Simsbury reopens Town Forest Park after ARPA-funded dredging

Wendy Maxidis, a Simsbury resident, led a ribbon-cutting at Town Forest Park to mark the reopening of the pond and restored park area following a town-funded dredging and cleanup project.

The project was funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars approved by the town in 2023 and included permitting, testing, dredging and site restoration, town staff said. Tom Roy, a town staff member who described the work, said most of the material removed from the pond tested clean and will be mixed with other soils and reused in municipal construction projects.

The work began with the engineering department completing permitting and environmental testing, staff said. Kevin Clemens of the highway department and his crews worked with local contractor Talke View Development on dredging, erosion controls and recontouring the stream and pond to limit downstream turbidity. Town staff credited Adam and Danny from the engineering team with much of the project planning and field work.

"I'm Wendy Maxidis here at Town Forest Park. It's reopening. It's been dredged. It's been cleaned up," Maxidis said at the ribbon-cutting, recalling childhood memories of swimming at the pond and thanking town staff and Board of Selectmen members present.

The Town Manager (name not specified in the meeting transcript) said projects like the park rehabilitation are important to the community and thanked town staff and the Board of Selectmen for funding and support. Tom Roy called the project "exciting," and explained the technical steps taken: testing dredged material for contaminants, finding reuse or proper disposal options, and implementing plans to avoid sending muddy water downstream.

Talke View Development provided larger equipment and worked alongside town crews on excavation and grading, staff said. The project also included work on the parking area and seeding of grassed areas. Officials said there are plans to improve playground equipment at the site in the future but did not state a timeline or commit a budgeted appropriation at the event.

Board of Selectmen members Diana Yousley, Heather Goetz and Curtis Ooney attended the reopening. No formal votes or new appropriations were taken at the ribbon-cutting event; speakers described completed work and future maintenance or improvement plans rather than making policy decisions.

Town staff emphasized reuse of clean dredged material in town projects as a cost-saving and sustainable outcome. Specific quantities of material removed, total project cost and future budget line items for playground improvements were not specified at the event.