Downtown Glastonbury parking deal, buying land near parks get council OK

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Sep. 18—GLASTONBURY — The Town Council this week unanimously gave final approval to town purchase of two properties adjacent to town parks — and approved an agreement that should ease downtown parking by permitting anyone to use a church parking lot when the church doesn't need it.

The larger of the two land purchases was of 10 acres across Welles Street from Riverfront Park. The town will buy that former cornfield for $1.75 million from the local Roman Catholic parish, Saints Isidore and Maria.

Council Vice Chairman Lawrence Niland, a Democrat, called it a "consequential property." He ranks it in importance with the 542 acres of woodland in northern Glastonbury that the town bought from a Metropolitan District Commission pension fund for $8 million in a deal completed early last year.

LAND DEALS

WITH PARISH: Town of Glastonbury will buy 10 acres across Welles Street from Riverfront Park for $1.75 million from Saints Isidore and Maria Parish Corp. The Roman Catholic parish will also allow the general public to use the St. Paul Church parking lot at 2577 Main St. at times when the church doesn't need it, splitting maintenance costs 50-50 with the town.

FROM LEGION: Town will buy American Legion post at 1361 Main St. and its 1.2-acre grounds for $195,000.

Douglas Foyle, a Democrat who is chairman of the Board of Education but spoke as an individual during the council's public hearing on the Welles Street land purchase, said Riverfront Park "is turning into a great asset for the town."

Town Council Chairman Thomas P. Gullotta, also a Democrat, said no one has any plans right now for a specific use of the Welles Street property.

In a related agreement, also approved by the council at Tuesday's meeting, the parish will permit public use of the St. Paul Church parking lot at 2577 Main St. at times when the church doesn't need it. That agreement will last for the next 10 years, with the possibility of four 10-year extensions.

The town and the parish will split the parking lot's maintenance costs 50-50, Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said in a memorandum to the council.

Johnson said the St. Paul lot will be open to any member of the public who wants to use it, except at times like Saturday afternoons, Sunday mornings, and religious holidays, when church services are held.

Independent Party Councilman Stewart "Chip" Beckett said the agreement will make several hundred parking spaces available to the general public, and Democrat Jacob McChesney agreed that the parking agreement is a good move for the town.

The other land purchase approved by the council Tuesday was of the American Legion post at 1361 Main St. and its 1.2-acre grounds for $195,000.

Johnson said in a memo to the council that the site is the primary access point to the town-owned Earle Park.

The American Legion will retain the right to use the roughly 5,000-square-foot building for its monthly meetings for three years, with the possibility of year-to-year extensions after that, with the council's approval.

Whit Osgood, the council's Republican minority leader, called the property "critical" to assure access to Earle Park, and Gullotta agreed that the purchase is a good idea for that reason.

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