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Residents push regional park plan for Marginal Drive, announce monthly cleanups and a school garden grant
Summary
A West Haven resident and watershed volunteer asked the council to pursue a regional park designation for the Marginal Drive/West River Memorial Park area and described a National Park Service technical grant, monthly volunteer cleanups and a $498 Wild Ones grant to establish a native plant garden at Savin Rock Community School.
Kathy Hebert, a West Haven resident and member of the West River Watershed Coalition, told the City Council on Feb. 24 that local volunteers and partner organizations are pursuing a trail and regional park plan for the Marginal Drive area that spans West Haven and New Haven.
Hebert said the West River Watershed won a National Park Service technical grant last year to help plan a trail and position the area for larger grants. She told the council the patchwork of ownership and limited municipal budgets in both towns has hampered coordinated work and asked both mayors to request assistance from SCRCOG (the South Central Regional Council of Governments) to launch a regional process.
“This can’t just start with me,” Hebert said. “It has to come from the town, the CEO of each town,” she told council members, asking West Haven officials to coordinate with New Haven and SCRCOG so the technical grant can be leveraged for construction funds.
Hebert also announced monthly volunteer workdays on Marginal Drive, scheduled for the first Saturdays in March, April and May (March 1; April 5; May 3), 10 a.m. to noon, and invited council members and residents to participate. She highlighted a small trail built by a West Haven resident, an Eagle Scout project, and urged ongoing municipal support to connect paths from the university to southern neighborhoods.
Separately, Hebert said the Sandy Point Neighborhood Association has worked with Savin Rock Community School to convert a small, formerly neglected lot adjacent to the school into a native plant garden involving students. With help from Robin Parsons, Hebert said she secured a $498 grant from Wild Ones to pay for plants and materials.
Action: Hebert made no formal request for a vote but asked city leadership to engage SCRCOG and the New Haven mayor’s office and to support volunteer cleanups and the school garden effort. Council members were given copies of materials Hebert said she previously shared with the mayor’s office and city staff.
Hebert’s remarks were introductory in nature; any city support or formal intermunicipal request would require future staff follow‑up or formal council action.
