A public hearing and Special Town Meeting are being held tonight in Ridgefield about a proposed lease with Ability Beyond Disability.  The $1 a year land lease is for about half an acre on Halpin Lane at the corner with Prospect Ridge Road. 

Ability Beyond has run a group home for the disabled for more than two decades in Ridgefield, and operates several more in Connecticut and New York.  The new proposed group home would accommodate six people and is in walking distance from the center of town.  It would be staffed 24-hours a day. 

The Bethel-based organization also provides job counseling and other employment services. 

Tonight's public hearing and Special Town meeting start at 7:30pm at Ridgefield Town Hall.  It will be followed immediately by the Board of Selectmen meeting.