official, he said, “Well nobody seemed to care too much about the neighboring town [Pound Ridge] during the whole process.”
Asked if Pound Ridge should have been more involved in the process of Grace Farms coming to be, Lyman said, “I think that given the fact that a number of residents have raised concerns about traffic, and given the fact that I attended several of the planning and zoning meetings and expressed my own concerns about the integrity of our road, being particularly concerned about construction traffic, I think my involvement was warranted. I was not supervisor at the time, I was a councilman. But I don’t think it was inappropriate for me to comment on behalf of the town of Pound Ridge.”
Angered over questioning
Things got testy when Lyman was asked if he was more upset than might be warranted considering there have not been any traffic issues for his town.
Lyman: Why would I say that? Why would I be upset if there weren’t problems? I don’t know what you’re trying to elicit from me here. My letter was very clear in what it stated. I stand by it and that’s as far as this is going to go. You’re trying to elicit comments from me that make no sense. Did you read my letter? It’s very clearly stated in my letter.
Advertiser: I did read the letter. I’m asking if you’d like to amplify on what you wrote.
Lyman: The answer is no, there’s nothing to amplify. It does not appear that there have been major traffic issues. My concern going forward is that there aren’t [any] as the use expands.
Advertiser: Have you spoken to Sharon Prince or any other Grace Farms officials?
Lyman: No. I tried to speak to them during the planning process and they weren’t interested.
Advertiser: Your letter seemed to be on the strident side. There’s an intensity…
Lyman (angrily interrupting): What was so strong about my letter?
Advertiser: Well, you said it was not a very Christian thing to do or something. Some of the wording…
Lyman: My feeling on it was at the time that I first approached them, I was not greeted with what I thought was Christian charity. And I stand by that.
Lyman had no further comment. But Prince did.
In an interview with the Advertiser she directly refuted Lyman’s claim that she or other Grace Farms officials refused to meet with him, while stating that she would not comment on his “bait and switch,” “perverted twist” or “Christian charity” letter inclusions, saying “those comments don’t warrant a response.”
But she was firm in saying she and Lyman have spoken.
“I met him once after a P&Z hearing,” she asserted. “I spoke to him directly for a few minutes. I have not received any correspondence or phone calls to respond to. I’m happy to speak to him anytime.”
They agree on traffic
Prince was in agreement with Lyman about there being no traffic issues emanating from Grace Farms.
“We are pleased to see Pound Ridge’s town supervisor acknowledge that there have been no traffic problems, since this was their primary concern through the zoning process,” she said. “We believe that Grace Farms Foundation and Grace Community Church’s activities are consistent with zoning permits. We look forward to having this conversation with the P&Z in October.”
She was referring to the upcoming P&Z meeting which will address Grace Farms’ modifying its special permit.
Prince said she was somewhat puzzled by Lyman’s letter, in view of Grace Farms’ relationship with many Pound Ridge citizens.
“We have had warm receptions from neighboring towns, so this is all a surprise to me,” she explained. “Last week we hosted IOFA [The International Organization of Adolescents] for a space grant — an organization co-founded by Ali Boak, who lives in Pound Ridge. We have folks from Pound Ridge using our facilities for a variety of reasons and we warmly welcome them.”
Coincidentally, Lyman, a Republican, defeated Democrat Boak in a 2013 election for the job of town supervisor.
“We have a dry hydrant that is for the health and safety of the Pound Ridge community,” Prince continued. “It has a three-million-gallon capacity. Fire departments from Pound Ridge and Lewisboro have been over to test it. We have great relationships with them.
“We put a gravel road in, and spent $30,000 on the hydrant, which pumps water out of the pond. Because we’re at the edge of New Canaan, it also serves townships we are adjacent to. But it’s not something we marketed. It’s part of the good things we want to do.
“We have a traffic officer we’re paying, and there are no traffic issues. We covered whatever concerns they may have had.”
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