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Residents urge action on West River trail signs, USDA buyout lots and rat control
Summary
Public commenters described trail signage installed by the West River Watershed Coalition, volunteer cleanup plans and ongoing problems on USDA-managed buyout lots at Sandy Point, including overgrowth and rodent infestations. The mayor and staff said USDA approval and legal waivers are required before the city or volunteers can perform work on those federal parcels.
Several West Haven residents used public session on June 8 to press the city for clearer plans and help for neighborhood restoration work.
Kathy Eert, a member of the West River Watershed Coalition and president of the Sandy Point Neighborhood Association, described a posted multi-town trail route from Marginal Drive through Front Avenue to Sandy Point and an associated QR-code brochure to guide walkers and cyclists. "We've had nine signs put up," Eert said, and invited volunteers to participate in public walks and cleanups.
Eert also outlined longstanding questions about federally owned buyout lots purchased after Hurricanes Sandy and Irene. She said a USDA plan (including a native-landscape plan) has been delayed; the city has been offered an arrangement in which the city would implement plantings and request reimbursement from the USDA once a plan is finalized. Eert asked the city to keep the Sandy Point neighborhood involved in planning and maintenance.
Resident Carol Soder, speaking from an affected neighborhood, raised public-health concerns about "roof rats" on buyout lots and said volunteers and some city staff had stepped in to reduce erosion and care for native plantings. "I'm asking you to be aware and look up the old plan," Soder said, and requested direction on how residents can help or be reimbursed for plantings that were damaged.
Mayor Durinda Borer replied that the USDA manages the buyout lots and that the city cannot act on federal land without written permissions and legal waivers. The mayor said the city was pursuing signs to identify federal lots to discourage encroachment, that volunteers should not perform work until USDA permission and waivers are in place, and that Public Works would follow up on rodent complaints.
What happens next: the mayor said the grants writer and city staff are in contact with USDA; the city will seek to finalize an implementation plan and possible reimbursement mechanism once the federal plan is received.
