Seeking input: Public forum reviews master plan for Mill Woods Park

Photos by Mark Jahne

by Mark Jahne

Editor

Mill Woods is the largest and most heavily used park in town. It hosts a wide variety of activities including a public swimming pond, hiking trails, bocce court, skate park, tennis courts, picnic pavilion, playscape and dog park.

It also has fields for Little League baseball, softball, football, soccer and more. The Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center is located on park land. A master plan is under development by the town Parks and Recreation Department to expand and improve Mill Woods and its offerings.

A public informational meeting was held the evening of April 23 at the Pitkin Community Center to present the plan and seek public feedback. Approximately 50 residents attended and shared a variety of thoughts and opinions regarding the park.

A fishing dock would be installed at the “upper pond,” which is located alongside the swimming pond.

The meeting was coordinated by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and its members were in attendance. Parks and Recreation Director Rachel Mattioli walked people through maps of the park as it exists today and the different pieces of the master plan that would create various changes to its programming and physical presence.

“It’s a plan that balances active recreation with passive recreation,” Chairperson Michael Bisi said.

“Many of you in this room are neighbors of the park and care deeply about it,” Mattioli added. “It’s a park that serves many different needs in our community.”

The goal is to meet the diverse needs of residents who utilize the park and provide healthy and active recreation for people of all ages. She repeated several times during the evening that what people were reviewing was not a final plan, but a framework that remains subject to change.

Mattioli said some of the current facilities are substandard and unable to meet today’s needs.

“The current level of use is more than the fields can sufficiently handle,” she said.

Mill Woods Park was created from 6.25 acres of land donated by Frederick Griswold in 1339. Six years later it expanded to include a swimming pond and other amenities. The park now covers 97 acres of land bordered by Prospect Street, Griswold Road, Bell Pond Road, Maple Street and Meadowgate.

The entrance to the park would be redesigned as a boulevard.

The town used federal American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2024 to make some improvements. Grant money also came from the state Department of Economic Development. These improvements included resurfacing the tennis and basketball courts, installing lights for bocce and work on the Little League field.

A public meeting was held in September of that year with the consulting firm KBA about the master plan and Mattioli said “concerns were raised” over some aspects of the plan.

Proposed changes include downsizing the current soccer field to create two smaller soccer fields. More parking would be established behind the nearby ambulance building.

The road leading into the park from Prospect Street would become a boulevard with speed bumps and sidewalks as safety features. Lights would be installed on Grant Stanton Field on the east side of the road. A pollinator garden would be planted behind that field.

Pickleball courts would be created behind the swimming pond. The tennis courts and skate park would remain unchanged. Bicycle racks would be added.

More than 200 additional parking spaces are part of the master plan.

Fields 4 and 5 on the west side of the park would become multi-use fields for multiple sports. A concession stand and bathrooms are part of that proposal. At present, the plan would result in a total of 13 athletic fields.

More trails and benches are proposed as well as a fishing dock at the upper pond, which is a natural pond not used other than by the resident ducks and Canada geese.

Mattioli said the plan expands active recreation opportunities, enhances passive space and improves the park’s infrastructure. Additional parking is proposed for the west side of the park and a tree line would be installed as a buffer for people who live on Griswold Road.

She said that, once the master plan is adopted, any work would be funded by tax funds dedicated for capital improvements by the Town Council. Parks and Recreation will continue to seek grant funding to reduce that tax burden. It raised the rental fees for groups that reserve park fields and facilities.

“Tonight is about the vision. The Mill Woods master plan is a long-range community document,” Mattioli said.

It is not a final plan, so there are no costs or construction schedules yet. Some residents expressed dislike for part of the plan that would install one or more artificial turf fields at the park.

“Turf is out of the picture for Mill Woods Park,” she said.

Those in attendance expressed support for some parts of the plan but also opposition to other aspects. Griswold Road residents are concerned about more than 200 parking spaces being installed closer to their homes than the present parking lot.

Nature advocates spoke against the fishing dock and stated concern about all the broken fishing line that entangles birds, turtles and other wildlife. Others wondered why school fields can’t be used to handle the demand for certain sports and said the proposed master plan is simply too much for Mill Woods to handle.

Members of the advisory board were encouraged to seek other locations around town to reduce the demand on Mill Woods. Some residents used the words “sports complex” and added that the park was never intended for that purpose.

That said, many thanked the advisory board for holding this meeting, being open and transparent about the plans, and offering the public an opportunity to provide feedback. WL

The updated Mill Woods Park master plan can be viewed on the town’s website wethersfield.gov/recreation.