The public got its first long look Thursday at the new Paul Pawlak, Sr. Park, and the long-anticipated fish bypass channel around the Tingue Dam in the Naugatuck River.
And you know what?
It’s glorious.
A ton of state, federal and local officials took a victory lap during a ceremony to mark the $6.3 million project’s (almost) completion Thursday.
It will be open to the public at some point in November or December when construction is expected to be finished.
But it’s hard to argue against the very public pat on the back, because the transformation of that site along the banks of the Naugatuck along Wakely Street under the Route 8 overpass is simply stunning.
The two rivers in the lower Valley — the Housatonic and the Naugatuck — have two very popular scenic recreational paths in Derby and Ansonia, and there is an ever-expanding river walk/recreational trail along with a hugely popular public gathering spot on Canal Street in Shelton.
But it’s hard not to declare Pawlak Park and the fish bypass the jewel of the river in the lower Valley.
Please click the video to listen to remarks from many officials, including First Selectman Kurt Miller.
It’s a little spot that opens the Naugatuck River to the community — something that has long been missing in quaint downtown Seymour.
There is a stately paved path — maybe 250 feet — people can walk along to check out the Naugatuck River from just a few feet away. It gives a new vantage point to the Tingue Mill waterfall and the old industrial water tunnels.
You’re thinking that calling a paved path “stately” is hyperbole, right?
You have to see it. The landscape, with its stones and rocks and pavers and decorative lighting up top, and a steep set of stairs, manages to give you a sense of the old days, when the Tingue family mill used the river and dam to generate electricity.
And, atop the Wakely Street side, there is a memorial for Paul Pawlak, Sr., the former state lawmaker and First Selectman who passed away in February at age 96.
Pawlak was a “practical” environmentalist back in the days when God knows what was dumped into the Naugatuck River.
Pawlak was a key figure in the creation of the state’s Clean Waters Act, one of a series of environmental reforms that have helped give the Naugatuck River a rebirth as a place to enjoy and, in the words of state officials, “recreate.”
Story continues after the photo gallery.
The Pawlak family was heavily represented Thursday. Paul’s wife, Mildred, was in attendance. She was lovingly and carefully escorted to a podium Thursday by one of her four sons.
And the tributes to Pawlak, and what he meant to Seymour, were voluminous.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal sang his praises, as did U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and state appellate court Judge Joseph P. Flynn, a son of Derby.
Karen Stanek, a member of the Seymour Board of Selectmen, brought the idea to name the park after Pawlak to local officials.
And then there is the fish bypass itself. It is, essentially — in very, very layman terms — a giant pile of rocks that give fish from the Long Island Sound a way to migrate up river.
It was 15 years in the making — which is probably why Thursday’s opening lasted about two hours.
First Selectman Miller, for example, had a “thank you/acknowledgement” list that was about six minutes long.
No one wanted to hog credit, because so many people, elected officials and agencies were involved over the years. State and federal grants funded the project.
The bypass will give a ton of wildlife a detour around the Tingue Dam. The channel itself, state officials said, has the potential to become an outdoor classroom for kids.
Here’s more on the bypass from the state’s most dedicated fisheries biologist:
This is from state environmental officials:
“The Tingue Dam fishway will allow important fish species, including American shad, blueback herring, alewife and American eel to access and spawn in about 30 miles of reconnected habitat from Long Island Sound to Thomaston.
The fishway represents the latest step in the effort to get fish around dams in Connecticut. The Tingue Dam Fishway is the 65th fishway in Connecticut. Maine and Massachusetts are the only East Coast states that have more fishways than Connecticut.”
And, a brief overview of the history, also provided in a news release from the state:
- The last mill at this site was the Tingue Mill, for which the dam is named. The mill operated from the late 1800’s until 1955 when the historic flood destroyed the machinery and the mill went out of business. The building was demolished in 1959 to make room for Route 8.
- Tingue Mill was known for producing plush woolen covers that were commonly found on the seats of Pullman train cars throughout the nation.
Finally, you can’t swim, wade, nor fish in the bypass itself. DEEP and/or the town are putting up signs that will clearly delineate where you can fish.
