FARMINGTON/HARTFORD/NEW BRITAIN, CT — A well-known park straddling two towns (Farmington and New Britain) and owned by the City of Hartford is the subject of a special, virtual/in-person public forum on Monday, Dec. 4.
The forum is being hosted by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and it will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Farmington Town Hall's council chambers, 1 Monteith Drive, Farmington.
Virtually, the program will also be available via the Zoom digital platform.
It will discuss a recent DEEP study on the condition and future of Batterson Park, which is owned by the City of Hartford, but its area covers land in New Britain and Farmington. Its official address is 76 Batterson Park Road, Farmington.
Batterson was shuttered in 2015 when the city faced financial constraints, harming its ability to staff, maintain and operate the park.
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Hartford's difficulty in maintaining what is, essentially, a city park (even though it's not within city boundaries) has state and city officials floating the idea of creating Batterson State Park, putting the recreational site under the purview of the State of Connecticut.
Leading that charge is Connecticut Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford.
Currently, the conditions of the park are so poor, that public access is limited to just a boat launch area to get to the lake on the site.
As part of the process to, eventually, turn it into a state park, DEEP recently concluded a 90-page study analyzing the conditions and situation about Batterson.
That is the subject of Monday's public forum, where the public can offer DEEP input on what they want to see there at the site.
According to a draft of the DEEP report, there are some challenges that must be addressed:
• The water qualty of Batterson Park Pond is poor and features high levels of E.coli bacteria, cyanobacteria and high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen.
Thi, DEEP said, is a byproduct of the park's developed environment in its environs.
• Properties surrounding the old park site "have suffered benign neglect for many years," according to DEEP.
The site is currently overgrown, run-down and abandoned.
• In order to make a Batterson State Park viable, more staff and resources are needed as a means to ensure public safety there.
Those items, DEEP said, "require additional personnel and resources above what is available at this time."
Based on the draft report and input from folks in the area, there is some hope for a ressurection, according to DEEP.
"Batterson Park has potential to be a recreational resource for the public located in a divers, densely populated neighborhood setting, but it will require substantial investment of additional resources and solutions," wrote DEEP.
For more information on the Batterson Park forum in Farmington, including links to the report, click on this link.