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12/26/2023 03:17 PMAlthough First Selectman Mike Freda ran unopposed to win his eighth term as North Haven’s chief public official, he remains “unsatisfied” with certain sectors of the town and is determined to bolster essential services and economic development.
Freda said this feeling reminds him why North Haven electors voted once for him to be their first selectman and only encourages him to be even better than in previous terms.
“I'm very grateful for the support that I've received, and I take that support very seriously,” said Freda. “When we have a public that puts their trust in their chief elected official and reelects that person again, in this case, me, it continues to motivate me to do even better to serve these fine citizens here in North Haven. I love each and every one of them, and I will never let them down.”
While Freda has seen many new businesses under his administration and “many significant outcomes in terms of incremental tax dollars with these new businesses,” he specifically cites the establishment of a “medical campus epicenter” as a high point in his tenure.
Freda said carving out a space for Yale New Haven Hospital to practice in North Haven on Devine Street represents a “very significant” development in town, along with establishing a Hartford Healthcare campus on Universal Drive.
Speaking of the Yale campus, “When I took office, it was virtually an empty property. AT&T had moved out; we had an empty building [and] a lot of vacant land. Over the last several years, including the last two or three years here, we have had a vibrant, very effective urgent care center there,” said Freda. “We've been able to bring in the Smilow Cancer Center in that facility.”
Over developments as part of the “medical campus epicenter” have included the North Haven Animal Hospital and the Winchester Center for Lung Disease, which Freda describes as “one of the most effective lung and disease centers in the state of Connecticut for those that have pulmonary issues.”
Freda said this new network of multiple healthcare establishment centers has helped to localize related services for the convenience of North Haven residents who otherwise would have driven to New Haven to access them.
“It becomes a profound feeling for me when I have residents here who would tell me how much they like going to North Haven versus traveling and with the stress of going into downtown [New Haven],” he said.
Even with this “degree of success” of reigning in new commerce and access to health services, work in 2024 remains to be accomplished rather than dwelling on past accomplishments, said Freda.
“I'm always looking for the next challenge. I'm always looking to get better and see what more we can do.”
One of Freda’s main objectives for his eighth term is focusing on increasing crime in North Haven and ensuring that perpetrators of offenses like street takeovers and car break-ins face consequences.
“I'm disgusted with the fact that people are having their cars broken into, and people in certain areas of town don't feel safe,” he said.
In response, Freda said he is determined to allocate more monies for more officers as part of the police department while “working to see if we can change some state laws with our local legislators to create more consequences for those criminals who are coming into town.”
On a broader level, Freda is collaborating with municipal chief executives across the greater New Haven area to form a regional task force between police departments to mitigate the aforementioned offenses.
Education and economic development remain priorities, including seeing through the completion of a new Hampton Inn hotel on 700 Universal Drive. Freda also wants to see through the “very complicated situation” of filing in the south side of the Stop and Shop Plaza, given “no motivation” from the space’s owners to do so, and filling in empty parcels at the former location of Dino’s on northern Washington Avenue and at the former Otis Spunkmeyer on Universal Drive.
“We're looking to get that cleared out, and that could be a retail plaza or 45,000 square feet,” Freda said of the Otis Spunkmeyer parcel.
Developments are also being considered at locations on available land adjacent to wetlands that can be safe for construction. Freda cites one of them as being on Dodge Avenue and is working with Ulbrich Steel to construct a center at the end of the route.
On Valley Service Road, “I've got now two new projects going on there with two different developers that are looking to develop land that's not adversely affected by wetlands,” said Freda.
While the National Flood Zone covers 74% of Valley Service Road, Freda said the “very, very important projects” that can take shape there should be able to fit in with the other 26% of the land.
Other priorities for Freda for 2024 and the succeeding year are taking care of illegal dumping along recently paved roads and working with United Illuminating Co. to post streetlights from Route 22 to the Amazon Fulfillment Center at 409 Washington Avenue.
Overall, Freda said he is driven by the motivation to realize future accomplishments to create positive outcomes for the North Haven community. A lifelong lover of baseball, he relates the necessity to improve his game in office to the same need on a diamond.
“There's plays I know I can make and I got to work on it. I’ve got to refine my own skills to make those plays, and that's what I'm doing.”