Should Seaside Be a State Park

The proposal to make the former Seaside campus in Waterford into a park has obvious positive and negative consequences as illustrated by commenters by a recent article in The Day. This editorial hopes to look at those and also provide some of my unique take and perspective on the matter and incorporate material from a CT DEEP press release issued on Sept. 30, 2014 .
As for the positives, making it a park would allow everyone to enjoy the beautiful views and would add a new shoreline park to the state’s portfolio. The state could allow swimming and it could take some of the pressure off Rocky Neck State Park in the summer months. The usable beach for sunbathing is larger than that of Harkness which is another advantage. The state could use this opportunity to do what it should have done a long time ago, restore the historical buildings on the site. The state could make money from this park by charging a parking fee, creating a museum and even creating a small hotel. The park could have kayak rentals either by the state or the state could bring in vendors to offer services like these. The state could study other states in how they could make money in developing this park. It is too bad the state could not have a referendum and find out whether its residents would be in favor or opposed to another park. It would be interesting to find out what taxpayers would want as they would foot the bill if the state still owns it.
Of course, developing the park could be problematic to neighbors who do not want huge volumes of traffic on the roads. Steiner who was the preferred developer had financial problems since day 1 and could never come to an agreement with Waterford regarding the scale of development appropriate for the site. He had many big ideas but it seemed they kept changing even when the town did give in and grant him permits to change zoning. His latest proposal to add more commercial components to the site (such as restaurant, catering, condos, something more similar to Ocean House in Westerly), rather than just an inn, angered nearby residents and did not pass a required vote by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Now for the negatives, Governor Malloy has been accused of using this as a political maneuver to gain votes right before an election. Steiner could sue the state for terminating his contract and the state will have to defend itself in court. The cost of restoring and/or demolishing buildings on site could be quite high and would be bore by the taxpayers. Some people have claimed that the state already has Harkness Memorial State Park and point to the lack of maintenance on the site of specific areas. The Day should investigate the condition of state parks, how Malloy plans to improve these and what promises he intends to make for the state to change course in better maintaining its properties, and perhaps a detailed look of costs associated with making Seaside a state park. Since the state decided to terminate its contract, it will not allow the property to be placed on the tax rolls. The site would remain undeveloped if the town was unwilling to cooperate with a developer due to NIMBY’s (not in my backyard) protestors.
I personally have visited Seaside and walked the property, it is beautiful and would make an excellent state park but The Day should find out answers to specific questions and fully investigate this proposal from all perspectives. It seems they had a grasp of interviewing different players in the past and hopefully they will continue to do so.