Roberts property project on hold... or dead?

Plans for a $7 million recreation complex on the former Roberts property are, more or less, dead.

“There’s no money for it,” said Mayor Art Ward. “Right now, unfortunately, it’s not feasible.”

The city’s long-term projects list includes only a $700,000 allocation for the project – sometime after 2014.

Ward said that it was purchased as open space and that’s what it will stay for the time being, useful for passive recreation and dog walking.

Though the 47-acre site on Chippens Hill has been eyed for softball fields, it doesn’t appear that anything will happen there for years given the need to create a long driveway, parking and much more. The infrastructure simply doesn’t exist on the parcel to create much of anything yet.

City Councilor Kevin McCauley told the Roberts Property Committee this winter that he would still like to see it reestablish itself “and get something done” on the site off James P. Casey Road, but the lack of money makes it unlikely that officials will push for the recreation complex.

Ward said he thought the land might make a good spot for one of the two new schools sought by the Board of Education, but others disagreed so the city is in the process of buying farmland off Matthews Street instead. Chippens Hill Middle School is across the street from the former Roberts property.

The plan sought by the committee called for a leveling the property, building an access road, adding 300 parking spaces, putting in a baseball and a softball field, making a paved walking trail along the site’s perimeter and perhaps having a large multi-use field, a concession stand, a dog park, playground and more.

Sports leagues in town, ranging from the Bristol Soccer Club to McCabe-Waters Little League, pleaded for the city to move ahead with the project, citing a drastic shortage of playing fields in town.

City councilors have voted to use the site for active recreation, though Ward and his predecessor, William Stortz, opposed the sports complex.

Ward said that any plan is likely to prove costly. That won’t fly given the economic woes afflicting the entire nation, the mayor said.

The project isn’t going to happen “for the foreseeable future,” Ward said.

The city bought the property eight years ago for $1.23 million with the intention of using it for recreation. One official, former city Councilor Tom Ragaini, said at the time the site was “the perfect spot” for a sports complex.

A controversial $11 million plan for the land was gunned down several years when Board of Finance members complained that it was too costly.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New sports on the agenda

Pressure is growing for city parks to provide a wider array of recreational opportunities for an increasingly diverse community, including ESPN’s growing number of employees.
Though people are still pushing for more ball fields in town, there’s an ever-increasing volley of requests to provide for new and different sports – from a skatepark to disc golf.
Park commissioners have already backed a $400,000 skatepark for Rockwell Park – a plan that’s been in the works for years – but they’re pondering what to do about current requests for a bocce court and a “cricket pitch.”
ESPN’s international focus is providing some of the impetus for change.
“There are many people coming from different parts of the globe with different sports interests,” said ESPN Vice President Mike Soltys.
For many of those ESPN workers, the hometown sports are cricket and football – or soccer, as it’s called here.
Their interests dovetail with ESPN placing a priority on its international reach.
Soltys said ESPN recently purchased cricinfo.com, a website based in India that is devoted to all things cricket, from the latest news and scores from real games to fantasy cricket.
Soltys said there are currently 15 ESPN employees who play cricket on a baseball field at Casey Field.
“We do have people playing in some kind of cricket league locally,” said Soltys.
They’ve spoken with the Bristol parks department, Soltys said, in hopes of getting a “cricket pitch,” or field specifically designed for playing cricket, in the city.
“They’d like something permanent,” said city Park Director Ed Swicklas.
Their hope, Soltys said, is for the Bristol cricket players to be able to compete in a statewide cricket league.
The cricket players, Soltys said, all work in ESPN’s computer area, not the international departments.
“Our employee base has become more global,” said Soltys.
Every August, Soltys said, ESPN holds a multi-cultural fair for employees.
“The cricket group had a booth,” said Soltys, and “received considerable interest.”
Swicklas said that cricket players need a big area on which to play. They need a pitch about 140 yards square, he said, which is going to be hard to find space for.
The Park Board is also considering whether to put a bocce court on the west side of downtown’s Brackett Park.
“There is an area there we could probably do,” Park Director Ed Swicklas said.
Swicklas said the bocce court would require a 60-foot long course made of crushed stone or stone dust.
Pat Nelligan, a parks commissioner, said the city had a bocce court years ago, but it fell into disuse.
He said he would want to see whether there’s a genuinely renewed interest before approving the court.
Disc golf fans have also been pushing to have a course at a city park or perhaps at the former Roberts property on Chippens Hill.
A skatepark is slated for construction at Rockwell Park in the spring, after six years in the pipeline.
Officials said they’re willing to consider requests for new recreational fields and features that may attract a new generation to the parks.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Hands off the Roberts property

Another press release today, this one from Republican mayoral hopeful Ken Johnson:

Ken Johnson, the Republican nominee for Mayor of Bristol today called on the City of Bristol to consider leaving the Roberts property as passive recreation space for years to come. Johnson, seeking to replace Bill Stortz as Mayor of Bristol, said, “Leave it alone.”

The Republican nominee stated today that he would prefer that the Roberts property remain as open space, but he did acknowledge that in future years the city may have good cause to use this property for other purposes. In addition, Johnson said he would favor a sports complex “when the city can afford it” and “somewhere other than a residential neighborhood.”

Johnson called the proposal for a $30M+ sports complex in Bristol on the Roberts property “an expensive pipedream.” “These are good thoughts and I applaud the discussion however, it is not practical in today’s financial environment.” Johnson added, “Bonding for this ultimately puts Bristol further in debt and would have our children and grandchildren paying the bill.”

“Right now residents of Bristol are telling me they are looking for tax relief from their local leaders,’ Johnson continued, “constructing a multi-million dollar sports complex is not going to provide the relief that the citizens of Bristol need.”

Johnson stated, “My opponents are long-time politicians and members of the City Council. I am disheartened at the lack of commitment to prioritizing our spending -- and that means focusing on what we need, not what we want. The safety and security of our citizens is a need; the education of our children is a need; the construction of a sports complex? Come on!”

Johnson is pushing for several government reforms in his campaign for Mayor with one of them being a referendum on large bonding or capital projects. “This project is one that would require a citywide referendum if my proposal is implemented,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that it should ultimately be the citizens of Bristol who decide what to do with the Roberts property, but with the aging condition of our schools and the need for an influx of cash to address this important need, I believe it is in Bristol’s best interest to leave the Roberts property as it is.

“Bristol could always use more open space,” Johnson said.


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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com