Two Raymark Ballfield Options: Maximum Tax Revenue vs. Maximum Recreational Uses

Consultants looking at the potential uses of the former Raymark ballfield property have established the following:

• Stratford’s public works department has physical and operational needs currently not being met at its facility on Patterson Avenue.
• The public works site at East Main Street and Patterson Avenue has the highest potential "market value" from a commercial, retail and municipal tax revenue standpoint.
• From a transportational access point of view, it is also evident that a road through the ballfield and former contract plating property could link East Main Street and Longbrook Avenue, thus sparing the Patterson Avenue residential neighborhood from the brunt of truck traffic to and from the existing public works facility.
• Patterson Avenue and adjoining residential neighbors must be sufficiently buffered from any development of the Raymark ballfield and adjacent properties.

Elaine Richardson of the consulting firm Vita Nuova, which was hired with federal EPA funds to study the ballfield site, said, “We started out looking at the ballfield property” exclusively.

However, given the findings above, “the scope has grown to look at the entire area,” and not just the contaminated former Raymark ballfield.

Richardson's remarks were made in a conversation held at Birdseye municipal complex on April 7, which was aimed at members of Save Stratford.  It was held one day after consultants met with town officials, Patterson Avenue area residents and East Main Street business owners on April 6.

Summary of Parcel 1. The “Raymark Ballfield Reuse” study labels the former ballfield site as Parcel 1, and lists among “Opportunities and Constraints” the parcel’s limited visibility from major routes, thus making it undesirable for retail reuse.

In addition, its “highway proximity” makes it “compatible with general commercial uses,” although the “railroad underpass on East Main restricts truck access.” Remedying that restriction would be the above-mentioned connection from East Main Street to Longbrook Avenue.

As far as Parcel 1’s size and characteristics, there are “isolated areas of moderate to steep topography,” which complicates “construction in some areas,” she said. The parcel is zoned for light industrial and RS-4 one family residential.

On page 10, the study identifies Parcel 2 as the former contract plating site and the current public works site has been dubbed Parcel 3.

Given all of the above, the conceptual study as presented by Vita Nuova has put forth two options: Program A and Program B.

PROGRAM A (see page 11 in attached PDF file). Program A reflects maximum “Municipal/Recreational Uses,” said Michael Taylor, president of Vita Nuova. He explained that Program A would relocate public works to Parcel 1 (ballfield), with perimeter areas of Parcel 1 dedicated to park and open spaces that could buffer Patterson Avenue.

Taylor said Program A does reflect in general terms what public works needs – lots of places to park trucks, move sand, etc. and a through road from East Main to Longbrook. “We didn’t get very far on Parcel 2,” the former he said, but it could be essentially land-banked for additional municipal use.

Parcel 3 along East Main Street in this scenario could be developed for commercial indoor recreational or for a non-profit indoor recreational uses. The YMCA was mentioned as a potential entity to relocate from its current site on Main Street, whose site could then be repurposed for general business/commercial re-use and additional tax revenue potential.

However, Taylor said “Y” officials he spoke to did not indicate much interest in relocating.  

Regarding the continuous roadway from East Main to Longbrook, he said that the quick right off Barnum Avenue onto Longbrook would require a ramp just past the railroad overpass “to get out of the way of bridge traffic” there. “We would need a traffic study,” he added.

Regarding the residential buffer on Parcel 1, the ballfield, Taylor noted, “a green screen could be a dog walking park.” Several residents told consultants the previous evening that they were used to open space, with one resident favoring leaving the entire ballfield area as-is, Taylor said.

PROGRAM B (see page 13). Program B would provide for more commercial development of the adjacent Parcel 2 and 3 areas, providing “more potential for taxes” that could help relieve the high property tax burden currently shouldered in Stratford.

Program B, like Program A, would also close Frog Pond Lane and include an east-west connector road from Longbrook to East Main, as well as relocating public works to the ballfield (Parcel 1). Also, one-third of the land of Parcel 2 could be land-banked for future town use, with two-thirds dedicated to light industrial or warehouse uses.

Parcel 3 in Program B would become general commercial/restaurant use, and/or a mix of commercial and professional offices, all municipal tax revenue generators.

“So these are the two concepts,” Taylor said. Of course, “all of this is conceptual,” and there are many steps in the process between concept and implementation, he noted.

But the town’s leadership and its residents have to make the decision. He noted that “tonight we finished up our task” and Vita Nuova will present its final report to the town soon.

Of course, a major player remains: the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Taylor said. The town will need to continue to engage with EPA on the Raymark superfund cleanup, and more studies and statistical input on traffic, storm water runoff, site planning and cost analysis will be needed before any plan can be implemented.

However, the process has begun, and Taylor and Richardson stressed that the potential for the ballfield and surrounding parcels and neighborhoods adjacent to the currently contaminated ballfield remains “promising.”

Next: Mayor John Harkins weighs in.