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Charlestown council approves editorial corrections to Ninigret Park plan, forwards draft to consultants
Summary
The town council voted unanimously Oct. 29 to add a set of factual and editorial corrections to the draft 2024 Ninigret Park utilization plan and to send the revised draft back to consultant VHB; councilors and staff emphasized the plan does not authorize spending and that voters must approve major expenditures.
Charlestown’s Town Council on Oct. 29 approved a package of editorial and factual corrections to the draft 2024 Ninigret Park utilization plan and instructed consultant VHB to incorporate the changes into a revised final document.
The council’s motion — made by Councilor Sarah and seconded by Councilor Sloane — passed unanimously. The amendments the council approved include name corrections, factual clarifications and map updates recommended by Parks & Recreation staff and the plan consultant.
Presiding Official (unnamed) opened the meeting by stressing that "the council is not, and I repeat not, spending $39,500,000 in Ninigret Park," and reminding residents that any construction or large expenditures would require voter approval under the town’s Home Rule Charter.
Among the edits the council approved were: standardizing the consultant’s name for Frosty Drew as the Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center; replacing several instances of "gravel pit" with "old Navy building foundation" where historically accurate; updating a sentence to note "there are three composting toilets at the athletic fields"; correcting the playground name to the George Bliven Kids Place Playground; designating the dog park’s official name as the Robert J. Shidler Dog Park (while retaining the commonly used name in the document); changing references to "raised cylinders of mesh" to "disc golf baskets"; and replacing a brief, non-comprehensive list of wells with a wells map prepared by Steve McCandless and Matt Dowling.
The council also approved a separate motion from Councilor Stokes to remove three sentences on packet page 25 that described construction of a Frosty Drew Sky Theater as "not yet commenced." That motion was approved unanimously.
In addition, councilors approved a revision to the plan’s cost section: the packet’s "BHB based probable cost estimate" will be retitled "Preliminary comprehensive planning cost analysis" and will carry a new disclaimer that the figures are informational estimates and that any expenditures would be subject to voter approval. Presiding Official read portions of the plan’s phasing and cost estimates aloud to underline that the document is a menu of possible projects, not an authorization to spend.
Finally the council voted to forward all previously approved amendments (from the June 5 meeting and the Oct. 29 meeting) to VHB for incorporation into a final draft; the revised document will return to the council for review when the consultant completes the edits.
What happens next: the council will receive the revised draft from VHB; any specific project that requires funding would need to be included in a future budget or as a warrant item and would be presented to voters as required by the town charter.
