Notice to members, please attend important Madison Park Development Committee meeting Thursday, July 28 at 7:30 pm. at Madison Town Campus Room A.
To: Madison Park Development Committee:
George McManus, Jr., chair; Scott Murphy, vice chair; Bill Freeman; Kathryn Hunter; Sharon Kokoruda; Garry Leonard; Bill McCullough; Craig Patla, Dave Skelly
Madison Selectmen:
Fillmore McPherson, chair; William Gladstone; Alfred Goldberg; Noreen Kokoruda; Joseph MacDougald
Cc: Daniel C. Esty, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection
From: Dud’s Village Homeowner’s Association
Date: July 9, 2011
Re: Development plans for former Griswold Airport site
Our Association represents the cottage owners in Dud’s Village, the community of nearly 100 seasonal cottages adjacent to the old airport site. The Village, which is more than 50 years old, also abuts the adjacent state-owned field that is part of Hammonasset State Park, located to the west of the airport access road on the Southern side of Rt. 1.
As president of the Association and on behalf of the Association, I want to thank the town and Park Development Committee for taking the time to solicit our input regarding the development plans for the park, and for the opportunity to share our thoughts on this exciting project. Our Association is overwhelmingly in favor of seeing this property turned into a recreational facility that includes playing fields, walking trails, a kayak launch and other amenities while preserving the natural beauty of the area. We do, however, want to express concerns over several aspects of the plan so these crucial issues may be addressed before plans are finalized. These concerns follow:
SAFETY AND SECURITY:
Out of deep-seated concern for the safety and security of our children, families and cottages, we respectfully oppose the plan to convert the state-owned field into a parking for the town-owned park. Dud’s Village is a place dedicated to the safety of our children and village residents, many of whom are elderly. Our village has a 5 mph speed limit, which we vigorously enforce, so our children may run, ride bikes and play safely on our streets and land, as they have done for decades. The proposed parking lot will abut a row of summer homes and directly face their windows and backyards. To expose these children to the inherent dangers of more than 100 cars filled with strangers parking next to our community each day is to cause unnecessary risk. It will force them to relinquish the historic cottage community lifestyle, where children play freely outside, as experts now agree they should. It would be extremely easy for someone to park their car in the field, grab a child, and have quick and easy exit onto Rt. 1 and I-95. This level of danger is not to be ignored or minimized.
A secondary concern involves the security of the cottages themselves. As these cottages are seasonal, there are many months when they are boarded up and not habitable. Therefore, they would be an easy target for theft, vandalism and other illegal activities. The parking lot will expose our cottages to a steady stream of strangers. In addition, there will be privacy concerns for cottage owners whose homes back up to the field. Their backyards and windows will be on view to everyone who parks there. This will have a major impact on the lives of cottage residents and the value of their properties.
We propose moving the overflow parking lot to the east side of the park entrance on the town owned land. This will preserve the integrity of our village lifestyle of outdoor play by our children, minimize the (over)
risks of theft and vandalism, and afford the families who abut the field the continued privacy they deserve while preserving the value of their investments.
QUALITY OF LIFE
The plans call for turning the Griswold House into restroom facilities with maintenance vehicles parked adjacently. We oppose this. There are cottages right behind and near this building. Given the enormity of the old airport site, it makes no sense to have the toilet facilities located on the only property boundary next to vacation housing. Village residents would have to deal with the increased traffic of people coming and going right behind their homes, as well as the inevitable toilet and trash odors, and the sounds of maintenance working crews. Nobody wants this next to their home. There are many other places within the new park in which maintenance and toilet facilities can be located, including the other side of the fields.
We propose eliminating plans to include maintenance and public restroom facilities in the old Griswold home and, instead, relocate them away from vacation cottages.
COMMON BOUNDARIES
We appreciate the opportunity to present our views on the best way to mark the boundaries between the park and Dud’s Village. The residents of East Street, whose cottage properties abut this boundary, are most affected by this, and will soon be sharing their views on how to most effectively create a demarcation.
Once again, we wish to thank you for the opportunity to share our concerns and give input into the park planning. We are not the town’s largest taxpayers, but we have been consistent taxpayers for decades, while consuming minimal town resources. Over the years, we have worked hard to develop an increasingly fruitful and productive relationship with the town as we have worked with town officials to upgrade our cottages and invest in the community. We look forward to working with you in an attempt to resolve these concerns. I invite you to tour our village—I would be happy to facilitate—so you can envision the proposal from our perspective. Please feel free to contact me.