Norwalk: Squabbles Over Vets Park
More squabbles over whether Vets park needs an Amphitheater or not. The Advocate is highlighting the war of words between Democrat Fred Bondi, District C and Democratic candidate Laurel Lindstrom who is running for a District C seat. Other District C reps Joanne Romano and Nick Kydes are not quoted in the Advocate article, so we are left to speculate on their thoughts on Vets park. You can be sure that District C will be the hot bed of campaigning this fall. Back to the story:
As proponents of the Veterans Memorial Park amphitheater look to keep the project rolling at tomorrow’s Common Council meeting, an opponent of the plan is still wary.
The council will vote on approving a final payment to a consultant for a $35,000 study that looked at privately financing the project, said Fred Bondi, chairman of the Common Council’s Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee. Bondi, a supporter of the plan, said the amphitheater would cost about $1 million.
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The results of the study were positive, he said. Funding “could come from General Electric, or anyone who can donate to the project. Or one big person like Spinnaker (Real Estate Partners) could put up the whole amount,” he said. “It’s just a matter of putting the whole plan together and getting things going.”
Bondi said concerts and festivals held at the park – such as the Oyster Festival and the Jazz Festival – will continue, but he did not know whether additional events would be held if the theater were built. Private financing would pay for the construction of the theater, but the city would maintain control after it is completed, he said.
Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association and a Common Council hopeful, questioned the need for an amphitheater. She cited the lack of an updated master plan that addresses community needs and possible noise problems, and said there was not enough public participation when city officials came up with the plan.
“The amount of events that we have right now is a good balance for the community,” Lindstrom said. “It’s got to be managed in a way that doesn’t infringe on the rights of the neighbors. It just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t know if there’s a need at all in Norwalk for it.”
Bondi said little funding is available to update the park’s master plan, and dismissed Lindstrom’s concerns as politics, saying there will be public hearings.
Lindstrom said she is simply fighting for the neighborhood.
So, according to Mr. Greenpeace and other posters Vets Park is a toxic land fill, more or less. Residents, understandably wish that the park be used for quiet events. The culture side of parks and recs wants to do more to get more events happening in Norwalk. I don’t think there are any other sides in this, but feel free to add them in the comments. I’m wondering how the Levitt Pavilion in Westport got built.
Lindstrom is suggesting that there’s a need for a master plan. This is shorthand for the usual political cover where a consultant is paid to state the obvious but since its a consultant, then it can be claimed that it is politically safe to adopt. What is really needed is for the community, as in all of Norwalk to weigh in on the plan on the table. You don’t need consultants to come up with ideas, but you do need the residents of Norwalk to decide on whether they want cultural amenities that are proposed.
But people should remember, when George Eiffel built is iron tower for the World’s Fair in 1889, no one wanted it. They called it an eyesore and complained that undesirable people would come to Paris as a result. The Eiffel tower of course is the most visited landmark in the world. Ok, an amphitheater in Norwalk is not going to be a world class landmark, but in the scheme of things Norwalk needs to be thinking of being the regional class leader in fairfield county.
source: Advocate, Amphitheater project plan on Common Council’s agenda, By Tim Stelloh, July 23 2007
