November 30 Deadline For Final Community Input On Ninigret Park Plan

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When: Thursday, November 30, at 7 pm
Where: Charlestown Elementary School, 363 Carolina Back Rd, Charlestown

The meeting that citizens demanded in October regarding the 2023 Ninigret Park Master Plan will be held this Thursday. Anyone interested in the future of Ninigret Park will want to attend this meeting in person because the draft of the new 2023 Master Plan will be presented and because VHB will gather additional input from the public before it finalizes the 2023 Master Plan for delivery to the town in December.

In the time since the last public meeting on the new master plan at the end of October, the town’s consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), met with the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update Subcommittee.

At that meeting, VHB summarized the results of the 2021 Community Survey; presented feedback it had received from the US National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Rhythm & Roots, and the Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center; and summarized feedback received from the public. VHB also reminded the Subcommittee that there has been strong resistance from the public regarding the Performance Arts Area.

VHB reviewed the plan elements, including the construction of a new Community Center next to Rt. 1A, south of the entrance road. These elements will remain in the new plan.

Two new options were presented. One was to shift the footprint of the current events northward slightly. The subcommittee vigorously rejected this option, saying that it wanted to move the current events to the Performance Arts Area “to free up the entire park.” The second option presented was to add 11 new athletic fields to the Performing Arts Area, an idea the Subcommittee favored.

The Subcommittee directed VHB to include in the 2023 Master Plan the 19.5-acre Performance Arts Area shown in the 2014 draft and to include the new sports fields in the venue so that it could be used for both events and sports.

Recently taxpayers spent $1 million for improvements to Ninigret Park. The cost of a new performance venue; a new sports complex to serve the region; a new community center built on land gifted to the town by the federal government (which must, by federal law, be available to everyone regardless of town or state of residency); and so forth, would be enormous.

Because Ninigret Park is owned by Charlestown, it is the town’s taxpayers who would again foot the bill. Ignored is the fact that residents prioritize spending their resources (tax dollars and staff time) elsewhere. Expenditures on recreational programs and events rank at the very bottom of a list of 24 items, some urgent, on which the town might spend its resources. In addition, residents said they are very satisfied with the outdoor recreational opportunities that are available.

What people want for their town is known because the town recently spent approximately $100,000 for a respected survey company to find out. VHB has gathered relevant information, and it is now time to develop objectives of the 2023 Ninigret Park Master Plan that reflect their wishes and to create a master plan that reflects those objectives.