Children enjoying a municipal splash pad in Lexington, N.C.
ANSONIA — Mayor David Cassetti is hoping people don’t think he’s wet behind the ears when it comes to the possibility of bringing a splash pad to the city.
Cassetti, during the Sept. 14 Board of Aldermen meeting, hinted that Ansonia could soon be home to a fun water feature, maybe even at Nolan Field on Wakelee Avenue, where other improvements to the basketball court and playscape are in the works.
Then, in a humorous video posted on the city’s Facebook page earlier that day, Cassetti, along with Fifth Ward Republican Aldermen Joe Jaumann and Chicago Rivers, are seen sporting swim trunks under their suits and ties, coyly hinting at the possibility of a splash pad at Nolan Field.
Cassetti said while in its “infancy stages,” a splash pad could become part of the city landscape once he and his team finish gathering information from three different engineering firms to discuss the best location and costs to make a splash pad a reality.
“We’re bringing in several engineers to look at numerous sites,” Cassetti said. “We’re considering Nolan Field, Linnett Park and Colony Park as potential sites for a splash pad. We want the engineers to see where the best feasible place is. We have to consider a drainage system, plumbing, water line, jets, installing a concrete slab and other things.”
Cassetti anticipates a splash pad could cost about $100,000 to $125,000. Click here for a Valley Indy story from August on the issue.
The money to pay for it, Cassetti said, would come from the $2.7 million Ansonia received from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act, which allows municipalities to use for recreation improvements.
“I already asked Kurt Miller (the city’s chief financial officer) to give me about $300,000 from the ARP funds, which are also going to be used for improvements to Nolan Field’s basketball court and playscape,” Cassetti said.
Info Or Campaign Ad?
But the playful Facebook video featuring Fifth Ward Aldermen Jaumann and Rivers begs the question — did the Cassetti administration use the city’s official Facebook page as an improper campaign commercial for the two Aldermen?
The video is below:
Jaumann and Rivers are ‘Team Cassetti’ Republicans running for re-election. Team Cassetti has been dominating local elections in Ansonia, to the point the Democrats didn’t even put up a candidate for mayor this year.
But, the Cassetti administration’s support of a rock-crushing facility on Riverside Drive has angered some neighbors in the Fifth Ward, and the neighbors also complained that the Board of Aldermen did not do enough to address their concerns.
Rivers, at a public meeting on the rock crushing controversy, said he met with neighbors and told them where he stands. Jaumann, at the same meeting, said he wanted to give neighbors a chance to have their voices heard at the meeting. Neither returned messages last month from The Valley indy.
Brian Perkins, a former Marine who once supported Cassetti but now bitterly opposes the administration, said the video was unethical.
“I find it quite sad that they must use an official city page to campaign, but I know our ethics will outshine theirs,” Perkins said.
Perkins is a Democrat running for the Fifth Ward. He said some Aldermen on Team Cassetti opposed even researching whether splash pads could be installed in Ansonia. However, a Valley Indy Facebook post on the subject in August drew hundreds of positive comments, which caused Cassetti to change his tune.
“The residents clearly wanted a splash pad, and it is clear that my opposition is only caving to recover votes,” Perkins said.The mayor said he was exploring splash pad options long before August.
“Due to the timing of this video it can certainly be seen as a campaign video to support the Republican candidates in the Fifth Ward,” said Gary Farrar Jr., a First Ward candidate for Aldermen and the chairman of the city’s Democratic committee.
“However, any video or statement during an election season can be seen in this light and the true reasons behind it may not be fully known. The citizens of Ansonia should not just look at a video for something like a new playscape or the possibility of a splash pad to determine the way they should vote, but instead look at the issues affecting our city and in what way our elected officials use their position to solve them,” Farrar said in a prepared statement.
Cassetti said the video wasn’t a campaign ad for the Aldermen.
“It’s absolutely not unethical, this is the area these two Aldermen represent, so I brought them on to discuss what’s happening in that part of town,” Cassetti said. “When the Democrats do something like (talking about certain projects during campaign season) then it’s okay, but when we do it, it’s wrong.”
Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley said the splash pad and improvements slated for Nolan Field aren’t politically motivated, as Cassetti has been working on them for years.
“Do you want us to work only every other year, stop our projects, stop our road paving and only do them on even years (not during election years),” O’Malley said. “We are working on these projects every day, the Mayor works every single day for the taxpayers of Ansonia.”
Cassetti said a splash pad likely won’t happen for a year or more, but he has Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini looking into it.
