Otto Paparazzo's Vision for Farmington Woods

Landscape architect Otto Paparazzo conceptualized developing a condominium community in collaboration with Heritage Woods Corporation in the late 1960s, according to the community's Master Association website.

The result is what Avon and Farmington residents know today as Farmington Woods.

Construction commenced in 1969, the website states, and the central golf course was intended to be a selling point from a real estate perspective. After Farmington Woods became a tax district, the condo association borrowed money through "municipal bond funding" to purchase the golf course from Heritage Woods in 1985, according to the website.

While some residents hold onto that idyllic image of Farmington Woods, others feel that the gated community's societal needs and lifestyle wishes, particularly in relation to the golf course, are changing.

In a column on ctwatchdog.com, Farmington Woods resident Lee Lagasse touches upon the struggle to determine the condominium complex's social identity of today versus Paparazzo's vision from the start.

Also chairman of community activist group Farmington Woods Residents for Fiscal Responsibility, Lagasse has been raising awareness about two . He writes a blog called Farmington Woods Insider.

If residents approve both requests when they vote on Thursday, it will authorize the tax district board to borrow up $2 million for each project. The first entails replacement of a 40-year-old golf course irrigation system and the second involves renovating the clubhouse to make it more handicapped-accessible and to expand the pub.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

A couple hundred residents attended the final last week, some speaking in favor of one or both proposals, and others voicing their financial concerns.

Many have also taken a Patch poll on whether or not they support the projects. The poll is still open if readers want to participate.

What do you think? Do you want the golf course to be a focal point of Farmington Woods? What social identity do you think Farmington Woods has today in comparison to decades ago?

As for the actual voting session, the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Farmington Woods Master Association and Tax District office at 200 Byron Dr. in Avon on Thursday, May 10.

To be eligible to vote, you must be 18 years or older, a citizen of the United States and a district taxpayer. If you are a Farmington Woods resident registered to vote in Avon or Farmington, you are also eligible.