Thomas Hooker Trail Repairs Get Final Approval; Slated to Reopen in April

The Meriden City Council voted Monday night to make repairs to a popular neighborhood trail behind Thomas Hooker School so that it can reopen this spring.

Councilors unanimously approved up to $28,000 for repairs to the trail, based on estimates from the city's Public Works Department.

Work will begin in March and is slated to finish at the end of April, according to City Councilor Hilda Santiago, who chairs the Finance Committee, on Jan. 25.

The trail 2011, when the Meriden Board of Education blocked it off out of safety concerns. The trail's asphalt is cracked, it is overgrown by weeds and the fence is in need of repair, according to city staff who have toured it. In this condition, the path could be an insurance liability, the City's Risk Manager Michael Quinn has said in meetings about the trail this year.

The city plans to do most of the work in-house. Much of the $28,000 expense comes from repaving the path, which has to be done by hand, according to City Engineers, because the foundation will not support heavy equipment.

Repairs to the fencing around the path will cost about $7,500, according to Bass.

Some neighbors – those who cut the chain-link fence to put in their own gates to the trail – will also be paying for a portion of those costs, said City Councilor Dante Bartolomeo, chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee which spearheaded the project.

Until it's fixed, Santiago urged residents not to use the path. "We’re hoping people don’t use the trail until it’s repaired – it's a liability to the city."