NewHartfordPlus.com

Maria Moore, NH+ INDEPENDENT

The Brodie Park South Study Committee presented its recommendation for the future use of Brodie Park South to the Rec Commission at Rec’s meeting on Wednesday, January 9. Dan Eddy, Chairman of the Brodie Park South (BPS) Study Committee and Jean Cronauer of the Open Space Commission, were the only members of the BPS Study Committee in attendance at the Rec meeting.

The recommendation came almost three years from the date when the BPS Study Committee was convened and it was passed as a motion at the BPS Study Committee’s meeting on May 17, 2012; the minutes of that meeting, including the committee’s recommendation were made public at the January 9 meeting.

The motion, was made by Soccer Co-President Rick Berneike and seconded by Corina Hughes, the representative of the Friends of Brodie Park (NOT a representative of the Friends of Brodie Park South who did not have a seat on the Committee) was approved 5 in favor (Dan Eddy, Rick Berneike, Corina Hughes, Alison Murdock of the Conservation Commission and Jean Cronauer) and 1 abstained (Rec Commission Chairman John Maschi). A copy of the motion is included.above on the right.

After the motion was read aloud, the Rec Commission members had the opportunity to ask questions. They then agreed to ask an expert in easements to come to their next meeting in February to go into the different aspects of easements; at their March meeting the Rec Commission members will look to adopt the recommendation of the BPS Study Committee and then submit it to the town’s selectmen to bring the recommendation to a town vote.

There were only three members of the public present at the Rec meeting in addition to the First Selectman’s administrative assistant who observed the proceedings.

One member of the public read aloud a statement saying that she was very concerned that the current uses of Brodie Park South will ruin the meadow habitat before the Town has the chance to preserve it. She pointed out that the mowed lawn has encroached further and further into the wild, natural meadow, and the current intense active recreational activities there have overwhelmed the park and the neighborhood. Activities have intensified each year, and she sees no end to that. The resident urged the Town to protect Brodie Park South before the landscape, wildlife habitat, and quiet residential neighborhood are destroyed.

She concluded: “We need enforceable limits to prevent private clubs of every sort from coming and using the park (without even paying a fee to the Town) to the detriment of other users.” This was a reference to the Rec Commission giving permission to a regional football program to use Brodie Park South for its practices. This past year the football program held joint practices for its 130 members at Brodie Park South . They met at the same time, on the same three nights per week, from August through mid-November, practicing until long after dark under private floodlights which they brought to the park and storing their equipment in a large metal POD that they left in the park for the duration of their season. During practices there were at least 75 vehicles that filled the 12-car parking lot and then parked along the side of the road and inside the park, all against existing park rules.

Our reporter, Maria Moore, a resident of New Hartford, submitted a copy to Rec of the recently-revised park rules and asked Rec to bring the rules to a town vote to make them enforceable by the local police as a town ordinance. She was informed that the rules do not need to be an ordinance, that they are already enforceable. She subsequently checked with the local police constable who again said that park rules are not enforceable because they are not an ordinance. Something for the NH+ INDEPENDENT to delve into.

Download a copy of the minutes of the May 17, 2012 Brodie Park South Study Committee minutes made publicly available at the January 2013 Rec Commission meetting. The minutes include the recommendation of the BPS Study Committee as well as a Google map showing the breaking down of the park into three distinct areas: Minutes - BPS Study Committee Meeting, May 17 2012 (20).

Note: The map included with the minutes of the May 17 is a copy of a map prepared by Maria Moore, NH+ Editor, and is being used without permission of NewHartfordPlus. The map is one of 6 maps presented to the Rec Commission showing the over-use of the fields at Brodie Park South by the regional football program where no infrastructure exists to support that use while other town-owned properties with infrastructure available for practices were being under-utilised. At that meeting the Rec Commission refused Maria Moore’s request for the Commission to take an active role in the allocation of practice spaces to the various sports to ensure that the space requested by teams matches the infrastructure available at that practice space; see our April 18, 2012 article Practice Spaces Available For Active Sports On Town-Owned Land: Supply Vs. Demand.

Vehicles parked on Niles Road as seen from a neighbor’s front porch. Vehicles were allowed to park along the road as well as inside the park itself to accommodate the 75+ vehicles at football practices held three nights per week from August through mid-November in 2012. Click the image to view a video uploaded to YouTube showing the overuse of the infrastructure at Brodie Park South which has parking available for a maximum of 12 vehicles.  Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

Text & Video By: Maria Moore

On Sunday, August 5, I took a walk in Brodie Park South to record the sights and sounds of that town-owned property as dusk gave way to night and its human users gave way to its nighttime inhabitants. The property is accessed by a country road and is located in a quiet, rural neighborhood.

On August 6, this property, which has been a passive recreation haven for residents since its purchase by the town in 1986, began to be used by the New Hartford Football & Cheer, a regional football program, to hold its practices. From 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., for 5 evenings per week during August and then 3 evenings per week from September through mid-November, the active sports program has been permitted by the town’s Recreation Commission to make use of this property. During those times, the program’s 130+ participants hold their practices there, while 75+ vehicles are allowed to remain on site at the property which has a parking lot for 12 vehicles.

To document the effects of this active sports use on both the park and the neighborhood, I videoed at Brodie Park South on Tuesday, August 7, from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., approximately the same time as I had videoed on Sunday, August 5. I used as my base the front porch of a long-time resident, whose home is approximately 40 feet from the vehicles that are being allowed to park both outside and inside the park. While videoing inside the park, I changed my route from the August 5 walk from the front of the meadow to the back of the meadow area to avoid intruding on the children participating in the practices. The video has also been blurred in places to protect the children’s privacy.

Following is the video of the second walk at Brodie Park South on Tuesday, August 7, the second day that Football practices were held at that property:

Click the image above to watch the video of the walk in Brodie Park South on August 7, 2012, on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel

More on Brodie Park South:

• Watch the video of the August 5 walk at Brodie Park South, one day before the active sports program began practices there for the 2012 season.
• Watch the video of Martha Hale, the long-time resident who lives directly across Niles Road from Brodie Park South, as she talks about the 54 years she has lived in her home, and the uses she has seen the property across the road from her put to.
• Read the August 15 article The Uses And Future Goals For Brodie Park South: Baseline Established Through Town Documents posted on NewHartfordPlus.
• For more information on Brodie South see the Brodie Park South category of NewHartfordPlus.

By: Maria Moore

The present uses and future goals of Brodie Park South are currently being disputed. On one side is the Recreation Commission which is allowing a regional Football program to use the park for its practices, with the future goal of turning the park into field space for active sports. On the other side, concerned neighbors and residents, who have formed a group called The Friends of Brodie Park South, are advocating for the park to continue to be used for passive recreation as in the past and for its natural environment to be preserved.

The controversy regarding the uses and the future goals for Brodie Park South has led us to ask: “What are the Town-established uses and goals for Brodie Park South?”

To answer this question we have turned to two Town documents:

1. the Town brochure posted at Brodie Park South and
2. the Forest Stewardship Plan for Brodie Park South that was accepted by the Board of Selectmen in 2005 and was implemented under the stewardship of the Conservation Commission.

Below we look at these two documents

1. Town Brochure For Brodie Park South: Property Description, Uses, Trails & Management Information

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Following is information contained in the Town brochure that is posted at the two kiosks(1) at Brodie Park South.  The photo from 2010 shows the brochure posted at one of those kiosks; the same brochure is posted there today.

Property Features

Brodie Park South was purchased in 1986 by the Town of New Hartford from the Brodie Family who previously had set up the property as a summer camp. Brodie Park consists of the 53 acre Brodie Park North which sits along the southeastern edge of West Hill Lake. South of West Hill Rd. is the 152 acre Brodie Park South which is bordered by West Hill Rd. and Niles Rd. and the Cedar Swamp State Preservation area.

Click to enlarge image

This property of forests, fields and upland wetland land types is an important preservation property with intact wildlife habitats and unique geographical features. Hiking trails encircle the hardwood and softwood forest, wetlands and an open field. A set-aside area is maintained for nesting birds including species of special interest. This area is also a watershed for the Cedar Swamp and the Nepaug River and Reservoir.

Trails were widened in 2006 as a result of a timber harvest that was implemented under a Forest Stewardship plan for this town-owned property by the revenue enhancement committee. The primary goal of this plan was “MULTIPLE USE” forest management including hiking, wildlife habitat and forestry management.

*Interesting geological features of the property include HUGE glacial boulders, southerly views of Cedar Swamp, an open field providing valuable wildlife habitat for the Bobolink, and other species.

Future Work: Future work planned includes remarking and restoring of trail markings and preservation and protection of property from development pressures.

Trail volunteers needed for this and other town owned properties…

Rules of Use

Hours open to the public: Dawn to dusk

Difficulty – easy to moderate 2.5 miles

Permitted Uses and Activities:

Hiking
Cross-Country Skiing
Snowshoeing
Mountain Biking
Pets are allowed on a leash.

Please…

* No alcoholic beverages, fires, firearms, motorized vehicles, mountain bikes, or overnight camping.

• Respect your neighbors – observe no trespassing signs and stay on the marked trails.
• Do not remove or alter anything – leave only footprints.
• Pack out anything you pack in. Please do not litter.
• Recycle this sheet or share with a friend – Enjoy!

As stewards, we all have a responsibility to take care of the land for the enjoyment of our own and future generations. If you observe any violations of these rules please call Town Hall at 379-3389.

Trail contact – newhartfordtrails@ hotmail.com

*Please see trail map on the other side

Trails

• The trailhead begins at the intersection of West Hill Rd. and Niles Rd. (across from Berkshire Hall). This wooded trail runs southerly along Niles Rd. with footbridges in wet areas which leads out onto the open field.
• Leaving the field and reentering the woods to the west, this trail system consists of an outer loop and one spur. The outer loop is marked with blue blazes on trees. The inner loop is marked with orange dots. (Follow trail markers, many spur logging roads exist and can lead you off of trail.)
• Overall length is roughly 2.5 miles.

Please respect the rules of use identified herein. The Town is currently developing specific standards and regulations for this and other town-owned open space. The rules will be updated as part of this process.

Access

** A trailhead and parking area are located on Niles Rd. across from the junction of Niles Rd./Harris Road.

** A second trailhead is located at the intersection of West Hill Rd. and Niles Rd. Parking is across the street at the Berkshire Hall parking area.

From the brochure we see that the uses established for Brodie Park South are passive recreation uses and that Brodie Park South is considered one of the town’s open space properties.

2. Forest Stewardship Plan – Brodie Park South

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A Forest Stewardship Plan for Brodie Park South was prepared for the Town of New Hartford by Andrew J. Bosse Forestry Service. The 10-year plan, dated March 30, 2005, lists the Town of New Hartford as the Property owner and the contact telephone number as that of the First Selectman’s Office, 379-3389. The first phase of the plan, Yr. 1 – Timber Harvest, was implemented in 2005, with the town receiving approximately $90,000 from the sale of timber cut from Brodie Park South, as set out in the Forest Stewardship Plan. These events occurred under First Selectman Bill Baxter.

Following is a complete transcript of the General Information section contained on pages 3 and 4 of the SForest tewardship Plan. To download a complete copy of the Forest Stewardship Plan for Brodie Park South click the following link: Forest Stewardship Plan - Brodie Park South, 2005 (16).

Included in the General Information section are the following topics:

Landowner Assessment consisting of:

• Description of resources and level of interest from the landowner
• Landowner’s goals for the property
• Goal comments

General Property Information consisting of:

• Total land area
• Number of stands/management units
• Region/subsection or ecosystem type (left blank)
• General property description
• Description of surrounding properties
• Soils information
• Management access
• Presence of threatened and endangered species
• Cultural importance
• Map information

Forest Stewardship plan for Town of New Hartford

General Information

Landowner Assessment

Description of resources and level of interest from the landowner:

Members of the Town Conservation Commission are very interested in ecologically sound, multiple-use management of this property. They are presently underfunded, and must rely on volunteer efforts to accomplish projects, however.

Landowner’s goals for the property:

• Demonstration area for natural resource education
• Develop hiking trails
• Promote low impact forest management
• Promote a variety of forest types
• Discourage or eliminate exotic elements
• Preserve and enhance wolf trees
• Preserve existing openings in the forest
• Leave many big trees
• Generate periodic income from timber production
• Increase the richness of wildlife species
• Protect water resources
• Protect wetlands
• Maintain boundaries with signs indicating Town of New Hartford ownership

Goal comments: Some goals may not be compatible with every stand. Goals are not listed in any specific order.

General Property Information

Total land area: 152.0 acres

Number of stands/management units: 4

Region/subsection or ecosystem type: (left blank)

General property description: “Brodie Park South” contains a total of 152 acres, of which 133 are forested. The remaining 19 acres are occupied by a hayfield that was once a small golf course. The property, along with another 50 acres known as “Brodie Park North,” which is located across West Hill Road on West Hill Lake, was once part of a summer camp known as Camp Berkshire. It was purchasaed by the Town of New Hartford in the mid 1980′s and presently serves as a recreation area for New Hartford residents.

Prior to its use as a summer camp, the property appears to have been utilized for agriculture. There are many stonewalls and wire fence remains throughout the property. Also, there are several rusted milk cans located along an intermittent stream just west of the field. There are also the remains of a few charcoal pits on the property, indicating that it was once used for charcoal production. After the industrial revolution in the mid 1800′s, charcoal was the primary industrial energy source until it was replaced by coal and fossil fuels in the early 20th century.

The topography of the property can best be described as moderately sloping. There are a few areas of rock ledge outcrops, but no steep slopes. There are three small, intermittent streams on the property, each fed by small wetlands. The highest elevation on the property is approximately 1060 feet above sea level. An old woods road runs along most of the western boundary, but it provides little access as it crosses private land before entering the property. Proceeding southward from the soutern boundary in close proximity and roughly parallel to the old woods road is a strip of land that was deeded to the Town of New Hartford. This strip is approximately 25 feet wide and provides a link between Brodie Park and the State of CT owned Cedar Swamp Wildlife Management Area, covering a distance of just over 1000 feet. The strip was conveyed to the Town from the adjacent Roland property, and is shown on survey map #1824A, on file in the Town Clerk’s office. There are two hiking trails on the property that receive regular use. The first originates at a small parking area off of West Hill Road, and travels south parallel to Niles Road for about 1/2 mile where it ends at the field. The second begins along the western edge of the field and runs west and then northwest for about 1/4 mile where it termintaes at a small campsite. There are several walking paths mowed in the field that provide a link between the two trails. The field along Niles Road has been identified as important breeding habitat for Bobolinks, and is currently managed as such. The Conservation Commission has stated an interest in maintaining the field in this capacity.

Description of surrounding properties: The entire eastern boundary runs for about 3,300 feet along Niles Road, across which is mostly woods and hayfield, along with three residential dwellings. Along the southern boundary is a parcel of privately owned forestland, and a residential homesite in the southeast corner. The western boundary abuts two large, privately owned parcels of forestland, one that is owned by the Boy Scouts of America and the other of which has a residential homesite on it that is abuot 200 feet from the property line. The northern boundary abuts several residential lots of varying sizes, most of which are wooded along the common boundary, which screens the dwellings from view.

Soils information: There are approximately 11 acres of wetland soil on the property. The remaining soil types are generally suitable for forest management purposes in terms of site index and operability.

Management access: Excellent access for forest management purposes can be had along Niles Road.

Presence of threatened and endangered species: None noted at this time.

Cultural importance: No features noted at this time.

Map information: A Topographic map is included in the plan.

Items with an asterisk are shown on the map:

* North arrow (required)

* Scale bar (required)

* Legend (required)

* Locator map

* Stand boundaries

The Forest Stewardship Plan establishes the current uses of Brodie Park South as being for passive recreation activities and to provide habitat for the wildlife present  at the property.  One of these species includes the Bobolink that has been identified as a species of special concern  by the state.

The Plan also establishes the future goals for Brodie Park South to be those of enhancing the property’s existing natural environment and to protect the property from development pressures.

Conclusion

Both of the documents whose information is included above – the Town brochure and the Forest Stewardship Plan accepted by the Town – establish the baseline use of Brodie Park South as passive recreation under the stewardship of the Conservation Commission. Nowhere in either document is there reference to active, organized sports taking place at the property nor is there reference in either document of active, organized sports being one of the goals for the future use of the property. To the contrary, the brochure lists only passive-recreation activities in its List of Permitted Uses and Activities. And likewise, the Forest Stewardship Plan, which was accepted and implemented by the Town, lists the Landowner’s (i.e. the Town’s) goals for the property only uses that are consistent with the preservation and passive-recreation use of Brodie Park South.

Any dispute regarding the uses and the future goals for Brodie Park South must be viewed within the context of the baseline established by the two documents presented above.

A view of the meadows at Brodie Park South, August 2012. Photo: Maria Moore

Text & Video By: Maria Moore

Usually, as the sun starts to set below the treeline in the distance at Brodie Park South, I end my walk and head home, leaving the park to its nighttime inhabitants.  Yesterday evening, Sunday, August 5, 2012, I decided to reverse my usual behavior: I arrived and parked in the small parking at Brodie South at 7:15 p.m., while it was still light, and left the park at 8:15 p.m. with the park in total darkness.

After spending a few minutes chatting with a friend who just happened to drive by, I took off and walked a while on Niles Road, heading downhill towards Bakerville, taking in the sights and the sounds of that quiet country road. Arriving back at the parking lot, I made my way into the park, slipping around the chain across the entrance to discourage driving on the fields.

With the light rapidly failing and the sound of thunder growing closer, I picked up my pace and walked north along the length of the stone wall that separates the park from Niles Road. The meadow area beyond the large spruces appeared smaller than in previous years but the sounds of the wildlife surrounded me as I walked. With each step the thunder grew closer and reverberated across the sky and heading the clear warning signs I decided not to cut through to the woodland side of the meadow, but instead to follow its perimeter back around the other side of the open field. Just as I reached the most southerly point of the park, with it row of pines and spruce trees without their lower limbs, the rain started to fall, harder and harder. Again I picked up my pace and in total darkness I scrambled up the bank to the parking lot and to the safety of my car, there to sit in darkness with my family and watch in awe as the fields and the meadows were lit again and again by the shafts of lighting that pierced the night sky.

Click on the image above to watch the video of a walk in Brodie Park South on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel

Photos & Text By: Maria Moore, NewHartfordPlus.com

Cutting the lower branches doesn’t appear to have helped the health of this pine tree

At a recent meeting in Town Hall there was apparently a discussion of the effects of “skirting” (cutting off the lower branches) of spruces and hemlock trees in the town’s parks. Apparently, I was told, the input from a local arborist was that cutting off the lower branches of pine trees “…doesn’t harm the trees at all” and as far as making them less esthetically appealing “it all depends on what you like a tree to look like.”

One of the skirted pine trees not doing well one year later

Compare this to the input of an online gardener who wrote: “Never cut a healthy limb from an evergreen. I have never seen a tree treated thus that was not in some state of decline as a result. Cutting lower limbs off spruce is the worst offense. Spruce are designed so that the lowest branches, those that touch the ground, support the branches above, and so on, all the way to the tip of the tree.” Renegade Gardener- his ‘nom d’ordinateur’ (online nomiker) – goes on to say that during winter, the snowload collapses the branches, which is normally not a problem since the branches are designed to lock together. But remove the base branches, and then you will have created a problem: Without support from the cut branches, the lowest branches are stressed and crack and in a year or two they die.

With this contradictory input in mind, I took a walk at Brodie Park South this morning where half a dozen spruces and hemlocks had been “skirted” in the spring of 2011, before residents’ complaints put a stop to the cutting. This is what I found, 1 year and a couple of months later. Beauty, as they say, is in the eyes of the beholder, but when it comes to hiring someone to tend hemlocks and spruces, there’s no contest in my eyes.

To skirt or not to skirt the lower limbs from trees? Before the sound of chain saws is heard again at Brodie Park South, you may want to voice your opinion to the town’s selectmen, Rec Commission members and Conservation Commission members.

Pine trees that were skirted just over a year ago

A bank of pine trees that have not had their lower branches cut

The hemlock in the foreground was tagged to have its lower branches cut but won a reprieve when residents’ protests stopped the “skirting”

We received a copy of the following Letter to the Editor from the Friends of Brodie Park South (FOBPS) today, Tuesday, July 3, with a request that we post it on NewHartfordPlus.com. The original letter was in response to an article published in the Republican American newspaper on Monday, June 25, regarding the legal challenge by FOBPS to the use of Brodie Park South for football practice by the regional Football program; the article is not available online.  The Letter to the Editor was submitted to the Republican American on Wednesday, June 27 and published on Monday, July 1. Specifically, the letter addresses two statements in the article; the first said: “… the group is challenging the town’s zoning regulations;” and the second addresses the statement by First Selectman Dan Jerram that the new zoning regulations (which came into effect on January 1, 2012) is for new parks, not existing parks like Brodie Park South. “It is not a new park,” Jerram said. “Brodie Park South falls under the old regulations which specifically permit the use of town property for a park and or playground purpose, by right, without a special exception or hearing.”
_______________

June 27, 2012

Letter to the Editor:

This letter is sent in response to Debbi Morello’s June 25 article “Football, Cheerleading in Legal Scrimmage.” The FOBPS are not challenging the Town’s zoning regulations, good zoning regulations are fundamental to maintaining orderly growth, protecting property values and regulating appropriate development in Town. FOBPS objects to the uneven way that they are being applied.

First Selectman Jerram remarked to your reporter that the new regulations are for “new parks” and that: “It is not a new park, Brodie Park South falls under the old regulations which specifically permit the use of town property for a park and or playground, by right, without a special exception or hearing.” This statement is unsupportable and incorrect both factually and legally.

An example of the proper application of the Town Zoning regulations is how the Town governed the Farmers Market that is held in Chapin Park, a long existing Town park. For the past four years the Market has come before P&Z to obtain a permit (as is required by the old regulations). This year, in a letter to Selectman Jerram dated March 14, 2012 referring to the Farmers Market, the Town Zoning Official stated that: “Prior to the change in zoning regulations (which took effect 1-1-12), only an annual zoning permit was required. This year, however, the change in regulations requires that a site plan be approved…“

The Football program has been practicing in a much newer park without a permit, a clear violation of the Town’s zoning regulations. In an email dated September 30, 2011, referring to Football’s use of a storage pod in the park, the Town’s land use attorney opined: “Because the POD is a STRUCTURE (actually, a “building” as we define it in Section 2), I don’t see how we can call it anything but an expansion of the use. While it may seem petty to require a Special Exception for a storage pod, we have no choice legally”. In the same email, he went on to advise the Town’s Zoning official “..…You CAN, however, just ignore the violation. As you know from past discussions, the ZEO is never obligated to bring an enforcement action even where there is an undisputed violation….”

This situation highlights the uneven application of the Zoning regulations. On one hand you have a continuing permitted use that is subject to conformance with the new regulations (the Farmers’ Market) and on the other you have an unpermitted use which the Town’s attorney has said is legally required to obtain a Special Exception (the Football program’s practices), and this use is being represented by our First Selectman as being exempt from both the old and the new regulations. This is unsupportable by the facts and the rules.

Sincerely,

Bob Moore
On behalf of
The Friends Of Brodie Park South, Inc.

Note: This letter was written before the Wednesday evening, June 27, Planning and Zoning meeting at which that Commission voted to require a Special Exception, with a Public Hearing to receive neighbors’ input, for the expansion of the existing playing field at the back of Antolini School, a town-owned property; see the video of this meeting posted on NewHartfordPlus on June 29.. This is exactly the same process that the Friends of Brodie Park South are maintaining is required for the intensified use of Brodie Park South by the Football program; however, the Planning and Zoning Commission is maintaining that their Commission has nothing to do with the use of Brodie Park South.

Both signs have been removed from Brodie Park South where Football practice has been approved by the Rec Commission to continue until well after sunset facilitated by the use of private lights and generators, with parking inside on the grass and with a storage pod to be placed at a park entrance for the three-and-a-half months of the football season. The town’s Planning & Zoning Commission maintains they are not involved in regulating the park’s use. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

Below is a copy of a letter that Maria Moore, Board of Finance member and NewHartfordPlus editor and reporter, sent to the First Selectman and to the Chairman of the Recreation Commission with a copy to the Chairman of the Board of Finance with a request for the town to solicit and receive input from the town’s insurance company on the additional insurance liability that the town will be assuming by allowing the Football program to use a town park after sunset with the conditions approved by Rec. Less than a year ago the request of adults to walk through a town park after sunset was denied by the Rec Commission based on the insurance company’s input that the night-time use might require the town to make improvements to the town’s parks and could possibly result in a substantial increase in the town’s insurance costs.  Maria asked that the letter be included in the “Correspondence” section of the Board of Selectmen meeting held this evening, June 26.

June 26, 2012

Dan Jerram, First Selectman, Board of Selectmen
John Maschi, Chairman, Recreation Commission
Ben Witte, Chairman, Board of Finance

Gentlemen:

As a member of the Board of Finance and as a town taxpayer, I am writing to express my concern at the additional insurance liability the town is being exposed to by the Recreation Commission allowing the use of a town park after sunset for an extended period of time. This is in direct conflict with the input of the town’s insurance company which the Rec Commission solicited in July, 2011. According to the July 2011 Rec minutes, the input the Rec Commission received was the following:

“…after consulting with the Town Hall, the Police Department, and the town’s Insurance Consultant the liability exposure to the town is too great. The Insurance Consultant emailed the First Selectman’s office after our conversation that it was their opinion that the town not agree to keep the park open after dark. This could possibly represent a change in hazard which could require a physical inspection by the insuring carrier. An inspection could reveal possible liability hazards which might include lighting of the path down to the lake as well as paving. The Consultant also stated that the town’s policy is on a 3 year premium rate freeze and a change in hazard could jeopardize this…”

Based on the input received, John Maschi, Chairman of the Rec Commission concluded:

“…if we do not follow through on potential recommendations of loss control, rate hikes could be a significant amount of money that would have an impact on all residents. John summed up the discussion that the Commission is charged with acting on behalf of all residents and after hearing input from Town officials and representatives, the Commission would be irresponsible to ignore their professional input. Park hours remain dawn to dusk.”

During that same meeting, First Selectman Dan Jerram is quoted as saying:

“Dan Jerram said that legal counsel is also not in favor of extending the park hours. He states that by doing this we stand to lose so much more.”

A group of adults had asked Rec for permission to walk through the park (Brodie Park North) after sunset and based on the input quoted above, that group’s request was denied.

Parking along Niles Road at approx. 6:30 p.m. as dusk falls during Football practice in August, 2011. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

However, beginning in August 2011 through mid-November 2011 the Football program, with its 130 participants, was holding practices at a town park (Brodie Park South) until at least 8 p.m. on an uneven field with rocks sticking out through the surface. The group’s 50-75 cars overwhelmed the 12-car parking lot at that park and created a dangerous traffic and parking situation during the 3 /2 months it was there.

During the 2011 Football season, the Rec Commission claimed that they had asked Football to move to another, more appropriate location but that the Football program had refused to move and that the Rec Commission had not received the necessary support from the town’s officials to enforce their decision to have Football move. I doubt whether the Rec Commission’s inability to enforce its park rules would have been a defense had the town been sued; fortunately, no incidents resulted in a lawsuit [against the town].

For the 2012 Football season, however, the Rec Commission has formally approved the Football practices at the same town park (Brodie Park South). The 130-150 participants, all under the age of 14, are being allowed to practice from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the same unimproved space. After sunset, they are being allowed to use private lights powered by their own generators until 7:45 p.m., with the field needing to be cleared by 8 p.m.

Sunset in Connecticut during the coming Football season (week beginning August 5 through week beginning November 11) is as follows:

• Week of August 5: sunset is at 8:05 p.m.
• Week of August 19: sunset is at 7:45 p.m.
• Week of September 2: sunset is at 7:25 p.m.
• Week of September 16: sunset is at 7:01 p.m.
• Week of September 30: sunset is at 6:33 p.m.
• Week of October 14: sunset is at 6:10 p.m.
• Week of October 28: sunset is at 5:46 p.m.
• Week of November 11: sunset is at 4:35 p.m. (daylight savings ended)

By their second week of practice, the Football program’s 130-150 participants will already be in a town park after sunset and will be using their private lights to conduct practices. As part of this use, there will be 75+ cars regularly congregating at a site with 12 approved parking places, with the Recreation Commission’s approval to park inside the park on the grass and outside the park on an unlit country road with parents charged to monitor the children and adults moving to and from their vehicles and on the field.

These park users won’t be there to walk in the park; they will be watching young children practicing Football, a very dangerous activity, taking place after sunset in our town park.

The insurance liability that taxpayers are being asked to assume to allow the Football program to hold practices in a town park after dark is beyond anything that we have ever assumed for any other recreational group. This is an excessive risk and one we should not be asked to assume since Football practices can be scheduled at other town-owned properties with the necessary infrastructure already in place to support the needs of the program and with practices ending before sunset, as other active sports programs in town.

Before Football practices begin, I ask that the First Selectman and the Rec Commission solicit and receive our insurance company’s input on Football’s use of our town park after sunset as approved by Rec. The input must be in writing since the additional liability may result in an increase in our insurance costs, something we all want to avoid.

Thank you,

Maria Moore
Town Hill Road
New Hartford

Football practice at Brodie Park South at approximately 6:30 p.m. as dusk falls in August, 2011. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

Note: The times of sunset in Connecticut are from the Hunting and Trapping Field Guide section of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection website.

See also: The June 22 NewHartfordPlus article examining the uneven application of the town’s park rules by the Recreation Commission.

By: Maria Moore

Residents expect the town’s commissions to enforce their rules and regulations in a fair, equitable way. When those rules and regulations are not applied to all residents in an equitable way, there are negative repercussions for the whole community; some residents are denied the opportunity to enjoy their homes and the use of the town’s publicly-owned properties and parks, while other residents – and sometimes non-residents as we can see in one of the case examined below – are allowed to enjoy the use of the community’s publicly-owned properties and parks despite the negative effects of their use on the lives of other residents in the neighborhoods in which that activity is being allowed. This leads to a fracturing of the community, with residents distrusting the Commissions that have disenfranchised them, and resenting the groups that they see receiving special treatment from the commissions which infringes their own rights.

Boaters were denied after-dark access to their boats moored at Brodie Park North. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

In this two-article series we will be examining specific cases where there has been an uneven application of the town’s rules and regulations to the benefit of some residents and to the detriment of others.

In this, the first article, we will look at the uneven application of the town’s Park Rules by the Recreation Commission, which denied a group’s request for a special use of a town park while approving that same special use to another group.

In the second article we will look at the uneven application of the town’s Zoning regulations by the Planning and Zoning Commission which, in one case placed special conditions limiting the use of a town park by a group that has been using that same park in the same way for the past 4 years, having first obtained a permit from Planning & Zoning for each year of the use.

Special conditions were placed on the Farmers’ Market use of Chapin Park. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

At the same time that it was placing conditions on the use of a town park by the group in the first case, in a second case the P&Z Commission is allowing a similar, more intensive use of another park by a group, without placing any special conditions on that use, or even accepting that the special use as falls within the town’s Zoning regulations, as they had with the first case. Were the P&Z Commission to apply its Zoning regulations to the second group and require that second group to submit a site plan as they had required of the first group, that Commission would then have to acknowledge that the second group had never received a Special Exception for its intensified use of one of the town park, a necessary step according to the town’s zoning regulations. For a Special Exception to be granted in the second case, P&Z would require a public hearing during which park neighbors would have the opportunity to give input on the negative impact on their neighborhood of the group’s special use of the park; based on the negative impact on the neighborhood in question, a Special Exception would difficult to obtain. As we will show in our second article, the Planning & Zoning Commission has chosen not to enforce its own Zoning regulations in the second case, while in the first case, placing special conditions on similar use of another town park.

Article 1: Rec Commission Applies Park Rules Unevenly Depending On The Group Requesting The Special Use

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Setting The Stage

New Hartford residents have entrusted the care of our town parks to the Recreation Commission, giving that Commission the ability to establish rules for the use of our parks that allow residents to enjoy using the town’s parks while respecting the rights of other park users as well as the rights of residents living near the parks.

Since 1967, when the Rec Commission was created, the Commission members have applied the park rules in a fair and equitable way.  This year, however, the Rec Commission members have departed from their even-handed application of their own rules to everyone that has requested a special use of one of our parks; instead, they have approved several special uses of one of our town parks to one group, while one of those special uses was denied to another group.  Here are both cases:

First Case: Adult Residents’ Request To Walk Through The Park After Sunset To Access Their Boats On The Lake Denied By Rec Commission

Less than a year ago, on July 12, 2011, a group of adults went to the Recreation Commission’s meeting to ask for permission to walk through the park after sunset to get to their boats moored at the town-owned dock on West Hill Lake. Most of the adults present were long-time residents of New Hartford, whose children had grown up in town. Those residents paid a fee to the Rec. Department to keep their kayaks and boats on the town’s property by the lake and they had come to the Rec Commission to request access to their boats. Regarding the “Park Closes At Sunset” rule, the residents said in one of their letters to the Rec Commission:

If the “park closing at sunset” rule is to be enforced… shouldn’t it be enforced for everyone? The boaters of Brodie Park should be offered the same exception to the rule as others receive. Should the Boaters become an official organization? (Boaters of Brodie Park):

• Football – Practices in the dark (under the lights) at Brodie Park South all football season;
• Karate – Monday Nights in the summer after beach closes;
• Boy Scouts – Camp-Outs in Brodie Park;
• Lions Club – Flea Market set up at 4 a.m.

The boaters proposed that Rec implement a “boating pass” which they would pay for and which would allow them to walk to their boats and kayaks and then walk back through the park on their return to dock.

The Rec Commission denied the boaters’ request to be allowed to walk through Brodie Park North after sunset, giving as the reason for the denial the negative impact on the town’s insurance costs if they were to allow use of the town’s parks after dark.

The following is taken from the minutes of the July 12, 2011, Rec Commission meeting in which the Rec Commission members as well as First Selectman Dan Jerram give their reasons for denying the boaters’ request.  We have left only the initial of the last name of residents at the meeting to protect their privacy:

The Rec Commission has received letters and emails (attached [see the minutes of the meeting in the Town Clerk's Office]) and heard from several residents who keep their boats moored at the park with concerns about not having access to their boats after the park closes at dusk. They came to the meeting to discuss a possible solution to the problem.

John P. [a resident and a boat owner] has suggested they create some sort of boating pass they can put in their cars so the police who patrol the area will know they have walked down and are out on the lake, and not get a ticket for parking in the Berkshire lot after 8 pm. Larry A. [another resident and boat owner] also suggested that the commission could even charge a fee for this pass. They have clear view from their property and can see people swimming in and around the boats at all hours even when the park is closed. They are always calling Officer Janco to report these goings on. Diane K. suggests that the boaters would be a kind of neighborhood watch to help deter the vandalism that keeps occurring.

John [Maschi, the Rec Commission Chairman] spoke on behalf of the Commission members and expressed appreciation for their care of the park and understanding of their request. However, after consulting with the Town Hall, the Police Department, and the town’s Insurance Consultant the liability exposure to the town is too great. The Insurance Consultant emailed the First Selectman’s office after our conversation that it was their opinion that the town not agree to keep the park open after dark. This could possibly represent a change in hazard which could require a physical inspection by the insuring carrier. An inspection could reveal possible liability hazards which might include lighting of the path down to the lake as well as paving. The Consultant also stated that the town’s policy is on a 3 year premium rate freeze and a change in hazard could jeopardize this. John also expressed concern that if the Commission were to grant this exception that other groups would also petition the Commission for exceptions.

Officer Janco then asked to speak and told everyone present that first and foremost it is a park and not a marina. He and all the Commission members know that they are not the ones vandalizing the Park and have helped maintain and clean it up. He also told them that there is a state boat launch open to the public which is open 24 hours for this very reason and it would be just too hard to police the area if it ends up being opened up to everyone.

Deb P. then asked if they became a group could they carry their own insurance.

[First Selectman] Dan Jerram said that legal counsel is also not in favor of extending the park hours. He states that by doing this we stand to lose so much more. John stated that if we do not follow through on potential recommendations of loss control, rate hikes could be a significant amount of money that would have an impact on all residents. John summed up the discussion that the Commission is charged with acting on behalf of all residents and after hearing input from Town officials and representatives, the Commission would be irresponsible to ignore their professional input. Park hours remain dawn to dusk.

The adults accepted the Rec Commission decision. During the summer of 2011 they did not have permission to walk in the park after sunset, nor did they have permission to park their vehicles in the parking lot at Berkshire Hall at Brodie Park North after sunset. For the 2012 summer season, they still do not have permission to be in the park after sunset nor to park their vehicles in the Berkshire Hall parking lot.

Parking along Niles Road during Football practice in August, 2011. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

In the meantime, just a mile up Niles Road, in a section of the park known as Brodie Park South, a group of approximately 125 sports players aged 14 and under, plus their parents and their coaches – identified as Football in the boaters’ letter quoted above – were using the park until well after dark from the beginning of August 2011 through mid-November. The group, a Rec-sponsored program called the New Hartford Football and Cheer, brought in their own construction lights powered by generators to light the park for after-dark use, they parked their 50-75 vehicles in the 12-vehicle parking lot at Brodie Park South as well as on the grass inside the park, and along the road outside the park, and sometimes on neighbors’ lawns. They also placed a large steel POD inside the park for the whole Football season for their use.

Neighbors and other concerned residents went to the Rec Commission asking them to enforce their own park rules to control the situation at Brodie Park South; the Rec Commission did nothing to enforce their rules. The neighbors and concerned residents went to the Board of Selectmen, only to be told that they lived next to a park and they should expect that kind of activity. The neighbors and concerned residents then filed 12 complaints with the Planning and Zoning Commission based on the zoning regulations that were being violated by the park being in an R2 (residential) zone; the Zoning Officer, who was told by the Zoning Office’s legal counsel that the situation with Football’s presence at the park was “90% political and 10% legal” refused to investigate the residents’ complaints, while the Zoning Commission said it had nothing to do with them. The neighbors and concerned residents also called the local police and the state police about dangerous traffic situation and the unsafe parking created by Football’s presence on Niles Road, a steep and narrow country road; no action was taken by the police and when NewHartfordPlus reporter Maria Moore spoke to Officer Janco about his lack of enforcement action, he responded that he was using his professional discretion not to investigate the traffic and parking situation.

For the 2011 Football season, the entire Football program, consisting of 4 Football and 2 Cheerleading teams with participants in the program from New Hartford and other surrounding communities (Winsted, Barkhamsted, Norfolk and Colebrook) was allowed to continue practicing at Brodie Park South, for 5 nights a week during August and three nights per week during September through mid-November, and with practices being held until well after dark, with vehicles not leaving the park until 9 p.m. or later. During the 2011 Football season the Rec Commission maintained that they had not been asked for permission by the Football program for its intensified use of the town park, and that they had not received the support of other town officials in enforcing their Park Rules.

For the 2012 Football season, the Rec Commission received a request from the Football program to continue their practices at Brodie Park South under the same conditions as in 2011, and the Rec Commission unanimously approved that use. This despite continuing pressure from a residents’ group called the Friends of Brodie Park South (FOBPS), which had been formed by the neighbors and other users of the park. The FOBPS pointed out to the Rec Commission that their Rec Department did not take an active role in allocating practice spaces to the different sports programs but rather allowed the sports programs themselves to allocate the practice spaces. This resulted in practice spaces with the infrastructure to support Football practices being used by other sports groups that did not require that infrastructure for their practices or, as in the case of the field space at New Hartford Elementary School, not to be utilized at all for active sports practices.

The FOBPS asked the Rec Commission to allocate to the Football program other practice fields with the existing infrastructure to accommodate Football’s needs but that request was not considered. The FOBPS also asked the Rec Commission to continue enforcing their park rule that parks close at sunset as they have always done in the past, but that request was denied, and the FOBPS concerns about the unsafe traffic and parking conditions created by the Football program’s 50-75 vehicles using a parking area designed for 12 vehicles was handled by the Rec Commission by allowing vehicles to be parked inside the park and along the road outside the park, something which they had never before allowed any other group to do on a regular basis at any other town park.

At their June 2012 meeting the Rec Commission members formally approved the Football program’s request to hold practices for their 130+ participants at Brodie Park South until after dark, they approved the use of privately-owned lights powered by generators to light the park area, they approved parking the Football program’s vehicles inside the park and along the outside of the park, and they approved the placement of a steel POD for Football’s use at one of the park’s entrances for the duration of the Football season.

To view the video of the June 6, 2012 Rec Commission meeting, click on the following link to the video posted on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel.

The following is taken from the draft minutes of the June 6, 2012, Rec Commission meeting in which the Rec Commission members approved the Football group’s request to use Brodie Park South for practices. In their remarks the Rec Commission members made reference to two letters, one received from a member of the Friends of Brodie Park South (FOBPS) who emphasized that the group did not agree with the use of Brodie Park South by the Football program with the special uses Football was asking for (that is, after-sunset use of the park when town parks are closed, using private lights in the park to allow practices to continue in the dark in a residential neighborhood, and 75+ vehicles using the park on a regular basis where the infrastructure only supports 12 vehicles, etc.). The FOBPS’s letter emphasized that their concerns had not changed as a result of the Rec-sponsored meeting in March when Rec had asked two representatives of the FOBPS to meet with two Football representatives and two Rec Commission representatives to get the residents’ group to agree to Football’s presence in their neighborhood park. The second letter was from an attorney hired by the FBPS sent to the Rec Commission, to the Zoning Commission, the First Selectman and the Football program’s officers, and asking that the Rec Commission notify the Football program that it needs to obtain a Special Exception for its requested use of Brodie Park South for Football practices.

The draft minutes of the June 6, Rec Commission meeting say the following regarding that Commission’s approval of the Football program’s request to hold practices at Brodie Park South after sunset:

John’s response to Mayo Crowe LLC [the attorneys hired by the FOBPS] was that we’re not ‘country bumpkins’ and were not born yesterday. We are well aware of the things we can and cannot do as a Commission and didn’t need a letter from this attorney to tell us that. We are well aware that anybody that has an issue comes before us, it’s just common sense. Anything we do is subject to the other boards and commissions or regulatory committee in town and always goes through all the proper channels.

John then summarized the contents of the letter from Heinz about the last meeting and his and the FOBPS feelings about the end result and why they disagreed. John addressed a couple of them, the parking situation. We are in communication with Officer Janco and the thinking is to park inside the gateway rock wall and the rock wall on the Niles side. We feel that will be sufficient and the turnaround to have as few cars there as possible. Get the kids in and out and move in and out as quickly as possible with parent help to keep the traffic moving and the kids safe. We think we have addressed that. The noise level can be muffled by moving much of the activity below the tree line. Nobody will tolerate the rogue parents and that will be monitored by the parents and members of football. John asked Joe P. [an officer of the Football progrm] if he can attend the Football Parents meeting to discuss these issues. Practice will be 5:45 to end at 7:45 to get cleaned up and get the kids out of there by 8pm. The plan is to reduce the amount of cars that go up there and the Comm has run it by football already and that would be to have cheerleading practice held at BPN 2 of the 3 nights a week and only practice once a week back at BPS to be with the football teams. And as far as parking is concerned, the information that we have from P&Z is that as long as Recreation designates a specific area for parking it is so deemed a specific area for parking, so we’ll abide by that. Back to Heinz’s letter regarding the environmental impact, there has been a BP Subcommittee on that a little bit longer than this has been going on. On that Committee is Jean Cronauer, she is heavily involved in environmental issues and she has been very involved on this committee and BPS is deemed “active recreation” and it was agreed to by that committee that it can and will be used as such and will not have a detrimental effect on the environment. All these things were taken into consideration, the concerns have been brought to our attention many times. John feels the Commission has done its due diligence and has done what is in the best interest of the overall community. We understand people have their own ideas about what needs to be done with their own thoughts and ideas. We get all that, but it is our job to weigh the pros and cons and some people will be happy and some will not, we totally get that, we totally respect that. What John would like to do is ask the Rec Commission if they have any other suggestions. Sally [O'Neill, Rec Commission member] agrees with John. The Rec Commission has done its job to make this acceptable to everyone involved. We have done our due diligence and it is time to move forward. Maureen [Morrissey, Rec Commission member] agreed wholeheartedly with that. Dan [Eddy, Rec Commission member] and Ed [Smith, Rec Commission member] are not here this evening but if passed we will pass it onto the the other authorities in town. Our job is to oversee the land as it is.

Sally then made a motion, seconded by Maureen, based on the items John Maschi has just gone over including:

• A. working with Town Hall,
• B. Officer Janco to facilitate the parking,
• C. working with football and cheer parents to monitor use of the park
• D. activities below the tree line to reduce the noise levels as much as possible,
• E .a lighting request from 5:45 to 7:45 and lights must be out by 8pm,
• F. cheerleaders will practice 2 nights a week at BPN and 1 night with the football teams at BPS,
• G.environmental issues have been cleared with Jean Cronauer,
• H. and the lights are a safety concern but pending approval from P&Z.

All were in favor and the motion passed.

No Application Will Be Made By the Football Program To Planning & Zoning Commission

After the Rec Commission’s June meeting, NewHartfordPlus reporter Maria Moore asked whether there would be an application made to the Planning & Zoning Commission related to Football’s use of Brodie Park South. She was told that Rec had been informed by the First Selectman’s Office that the First Selectman had checked with Rista [Malanca, the Zoning Officer] and that she had told him that that everything that Rec was planning to approve for Football at Brodie Park South was fine and they didn’t need anything from the Planning & Zoning Commission.

No Pending Items With Planning & Zoning Related To Football Use Of The Park

Our reporter also checked directly with Rista Malanca, the town’s Zoning Officer, and she confirmed that she had no pending items related to Football’s use of Brodie Park South. The only thing she had was the letter to the Commission from the attorney representing the Friends of Brodie Park South.

Unanswered Questions To Rec Commission Chairman Re. Denial Of Boaters’ Request And Insurance Implications Of After-Dark Use Of Park For Football Practices

On Monday, June 18, NHPlus reporter Maria Moore emailed the Rec Commission Chairman letting him know that she was working on this article and asking for his input on the denial of the boaters’ request and the effects on the town’s insurance following the Rec Commission’s approval of after-dark Football practices at Brodie Park South. The email says:

“Hi John:

As soon as we posted the video of the June Rec meeting I was asked by a reader to post the July 2011 Rec minutes together with the June 2012 minutes when they became available. I now have both sets and will be posting them and comparing the way the boaters’ request was handled by the Rec Commission in 2011 vs. the way Football has been handled this June.

I’d like to know the reasoning used by the commission members in reaching their apparently contradictory conclusions in those cases. Also, since insurance considerations were at the root of turning down the boaters’ request, is this no longer a consideration, especially in view of the fact that the town specifically excludes coverage for active sports in the town’s insurance policy? Does the football program carry its own insurance for its participants, and how are out-of-town participants handled? Do their towns cover them under their policies if they were to get injured while participating in the football program sponsored by Rec?

I’ll gladly call you if you’d like me to, or you can call me at any time… I will be posting both sets of minutes on Tuesday afternoon so I’d really appreciate some response from you.

Thanks so much for your help,

Maria”

As of today, Friday, June 22, our reporter has not received a response to her email. If and when she receives a response, she will update this article accordingly.

Repercussions In The Community From The Rec Commission’s Uneven Application Of Its Park Rules

The uneven application of the town’s Park Rules by the Rec Commission outlined in the article above has led to some residents who use the town’s parks being disenfranchised, their right to enjoy the park equally with other town residents ignored by the Rec Commission members who have instead chosen to approve special uses of a town’s park to a Rec-sponsored active sports youth group, while denying that same use to adult residents.  This has created a situation where park users can no longer be assured that they will have equal access to the town’s parks, leading to resentment of the special uses allowed to some residents – and in the case of the Football program to their non-resident participants – while that same use is denied to other residents.

Just as importantly, the neighbors of Brodie Park South also see themselves as being disenfranchised, seeing their input about the disruption to their neighborhood from the intensified use of the park by Football ignored by the Rec Commission. These park neighbors have seen their neighborhood stripped of the protections that other park neighborhoods enjoy in town where park use continues to be limited to sunrise to sunset, and the traffic and noise levels are controlled so as not to disrupt the neighborhood. This has led the neighbors to form a group and to hire an attorney to ensure the equitable enforcement of the town’s rules and regulations to protect their enjoyment of their neighborhood and their property values.

Upcoming Second Article: The Uneven Enforcement Of Zoning Regulations

Our second article in this series will explore the uneven enforcement of the town’s Zoning regulations, as illustrated by two similar cases with very dissimilar outcomes from the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission and Zoning Officer.

See Also:

The NewHartfordPlus August 22, 2011, article on the Rec Commission’s denial of the boaters’ request to access their boats after dark at Brodie Park North.

Football practice continued at Brodie Park South as dusk fell in August, 2011. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

Note: Article has been completely updated to take into account the additional data from soccer. [April 18, 10:30 p.m.]

After this article was originally published on Sunday evening, April 15, we received information from coaches of soccer teams regarding their practices held last Fall on town-owned properties (i.e. parks and schools). On Monday evening, the 16th, we received information from Rick Berneike, Soccer Co-President, which included practice schedules for soccer teams that had not been included in the information sent to Rec last fall.

Following is the additional information from Rick and below that information is an updated set of aerial views with the new information added. We are also including an updated summary which takes into account the new information.

As the writer of the article, I apologize for the confusion the article caused by my not having all of the relevant information available. This was not due to any ill-intent on anyone’s part, but I am sorry if I caused anyone grief, Maria.
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Additional Information Submitted For Soccer

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Maria, I’m sorry to have caused some confusion concerning this matter. Perhaps I can shed some light on the actual practice schedule for Rec Soccer during the Fall of 2011.

Per our conversation of last week when you called me to verify the information you had received from Dennis Minor (Rec Director), I was able to pick up a copy of the email I had sent him on Sept. 13, 2011. It seems that I had misinterpreted his question of when and where Rec Soccer’s practices would be held for the entire season as being a question of where and when practices would be held on a specific Friday (9/23). I can certainly see how this information could be construed as meaning that there is plenty of unused and available practice areas during the course of a week.

Here is the official schedule

Monday:

• Bakerville school 5-7 pm

Tuesday:

• Bakerville school 5-7 pm
• Antolini school 5-6 pm
• NH Elem 6-7 pm (2 teams)
• Brodie north 5-7 pm

Wednesday:

• Bakerville school 6-7 pm
• Antolini school 5-7 pm
• Brodie north 6-7 pm

Thursday:

• Bakerville school 5-6 pm
• Antolini school 5-6 pm (2 teams)
• Brodie north 6-7 pm

Friday:

• Antolini school 5-7 pm
• Brodie north 5-7 pm

As you can see, the available spaces are pretty well used all week long.

The major differences in venue use from any given year to the next has more to do with coaches preferences except for the K-1 division. They all practice at Bakerville school because of the small field size and restrictions mandated by the school.

I hope this information is helpful.
I do believe that with patience, understanding, and equal respect for all parties involved, keeping in mind that these parks belong to all the people of New Hartford, we will reach a long term solution to this current dilemma.

Repectfully,
Rick Berneike
Co-President New Hartford Youth Soccer

Updated Visuals Of Properties Available For Sports Practices

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Ann Antolini School Sports Field

Aerial view of Ann Antolini School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

New Hartford Elementary School Sports Field

Aerial view of New Hartford Elementary School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Bakerville School Sports Field

Aerial view of Bakerville School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Brown’s Corner

Aerial view of Brown's Corner from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Brodie Park North

Aerial view of Brodie Park North from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Brodie Park South

Aerial view of Brodie Park South from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Analysis Of Use Of Practice Spaces In Summer/Fall 2011

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When one looks at the updated practice data for the summer and fall of 2011, a very uneven picture emerges. Following is a breakdown of the number of practice hours per week at each field for each location:

• Antolini School sport field: 7 hours per week (1 hr. x 2 since 2 teams were practicing at the same time);
• New Hartford Elementary School sport field: 2 hours per week (1 hr. x 2 since 2 teams were practicing at the same time);
• Bakerville School sport field: 6 hours per week;
• Brown’s Corner sport fields: Hours not calculated since the whole park is used for practices and/or games;
• Brodie Park North: 3 hours per field per week (6 hours divided between the two fields available);
• Brodie Park South:
• August: 25 hours per field per week (10 hours per week x 5 teams (4 football and 1 cheer) divided between 2 fields available);
• September-mid November: 15 hours per field per week (10 hours per week x 5 teams (4 football, 1 cheer) divided between 2 fields available.

Looking at the number of practice spaces available and the use to which they were put during the summer and fall of 2011, there appears to be a very adequate supply of space available to meet the needs of all active sports in town, even before the planned expansion of the Antolini sports field to provide more practice space. Friction that has arisen appears not to be due to the lack of practice space but rather to the manner in which the available space has been allocated by Youth Sports which did not appear to take into consideration the infrastructure available at each town-owned property.



The cabin at Brodie North where Football's equipment is currently being stored

Future Allocation Of Practice Space: Meeting The Needs Of Teams & Other Residents

We believe that by using a rational approach, rather than an emotional one, in allocating practice spaces for the 2012 summer/fall season, the needs of the sports teams can be met while also respecting the needs of other users of the town properties as well as the needs of those residents who live next to or close to the areas in which active sports practices take place.

It appears that the needs of the Football program are unique: We have been told that Football needs to have all their teams and the cheerleaders practice at the same time and at the same location, resulting in the need for parking for 50 or more vehicles. Unfortunately, Brodie South, where Football has practiced for the past 4 years, has parking available for approximately 12 cars. Brodie North, on the other hand, has parking for 100+ cars. We have also been told that Football has a lot of heavy equipment which the teams need to store on-site. While Brodie South does not have any storage available, Brodie North has cabins available for sports use. The cabin in the lower field adjacent to the Berkshire Hall parking lot is currently being used to store Football items (helmets, signs, etc.) while in the back of the cabin are stored the sleds which in the past were let out in the fields at Brodie South.

In 2011 Football’s needs to have all their teams practicing together and storing their equipment on site could have been met had they been assigned the two practice spaces at Brodie North. In the upcoming season, the same is true. The only Football need that neither Brodie North nor Brodie South can accommodate is the Football program’s use of lights powered by a generator in order for them to continue practicing after dark. The use of lights can only be accommodated at the Antolini sport field; however, Football would then have to split their practices so that two teams would practice on 2 days and 2 teams would practice on three days, with the cheerleaders practicing in the area that has been used in the past as an obstacle course adjacent to the sport field. This would require Football to split its practices, just as every other sports program does.

This appears to us to be a rational way to meet the current needs of our active sports programs. It would also take away the perceived urgency to improve the Antolini sports field, allowing us time to study the needs of Antolini School as a whole – and not just its sports field – once the impact of the closure of the Bakerville School becomes known.



The cabin in the lower field at Brodie Park North where the Football program's equipment is now being stored. Photo: Maria Moore

_______________________________________________________
[PLEASE NOTE: We have received new set of practice schedules for Soccer for last Fall from Rick Berneike to replace the one originally submitted to Rec last Fall. We will verify the new set of schedules on Tuesday and will modify the visuals as appropriate. We apologize for the confusion which, despite our best efforts, appears to have occurred. Thanks for your patience; Monday 11:50 p.m.]

[Clarification: This article covers the Summer/Fall 2011 use of town-owned lands for practices by Youth Sports programs. We did not include Spring practices since those didn't overlap with the Summer/Fall practice schedules; Monday, April 16; 10:20 a.m.]

By: Maria Moore

During the past year or so there has been a lot of discussion around the use of town-owned land by active sports, specifically surrounding the use of the field area at Brodie Park South by the Football program. Residents and park abuttors complained to the Rec Commission and to the town’s Selectmen that Football’s use was too intensive for the area, and they were told repeatedly that the use of that area by Football was driven by need – there simply was nowhere else that the Football program could be accommodated on town-owned land. With the new active sports season approaching and the practice area being allocated to Football pointing strongly towards the fields at Brodie Park South for the fifth consecutive year, we decided to look at the town-owned land that is available for use for practice by active sports and the extent to which that land was used by active sports in 2011 – in other words, carry out a supply vs. demand analysis.

We obtained the 2011 practice schedules for soccer and baseball from the Recreation Department, and we confirmed those schedules with Rick Berneike for soccer and Sally O’Neill for baseball. Since the Football & Cheer schedules were not included in the schedules received from Rec, we asked for those schedules specifically and received an email from Steve Roth, President of Football & Cheer, outlining that program’s practice schedule.

2011 Practice Schedules for Active Sports On Town-Owned Lands

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According to the information we obtained, Baseball and most of Soccer practice took place at Brown’s Corner, the town park that is being used as athletics fields by active sports. The following is a listing of other town-owned lands available for active sports practices and the use to which they were put during 2011:

• Ann Antolini School sports field:  Rec Soccer – Fridays, 5-7 p.m.
• New Hartford Elementary School sports field: Unused
• Bakerville School sports field: Unused
• Brodie Park North open fields: Rec Soccer – Fridays, 5-7 p.m.
• Brodie Park South open fields: Football & Cheer – (August) Monday through Friday, 6-8 p.m.; (September-mid-November) Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 6-8 p.m.

Visuals With Dimensions Of Areas Available For Active Sports Practices

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Following are aerial views of each of the town-owned properties with land available for practice by active sports. Each of the available areas has been shaded and the dimensions of the area have been added. Below the aerial views we have provided a link to download the views as a printable PDF.

TOWN SCHOOLS

Ann Antolini School Sports Field



Aerial view of Ann Antolini School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

New Hartford Elementary School Sports Field



Aerial view of New Hartford Elementary School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Bakerville School Sports Field



Aerial view of Bakerville School from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

TOWN PARKS

Brown’s Corner Athletics Fields

No dimensions are provided for Brown’s Corner since the whole park is used by active sports.



Aerial view of Brown's Corner from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Brodie Park North



Aerial view of Brodie Park North from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Brodie Park South



Aerial view of Brodie Park South from 900 m. Source: Google Earth

Click the link to download Aerial Views Of Field Space Available For Active Sports Practice (37).

Practice Spaces Available: A Need Well Met

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From the above review of town-owned land made available to active sports for their practices, it seems that there is an ample supply of space available to meet the needs of all active sports in town, even before the planned expansion of the Antolini sports field to provide more practice space. The problem appears to be not in the amount of space available but rather in the manner in which the available space has been allocated by Youth Sports. Taking the data for 2011, it seems incomprehensible to have allocated two hours of practice per week to Rec Soccer at Brodie Park North while the Football program practiced at Brodie Park South for 6 to 10 hours per week according to the president of Football or for 12 to 15 hours per week according to those living close to Brodie South.



The cabin at Brodie North where Football's equipment is currently being stored

We have been informed that Football needs to have all their teams and the cheerleaders practice at the same time and at the same location, resulting in the need for parking for 50 or more vehicles. Brodie South, where Football has practiced for the past 4 years, has parking available for approximately 12 cars while Brodie North has parking for 100+ cars. We have also been told that Football has a lot of heavy equipment which the teams need to store on-site; while Brodie South does not have any storage available, Brodie North has cabins available for sports use – the cabin in the lower field adjacent to the Berkshire Hall parking lot is currently being used to store Football items (helmets, signs, etc.) while in the back of the cabin are stored the sleds which in the past were let out in the fields at Brodie South.

We hope that as the coming season’s practice schedules are drawn up under the guidance of Rec, sports teams are given priority to areas that best meet their needs. Using the 2011 practice schedules, one could easily assign Rec Soccer to hold their two-hour Friday evening practice at New Hartford Elementary or the Bakerville School, leaving the two field areas and the green in front of Berkshire Hall available to the Football teams and the cheerleaders.

In this way we can meet the current needs of our active sports programs while we take the time to study the needs of Antolini School as a whole – and not just its sports field – once the impact of the closure of the Bakerville School becomes known.



The cabin in the lower field at Brodie Park North where the Football program's equipment is now being stored. Photo: Maria Moore

At last night’s Recreation Commission meeting the full commission discussed the draft Rules and Regulations submitted to them by the three-member Subcommittee that had been appointed to review and revise the town’s park rules; see our March 22 article 3 Rec Commission Members Appointed to Subcommittee….

Sign at Brodie Park South; the 'Sunrise to Sunset' sign has disappeared

After a careful discussion of the draft rules, the Rec Commission members voted unanimously to adopt the park rules submitted by the Subcommittee and as amended by the Commission members during their discussion. Those newly-adopted rules are the ones which now govern the use of all our town parks: Callahan Park, Chapin Park, Brown’s Corner and Brodie Park (both North and South).

The video of the April 4 Rec Commission meeting, including the Public Comments made by the close to 100 members of the public who attended the meeting, will be added to this article as soon as Bob the techie is able to process the video – look for it tomorrow, Friday.

The finalized copy of the new Rules and Regulations now in effect will not be available until the Rec Commission’s next meeting on Wednesday, May 2. NewHartfordPlus spoke with Rec Director Dennis Minor regarding the small changes made to the draft and below we are posting the draft rules with those changes where indicated by the yellow highlighting. Please note that the finalized Rules and Regulations may include slightly different wording from the changes indicated below. If you have any questions regarding the newly-adopted Park Rules and Regulations please contact the Rec Department by calling 860-379-3877 or emailing nhrecreation@town.new-hartford.ct.us.

Yellow highlights indicate where changes to the draft rules were made by the Rec Commission members before adopting the draft as the new rules and regulations

Changes To The Draft Rules

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The following is a list of the changes (highlighted above) made to the draft rules by the Rec Commission members:

#3: Replace “Guest” by “Beach guests”;

# 7: Add “Barbecuing” before “Picnicking”

# 8: Add “Field House, Berkshire Hall” to the list of Athletic facilities;

# 10: Add “Owners must pick up waste.” after the first sentence;

#11: Change first sentence to read: “Parking is allowed in designated areas only.”

#12: A slight change in the wording to be made – unknown at this time;

# 16: Change “Alcohol”  to “Alcoholic beverages”;

# 17: Change “motorcycles” to “unregistered motorcycles”;

With just the few changes indicated above, these are now the newly-adopted Rules and Regulations governing all use of all New Hartford Parks. Download a copy of the Draft Rules and Regulations (without the highlighting in the copy of the rules above): New Hartford Park Rules and Regulations - adopted April 4, 2012 (43)

The Rec Commission members discussing the draft rules which they later adoptedx as their new Park Rules and Regulations. Photo: Maria Moroe

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Rec Commission Meeting – Video And Summary

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At their April 4 meeting, the Rec Commission members discussed the draft rules for the Town’s parks presented to them by their 3-member subcommittee. At the beginning of the meeting Chairman John Maschi welcomed the large crowd assembled in the Senior Center and then he invited those present who wished to give their input on the rules to do so during the 30-minute Public Comments section which was the first item on the agenda. Many members of the public took the opportunity to speak, with a large number of the comments addressing the Football program’s presence at Brodie South last year. Having given everyone the opportunity to comment, the Rec Commission members held their meeting, with the focus being discussion of the draft rules. They made minor adjustments to the language of the rules and then unanimously voted to adopt them as their new Rules and Regulations for Town parks.

Following is a video of the meeting.

Click the image above to view the video of the Rec Commission meeting on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel.

By: Maria Moore

The Friends Of Brodie Park South (FOBPS) have mailed hundreds of letters to town residents, expressing their support for the Recreation Commission as that Commission is in the process of revising the town’s park rules, while at the same time expressing their concern at the undue pressure being exerted by the First Selectman’s Office to rewrite the park rules to permit Football to continue practicing at Brodie Park South as they did last year, under their own self-made rules while ignoring Rec’s park rules and Rec’s request for that group to move to a more appropriate practice space at one of the town’s elementary schools.

The FOBPS letter gives specific examples of how Football’s use of Brodie Park South last year broke many of Rec’s rules, the very rules that have guided all residents’ use of town parks for the past 25 years.  Rec has made exceptions to their rules whenever necessary to accommodate the changing needs of individuals and groups within the context of the community’s need as a whole to access and enjoy the town’s parks. The FOBPS letter invites residents to watch the video of the Rec Commission’s March 7 meeting at which the Rec Commission members discussed the unacceptable use of Brodie Park South by Football and their reaffirmation that their park rules apply to all groups and all the town’s parks. After the First Selectman exerted pressure on Rec to rewrite their park rules, Rec set up a Committee that is now working on reviewing and revising the town’s park rules. In their letter, the FOBPS encourage residents to let their voices be heard by contacting the Rec Commission members, the First Selectman’s Office and by contacting the FOBPS directly.

Below is a copy of the letter that has already been received by many town residents; you may also download a copy of the FOBPS letter: FOBPS letter, March 24, 2012 (46).

The open field area at Brodie Park South photographed in May 2010, when the Brodie Park South Environmental Baseline Report was made public. The report was commissioned by the Brodie Park South Group/Committee to help its members come up with a recommendation of the best use for Brodie Park South. That committee has almost completed its work and their recommendation to the Rec Commission will be made shortly. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

We received the following photo from Steve Roth, President of New Hartford Football & Cheer, showing members of the Wolverines this past Saturday morning, December 2, at Brodie Park South helping to repair the damage to the field area where several trucks had gotten stuck while attempting to retrieve their program’s storage POD in the park.  Steve emailed us his consent for us to use the photo of the players on NHPlus and he added: “I appreciate your crediting NHYFC for its responsible stewardship of the playing fields that we all value so much.”

Members of the Wolverines and their families helping to repair the damage at Brodie Park South. Contributed photo courtesy of Steve Roth

“HUGE Thanks” to the Wolverines and their families for helping to restore this town park to a condition where it may be enjoyed by all. Happy Holiday, everyone! The NHPlus Crew

Photojournal By: Maria Moore

Yesterday (Monday, November 28) was a very bad day at Brodie Park South, as these photos show.

Afternoon Through Evening Activity

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At approximately 3:30 p.m. a concerned resident called the NewHartfordPlus crew to ask us to investigate some unusual activity taking place in the field area of Brodie Park South. The NHPlus crew made several trips to the park throughout the evening and the following photos are of the activity they saw unfold during the afternoon, evening and night.

The activity in the field area of Brodie Park South at approx. 3:30 p.m.

The flatbed truck that sank into the field area on its way to pick up the storage structure (POD) still in the park that was used this past summer and fall by the football program

The two truck drivers try to free the flatbed truck with chains around the tree without success

With dusk falling, the flatbed truck is still firmly stuck

The head of the football program responsible for the storage POD in the park arrives to assess the situation

With the light fading fast, the decision is made to bring in additional help

The head of football drives his car down the field to try to tow the flatbed truck

At 6 p.m. a pickup truck drives onto the field and tries to tow the flatbed truck without success

Night Activity

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The NHPlus crew left the scene at approximately 6:30 p.m. and headed back to Brodie Park South at approximately 7:30 p.m. just in time to see the local constable’s pickup truck and a state police car leaving the parking lot. No other official presence was noted at the scene until First Selectman Dan Jerram arrived at approximately 9:30 p.m. It was unclear how long he remained on site.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., a second vehicle, a tow truck (on the right), had also gotten stuck in the field area of the park as it tried to tow the flatbed truck (on the left) out of the field

The tractor trailer leaves the Brodie Park South parking lot to go down Niles Road a hundred yards or so to position itself to tow the stranded vehicles out of the park

The lights inside the park as seen from across Niles Road, with the tractor trailer approaching (on the left)

The tractor trailer backs up Niles Road as one of the drivers directs traffic around it

At approximately 10:30 p.m. the tractor trailer had managed to pull the tow truck almost to the edge of the park

The NHPlus crew had to leave the scene at approximately 10:30 p.m. with the tractor trailer working on pulling the vehicles out of the park. By 12 midnight a Friend of NewHartfordPlus who happened to be going by the park reported that there was no visible activity at the park.

The large tractor trailer at 4 p.m. in the Brodie Park South parking lot. Seven hours later, this machine was used to pull out of the park the two vehicles that were stuck in the field area

The Morning After

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This morning, Tuesday, November 29, the NewHartfordPlus crew went up to Brodie Park South and took photos and shot a video of the damage to the field area resulting from the activity there yesterday. Following are a few of those photos. The video will be posted as a Commentary by Maria Moore since she narrates the video and – yes – comments on the content.

The logs were removed from one of the access areas to the fields to allow the tow truck and the flatbed truck to be pulled out of the park

The troughs left behind as the two stranded trucks were pulled out of the park

The damaged area looking out towards the upper field at the park

A cell phone 4.75" high gives an idea of the depth of the troughs

The view from the bench where the flatbed truck had been stuck

The storage POD at Brodie Park South, the morning after the flatbed truck, the tow truck, the tractor trailer and other vehicles had left the park

Video Segment 1: Operations Update

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At their Regular Meeting on Tuesday, November 22, First Selectman Dan Jerram gave a series of updates, including a report on operations related to the recent snowstorm and resulting power outage. In this first video segment, the Board also discusses a property transfer at RRDD1.
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Video Segment 2: Opportunity for Public Input

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In the second video segment below, Dan Eddy, Chairman of the Brodie Park South Study Commitee, requests $1,800.00 for studies of three potential sites for future sports fields. First Selectman Dan Jerram also discusses a letter received from the Conservation Commission concerning the Commission’s role in the stewardship of Town property. Later, a resident expresses concern about a lack of support services for Senior Citizens as highlighted by the late October storm.
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