Ronald Aliano, lead developer for Chelsea Group, said Tuesday his plan is better and less expensive and faster than the state's. The college could be consolidated up to three years sooner, opening in August 2004, he said.

"They'll do anything to keep a community college out of a community," Aliano said. "We will talk to the governor."

Mayor Art Lathrop said he campaigned to bring Three Rivers downtown and hopes it happens but, he said, in only his fifth day in office, it would be "premature" to meet with Gov. John G. Rowland.

Lathrop said he planned to meet with the governor in mid-January, but did not say what he planned to discuss.

State plan lacking

The Board and Facilities Committee of the state Community College Board of Trustees Friday unanimously endorsed a $60.8 million plan to combine Three Rivers' two campuses, Thames Valley and Mohegan, at the Thames Valley campus on New London Turnpike.

The community college would take over the Norwich Regional Technical High School next door, add about 128,000 square feet and move Norwich Tech to the Mohegan campus.

The endorsement followed findings in a feasibility study by Bruce T. Bockstael, a chief architect with the state Department of Public Works, that the downtown Norwich site would have cramped hallways, insufficient parking and cost overruns.

Aliano and his team said many of Bockstael's findings are erroneous. They said a downtown campus would be more beneficial to the city and cost less. As an example, he said the state's plan doesn't account for costly environmental problems like storm sewers and a waste system. The Thames campus is served by a septic system.

The state's plan also doesn't include renovating the 40-year-old buildings, he said.

Aliano said Bockstael's claim that a downtown campus would cost about $20 million more than the group's $62 million estimate was false, and he claimed, because the downtown project would not be paid through bonds, it would cost less.

Aliano said the downtown project would be funded through a certificate of participation deal, which is similar to bonding but would allow the developers access to funds immediately. This would avoid an estimated 5 percent cost escalation per year.

Aliano said the certificate of participation deal would avoid a $750,000 fee to be paid to the state Department of Public Works in a traditional bonding procedure.

He also said Bockstael's Thames Valley proposal failed to address other costs like traffic and environmental impact studies required before construction can begin.

Wait and see

Aliano said the state never seriously considered the downtown proposal. He said he would be allowed only an eight-minute presentation on his proposal Monday when the full community college board of trustees meets in Hartford.

He said no project would go ahead without the governor's approval and stressed the importance of a meeting between Rowland and Lathrop.

Rowland spokesman Dean Pagani said the governor would take a wait-and-see approach.

"Right now, this is a process that's very much in the works," Pagani said. "There are many questions still surrounding the costs."

Pagani said the Thames Valley proposal fails to take traffic problems into account and said the governor would not make a decision before he had heard all options.

After the trustees endorsed the Thames Valley campus proposal, state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, dropped her support of Aliano's downtown project.

Change of heart

Tuesday, Prague said the proposed campus on the New London Turnpike was "very attractive" and claimed a downtown campus proposal did not address downtown problems.

"If it were possible to put the campus downtown, taking into account the classroom sizes, traffic and parking problems, it really would be good for downtown," Prague said. "But, I don't know if that's possible."

Prague has scheduled a public hearing from 4-8 p.m. today at the Rose City Senior Center on the college plans. Some say there is no need for the hearing.

Many city councilors support the downtown campus. Since 1999, Norwich City Council has passed eight resolutions in favor of the downtown campus.

"I'm disappointed that Edith Prague is holding a public hearing without asking our input on it," Alderman Todd Postler said.

Postler said a number of public hearings on the issue already have been held and the timing of the hearing seems strange.

Postler said the final decision comes down to the governor and said it was important for the city to show its support of the downtown Three Rivers location.

"When we looked at this issue in December last year, we supported it then, and I'm fully supportive of the downtown opportunity and the downtown project now," Postler said. "If the governor gets involved and wants to put it downtown, it will go downtown."

Alderman John Paul Mereen said, with four downtown businesses closing in the past month, the best location of Three Rivers is downtown.

"The more feet you can put in the street, the better off you're going to be," Mereen said.

He also said the state needs to look at all the options and allow Aliano to present his downtown proposal fully before arriving at any decisions.

"It seems to me, if the state's going be investing that kind of money, they need to look at all aspects of that investment," Mereen said.

The City Council will hold an informational session on the proposal at 6 p.m. Friday at City Hall.