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Residents press Farmington council to drop Don Tinti Family Park from cemetery search; town manager recommends legal opinion
Summary
Residents who live across Don Tinti Family Park urged the council to remove the park from consideration as a town cemetery, citing a 2004 deed that they say limits the land to park and recreational uses; Town Manager Kathy Blonsky said staff will seek a legal opinion and share deed and prior reports with the council.
Dozens of Farmington residents packed the council chamber on May 12 to oppose renewed consideration of Don Tinti Family Park as a site for a municipal cemetery, telling the council the donor's intent and the property deed preclude burial uses.
"This land was given with purpose, and that purpose deserves to be respected," Raya Baghdadi, who lives directly across the park, told the council during public comment. Neighbors recounted an earlier review in 2018 in which the town manager at the time concluded the park was not suitable for cemetery use; they said recent reports of ground testing and borings resumed without sufficient notice and transparency.
Resident Brian Bell said he reviewed the 2004 deed transferring the property to the town and read its language indicating the parcel "shall remain open to the public and be used and maintained by the town as a park," listing permitted improvements such as athletic fields, nature trails and river access. Multiple speakers asked why the town is revisiting the site and who authorized the testing.
Town Manager Kathy Blonsky acknowledged the history and said staff had examined all town‑owned properties and performed borings at other parcels; she said she has firsthand knowledge of conversations with the donor and that the town had not previously pursued a cemetery at the park. "One of the things we haven't done is get a legal opinion on the deed," Blonsky told the council and the public, and she recommended the council authorize such an opinion to clarify whether the town could lawfully use the land as a cemetery.
Council members responded to residents' concerns by saying the mention of the property in the manager's report was intended as transparency and due diligence, not as a decision to proceed. Several members urged obtaining a firm legal opinion and then either formally ruling the park off limits or outlining conditions for further study so neighbors would not face repeated proposals in future councils.
No formal action was taken to designate or remove the park; councilors directed staff to provide the 2018 manager's report and the deed to council members and to obtain a legal opinion that would be reported back. The matter remains unresolved pending legal review.
Public comment and the council's request for a legal opinion close a chapter of public opposition that residents said first surfaced in 2018 and revived concerns about donor intent, neighborhood impacts and municipal transparency.
