State Department of Public Works chief engineer Bruce Bockstael Dec. 7 spent 45 minutes misinforming the Budget and Facilities Committee of the state Community-Technical Colleges board of trustees.

At the conclusion of Bockstael's errant critique of the merits of the New London Turnpike site -- and the alleged disadvantages of relocating the college to downtown Norwich -- the trustees all backed the DPW proposal for a second-rate facility as the best one for Norwich.

Chelsea Community Development Corp. president Ronald Aliano was not permitted to speak. Bockstael later said he had not seen the $111 million Chelsea proposal.

The key points differentiating the proposals are these:

Cost. The Chelsea group says it can build an entire new college for $111 million -- or phase one for $62 million. The DPW's plan to morph Norwich Tech and the Thames Valley campus allegedly would cost $60.8 million.

Unmentioned in the DPW plan is the cost of accommodating wetlands; installing new water lines and septic system for three times the current enrollment there; or building a bridge to connect the campus with Route 32, on the other side of state-owned Uncas-on-Thames property.

The Chelsea group would use certificates of participation to pay for the job. That's cheaper than bonding by about 5 percent per year -- and it would avoid the requirement of paying the DPW a fee of $750,000 for its role in bonding.

Time of construction. The Chelsea group is poised to begin work next month, completing the job in August 2004. The DPW would begin in January 2004 with completion due in August 2007.

Space efficiency in building. While the DPW "demands" a space efficiency rate of just 65 percent in new construction, the Chelsea group's Bovis construction managers boast a space efficiency rate of 80 percent. Bovis has a proven record of achievement.

Aesthetics. The Chelsea group proposes a brand new institution downtown overlooking Norwich harbor. The DPW mainly calls for retrofitting buildings from the 1950s and '60s. Two-thirds of the Thames Valley site would be current buildings; just one-third would be new construction.

Miscellaneous. In his presentation, Bockstael was wrong in his assertions regarding parking, sidewalks, interior natural lighting, building-use efficiency and cost overruns of the $111 million Chelsea plan.

The Chelsea group is not some bunch of out-of-towners looking to make a buck off this city. It is a collection assembled and headed by longtime Norwich businessman Aliano. The group first was asked, then was assigned by the Norwich City Council to be preferred developer in the consolidation of Three Rivers Community College to downtown Norwich.

Since the Chelsea group's inception last year, the City Council has voted on eight resolutions involving the group's mission. Every last vote favored the efforts of the group. And all those votes were unanimous.

That the state Community-Technical Colleges board of trustees chose to treat Aliano and the Chelsea group so poorly reflects the disdain with which that assemblage regards this city.

In the end, the trustees failed in their assignment: They refused to hear the Chelsea group's presentation, and they allowed themselves to be swept away by the wrongheaded assertions of the DPW's Bockstael.

Simple fairness so far has been denied the Chelsea group. For that reason the group -- and Mayor Arthur Lathrop -- should take their case directly to Gov. John Rowland.

At a minimum, Rowland owes a hearing to these representatives of the best interests of Norwich.