Date: Fri 17-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Park-Rec-playing-fields

Full Text:

Funds Approved For Playing Field Design

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The Board of Selectman Monday 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.

The money would come out of the town's capital & non-recurring reserve fund.

The Park & Rec will also need the approval of the Legislative Council which

next meets October 6.

The P&R is essentially asking for its own money since it was raised as part of

the department's $5 surcharge program for local sports programs. The money is

kept in the reserve account so that it can be carried from year to year.

In 1996, the Legislative Council agreed to allow these "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

the money would not be appropriated for another purpose by a future council.

P&R Commission chairman Larry Haskel said his board is looking to hire the

landscape architectural firm of Milone and MacBroom of Cheshire which would

conduct a feasibility study of the land. The property needs to be studied by a

professional, Mr Haskel said. The land on this 13-acre parcel is oddly shaped

and precise design plans need to be drawn up. There are also some wetland

areas on the property which could further complicate the issue. The

feasibility study will determine placement and type of ball fields best suited

for the property. The study will include investigation and analysis of the

site, preliminary design drawings, final plan specifications and cost

estimates for completing the project.

"We don't have the talent in our departments to do this job, otherwise we

would do the engineering in house," First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said.

The long, narrow field along Elm Drive and adjacent to Dickinson park was a

key acquisition by the P&R Commission two years ago. When purchased, it was

hoped that the land would provide the much needed space for ball fields.

The Town of Newtown purchased the property from the Amaral family for $400,000

using Iroquois Land Preservation Enhancement (LPEP) money, which was given to

the town after it agreed to allow the Iroquois company's gas pipeline to

extend through Newtown.

The Amaral property extends in a triangular shape in a northerly direction

from Dickinson Park to the point where Elm Drive and Deep Brook Road intersect

at the Village Cemetery. The lot lies just north of the Dickinson Park tennis

courts.

Mr Rosenthal believes the money is well worth it to ensure that the land is

suitable for playing fields. He pointed to other fields in town which were not

properly studied and suffered from poor drainage as a result.