In the face of stiff neighborhood opposition, Seymour selectmen on Tuesday nixed the idea of moving a new skate park to a field near Sochrin’s Pond.
Close to 75 people filled the Norma Drummer Room at Seymour Town Hall for the selectmen’s regular meeting Tuesday, and most were there to implore selectmen not to build the town’s skate park in the field near Sochrin’s Pond.
They got their wish when selectmen later voted unanimously to remove the site from consideration for the long-delayed facility.
For now, the skate park’s location is back at a field next to the Community Center on Pine Street.
But those plans aren’t entirely certain because of the ongoing dilemma over what the town is going to do with the building, one of several old, inefficient buildings selectmen have been debating the fate of for months.
Miller said he received a draft of an indoor air quality assessment of the Community Center requested last month and selectmen would be able to review it later in the week.
Frank Loda, a private citizen, recorded much of the meeting and uploaded it to YouTube. Click the play button below to watch selectmen discuss the matter. Article continues after the video.
Background
At the April 2 Board of Selectmen meeting, the location of the long-delayed facility appeared to be up for grabs.
It was to be located on the field next to the Community Center building at 20 Pine St., but an ongoing debate about what to do with the Community Center resurfaced at that meeting.
First Selectman Kurt Miller questioned whether it would be better to install the skate park at the fields near Sochrin’s Pond, a location that had been suggested as a backup site.
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Residents Speak Out
That suggestion didn’t sit well with neighbors who live in the Sochrin’s Pond area, and Rita Millak organized a petition drive and presented selectmen Tuesday with 100 signatures of people asking selectmen to exclude Sochrin’s Park as a skate park site.
Her husband Joe Millak echoed many of those who spoke out during public participation.
“I’m not against the skate park, just the location,” he said.
He questioned whether building a skate park would mean removing a recently installed irrigation system at the park or the field itself.
Resident Peter Rzasa said people play basketball and baseball at the park, and a skate park would entail paving over the field.
There’s also hiking and many species of birds.
“It’s going to destroy that area,” Rzasa said.
He and others pointed out that the country roads aren’t made for heavy traffic, and they were concerned about youngsters skateboarding to and from the pond from the center of town.
Article continues after video, also recorded by Loda, of the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
Noah Watson was one of several boys who hope to use the park someday and don’t want it at Sochrin’s Pond.
“I don’t like the idea of going to Sochrin’s Pond,” Watson told selectmen.
Holly Gaydos said she had concerns about the noise the skate park would generate and the security issues it would create.
Those who use skate parks often don’t leave after they close, she said, based on her research of news articles.
“How prepared are you to have extra security?” she asked selectmen. “When I heard about this I was really, really distressed.”
Others said a skate park would do away with a family park where people fly kites, play soccer and football and fish.
Some said they feared that graffiti and vandalism would increase if a skate park were built on the field.
After selectmen voted not to locate the skate park at Sochrin’s Pond, many residents said they were happy about the outcome.
“I’m very, very happy,” Rita Millak said. “I feel we made a difference.”