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Local flower farmers propose leasing Nolan Field; board urged to adopt formal RFP for town parcels
Summary
Local growers asked the board to lease a less‑used 0.88‑acre parcel at Nolan Field for a commercial flower operation and U‑pick activities; board members generally favored a transparent RFP process while raising parking, wetlands and parks usage questions.
Joe and Michelle Angel, local growers, asked the board to consider leasing a roughly 0.88‑acre parcel at Nolan Field for an expanded flower farm that would supply farmers markets, weddings and a U‑pick operation.
"We grow... we're at the red house in the corner to Highland Avenue," Joe Angel said, describing their business expansion needs and summer market activity. Michelle Angel told the board the farm uses regenerative practices: "We don't till our property. We don't use any chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides," she said, adding that the proposed operation would not use synthetic inputs and that soil testing is performed regularly.
The presenters described infrastructure needs (primarily irrigation), insurance (a farm package rather than a rider on homeowners coverage) and business responsibilities (a registered business that collects sales tax). They asked the town to adopt a transparent RFP process—similar to Middletown’s—so unused municipal parcels could be bid for agricultural use, with clear eligibility, insurance and lease terms and a possible initial multi‑year lease (the Angels suggested three years) to allow investment payback.
Board members and residents supported the idea of repurposing unused town land but urged a series of cross‑departmental checks before any lease: Parks & Recreation, Conservation/Inland Wetlands, Parking and the housing authority should be consulted because Nolan Field is adjacent to wetlands and used for recreational activity and parking for other programs. Concerns included potential weekend conflicts with events on the baseball field, precedence for leasing parkland to private businesses and the need to ensure any lease language clearly limits agricultural uses and protects town ownership.
What’s next: the board directed staff to develop a broader RFP framework for leasing unused town parcels for agricultural uses, coordinate with Parks & Rec and other relevant commissions and return with draft RFP language and site‑specific assessments on irrigation capacity and wetlands constraints.
