Simsbury selectmen table 20‑year MOU with soccer club after public concerns about Curtis Park use and environmental risks

The Board of Selectmen heard more than a dozen public speakers July 14 before voting to table a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would grant the Simsbury Soccer Club long‑term, priority use of Curtis Park.

Supporters said the agreement would let the club raise and invest significant private funds to upgrade fields, walkways and parking; opponents warned the proposal would cede public land to a private nonprofit and risk environmental harm in a floodplain. The board said it would postpone final action while town attorneys, the insurance officer and public safety officials complete reviews.

The proposal before the board would give the soccer club a long‑term priority or “exclusive” use for a portion of Curtis Park so the club could raise and spend money on capital improvements. “We’ve put half a million dollars piecemeal into those fields,” Ben Berger, president of the Simsbury Soccer Club, told the board. “This is step one” toward a larger…