Riverfront Park Moving Toward Expansion

Plans for the $12 million expansion of Glastonbury’s Riverfront Park moved forward this week with the Town Council’s approval of a technical measure that will see the park plans go to a public informational hearing July 10. The town has set a tentative referendum date for early November.

The council’s move came after several residents at a meeting this week urged council members to support the park, saying it will give the town its first and only public access to the Connecticut River.

Despite having several miles of waterfront along the Connecticut River, the town has no public access to it.

Several residents who spoke at this week’s meeting told the council that after moving here they were amazed to learn that there was no access to the river. Others said they had lived here for many years before realizing Glastonbury was a river town.

“When I moved here 16 years ago I was not aware that Glastonbury is a riverfront community. There was nothing that drew attention to the river,” said Nancy Pelegano, of Jamestown Court.

Riverfront Park, as it sits now, includes a community center, ballfields, walking trails and a dog park, but there is nothing that interacts directly with the park, she added. The park was built in 2006 after the town acquired the 44 acres, a former industrial site that it remediated, work that included removing dozens of unsightly oil storage tanks.

Under the proposal for the second phase of the park, the town would build ramps for motorboats, nonmotorized boats and crew boats, as well as a two-story boathouse that would include a second-floor banquet hall that could be rented out. The plan additionally calls for the construction of a skating rink, playground and basketball court.

The town has earmarked some $2.1 million in grants and donations for the project and would need to borrow the other $10 million.

While council members who attended the meeting said they support building the second phase of the project, several raised concerns with the proposed $4 million price tag of the boathouse. They said including a second floor that could be rented out for banquets and other functions could set a bad precedent for the nearby Great Meadows land.

Developers, they said, might see the potential and building similar commercial space in the Great Meadows, a wide swath of privately-owned riverfront land that abuts the park.

The park expansion is being enthusiastically backed by past and current members of Glastonbury High School’s crew team, who say the new boathouse and crew boat ramp would be a major boon to the 12-year-old sports program.

“It’s always been amazing to me that there’s no public access to the river in Glastonbury,” said Jim Michaud, who has lived here for 25 years. He said some kayakers illegally sneak their crafts into the water at the state-owned Connecticut River ferry landing. “It would be great to have our own access. That access also opens up so many more athletic opportunities for kids.”