Community invited to discuss future of Seaside State Park
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Apr. 15—WATERFORD — Helen Post Curry is looking to turn her sadness into action.
As the great-granddaughter of Cass Gilbert, the architect of Seaside State Park, Curry said by phone Thursday she has spent "so many years" trying to save the buildings that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection now plans to demolish.
With help from the community, Curry, the president of The Friends of Seaside State Park, said she has turned to "moving forward and seeing how we can be helpful to building the best possible park for the community and the State of Connecticut."
Residents will be able to speak with the Executive Board of Directors and the members of The Friends of Seaside State Park at a community meeting and discussion slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday April 22 at Waterford Town Hall.
Curry said the meeting will give residents an opportunity to ask questions and provide ideas for the future of the park after DEEP announced in February its plan to remove the deteriorated buildings and implement a passive park.
The project will use $7.1 million of the $21.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature authorized for infrastructure improvements at state parks.
Friends of Seaside State Park announced in a November newsletter that the state decided that the Infirmary Building and Nurses' Residence must come down.
Seaside first served as a facility for children with tuberculosis and lastly a center for the developmentally disabled before closing in 1996. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, though being listed on the register does not prevent a property owner from altering a property.
Seaside was designated as a state park in 2014.
At the time of its announcement, DEEP said it would put together a working group to start planning for the park design and ask for public input. Curry said DEEP has not yet done so, but said she talks with the department "relatively frequently" about the park's future.
Curry said local state representatives including Kathleen McCarty-R, Waterford and First Selectman Rob Brule have been invited to the meeting.
