The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Panel to discuss multiuse trail, road bonding
MIDDLETOWN — Several important topics will be addressed at tonight’s Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting, including renovations to Harbor Park and the pedestrian tunnel, as well as a request for millions of dollars of funding for upcoming road work.
The panel also will discuss a tree-planting at Palmer Field in memory of Thomas Serra, who died Feb. 10, 2019, at 72, after a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. The longtime city mayor was a councilman since 1972 as well as majority leader. He was honored posthumously at Vinal Technical High School, where he was principal, with a sports complex in his name.
Serra was well-known for holding a special place in his heart for youth and
sports. “They wanted to do something to preserve his memory,” Public Works Director William Russo said of committee members.
Jane Harris, chairwoman of the Middletown Urban Forestry Commission, recommended a few trees at Torrison Stone & Garden of Durham, and sent suggestions to Serra’s wife, Maryanne, from which to choose.
The 2020-21 road bond also will be addressed. Every two to three years, the city applies for funds to pay for 55 to 60 projects citywide, which typically run $2 to $2.5 million, Russo said. Public works plans “years in advance” for street projects, which require a good deal of paperwork.
“Once those lists get approved, we get them to all the utilities. We get them to water/sewer, cable, Eversource, [natural] gas, so we can get them out to utilities long before we build them,” Russo said. It typically takes between seven and eight years of preparation.
For larger projects, the city hires engineers to redesign roads with major drainage issues, potholes and other problems.
“Everybody wants a new road, and we do the best we can with the financials we are allowed to spend. The public overall has always supported road work and bonds,” Russo said.
The commission also will hear an update on work at the Harbor Park boardwalk , which includes new railings to bring the barrier separating it from the Connecticut River up to code, and renovations to the pedestrian tunnel, which connects Melilli Plaza and deKoven Drive.
That includes anti-graffiti paint for the walls, and a sand-based paint for the ground that provides a nonskid surface, Russo said.
The city is in the process of expanding the multiuse trail on Newfield Street to connect to Middletown
High, Spencer elementary and Keigwin middle schools to the Tuttle Road path, and, eventually, Veterans Memorial Park, Russo said.
In all, $4 million is earmarked for the project in the current parks bonding.
“It’s a big project, and a lot goes into it, because of wetlands permitting and paperwork. It’s more than just building a trail,” the director said.
“Longer trails generate $700,000 in tourist money per mile. Middletown needs these tourism dollars. The Central Connecticut Loop Trail will be over 100 miles long, requiring most cyclists to spend two or more days completing the loop,” Pete Salomone of Plainville wrote in a letter to the editor of The Press in support of the project.
“These cyclists will stay overnight, generating tourist dollars for lodging and dining establishments along the trail,” wrote Salamone, who regularly rides in Middletown.
The city is also asking for support from the state’s Local Capital Improvement Program for the routine removal of dead trees, at a cost of $75,000. It will be used to cut down remaining ash trees destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer.
“Not one has been untouched” by these beetles, which are easily identifiable by their green, jewel-tone body, Russo said. “We really push for any type of funding we can get for that.”
The meeting will be streamed live on WebEX.com. The access code is 129 528 7871 and password M5qFb4RKFW8. Join by phone at 408-4189388. To view the agenda, visit cityofmiddletown.com.