Funds Approved For Field Design For Amaral Property

By Steve Bigham

The Legislative Council last week authorized the appropriation of $21,400 to the Parks & Recreation Department for the design of playing fields at the town-owned Amaral property on Elm Drive.

“Test borings should be in place by next week to see what we’re dealing with,” said Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian, who said her crews would assist in that effort.

The money for the job will come from the town’s capital and non-recurring fund. In making the request, the P&R Commission noted that money was available for the project as a direct result of the department’s $5 surcharge program for local sports. The money is kept in the reserve account so that it can be carried over from year to year.

In 1996, the Legislative Council agreed to allow the surcharge funds to accumulate until such time as the P&R Department was ready to use them. However, the resolution also stated that the council could not guarantee that a future council would not appropriate the money for another purpose.

According to P&R Commission Chairman Larry Haskel, the landscape architectural firm of Milone and MacBroom of Cheshire has been hired to conduct what is actually a feasibility study. The land on this 13-acre parcel is oddly shaped and precise design plans need to be drawn up. There are also wetland areas on the property, which could further complicate the issue, Mr Haskel said. The study will determine placement and type of ball fields best suited for the site.

Several representatives from local sports groups spoke in favor of the study at last week’s meeting of the council.

The Town of Newtown purchased the long, narrow parcel from the Amaral family for $400,000 using Iroquois Land Preservation (LPEP) funds, which were given to the town after it agreed to allow the Iroquois company’s pipeline to extend through Newtown.

The Amaral property runs in a triangular shape in a northerly direction from Dickinson Park to the point where Elm Drive and Deep Brook Road intersect. The lot lies just north of the Dickinson Park tennis courts.