Community weighs in on park plans
September 18, 2022 | By Lisa ScagliottiThe master-planning effort underway to map out the future of two popular recreation areas in Waterbury captured public attention last week as dozens of community members turned out to speak up for what they hope to see included.
The Steele Community Room is set up with posters and maps to solicit public input into master planning for Hope Davey Park and the Ice Center area park. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The effort continues through the end of September with a survey that aims to collect public opinion and suggestions to guide the process.
The Recreation Committee hosted an open house on Thursday at the municipal offices where the public was invited to stop by and weigh in on their preferences for future uses at Hope Davey Park in Waterbury Center and the recreation area near the Ice Center downtown.
A steering committee made up of representatives of various groups who are regular park users is part of the planning effort that has enlisted the help of SE Group, a Burlington consulting firm hired after voters on Town Meeting Day this year approved spending $50,000 on the park master plans.
Posters asked people to indicate their answers with dots. (Click to enlarge) Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The Steele Room was set up with multiple easels holding posters that asked about various uses at the parks. Visitors were given dot stickers to place on the posters indicating their answers and preferences. Other large posters on tables gave people a chance to write in comments.
The crowd drew people of all ages, some stopping in quickly on the way to games at the ballfields nearby, others taking time to read each question and write responses.
Recreation Committee Chair Frank Spaulding looked around at the busy scene, pleased with the turnout. “This is nice to see,” he said. “Some are people we hear from all along, others are new coming out for the first time to see what this is about.”
Town Planning and Zoning Director Steve Lotspeich said the consultants will compile the feedback from the open house and the online survey. Next steps will include public presentations to review the feedback and later to propose scenarios for the park master plans.
The plans will map out recreation uses and natural resource management in both areas with recommendations for future recreation facilities and conservation of the natural areas.
For Hope Davey, Lotspeich said, the plan will focus on management of the existing areas and uses. In particular, it will look to address issues around the popular disc golf course and how to maintain it while accommodating other park users and being mindful of adjacent residential neighborhoods.
“One goal is to reestablish the nature trail through the park,” Lotspeich said, while retaining the course and respecting the natural areas.
The Ice Center park property has been developed in a piecemeal fashion over the years and now contains a variety of recreation uses including the rink, playing fields, the dog park, parking areas, a walking trail, and access to the Perry Hill mountain bike trails. One spot near the dog park is being eyed for a new skatepark, and the town Highway Department uses a section of the property to store various equipment and materials like gravel and concrete barriers.
A master plan would look at the entire property to recommend how future development might proceed there, Lotspeich said. “They will create two versions of the ice center plan,” he said of the consultants. One will look at future designs with the road remaining where it is now; another scenario would relocate the road closer to the railroad tracks opening up other possibilities, he said.
Posters at the open house and the online survey list all of the current uses and a variety of future features to gauge public interest in the exercise.
Anyone who missed the open house and would like to add comments, can do so through Sept. 30 in the online survey using this link or using the QR code in the poster here.
Lotspeich said paper copies of the survey will also be available at the town offices and the Waterbury Public Library. People can fill them out and return them to either location, he said. The survey is open to anyone who uses and cares about the parks, including residents of neighboring communities, Lotspeich noted.