New London — Two members of the Riverside Park Conservancy say they were contacted Friday and told the city might have to sell the 18-acre park to address its budget crisis.

Kathleen Mitchell and Ronna Stuller, both members of the conservancy, said Monday that Allyn DeVars, who led the mayor's transition team, reached out to them on Friday.

"He told me they had to sell the park and said the mayor's office wanted me to back off and give him some breathing room so he could continue negotiations with the Coast Guard,'' Mitchell said.

"I told them when pigs fly,'' Mitchell said.

DeVars, an unpaid political consultant to the mayor, said Monday he was acting as a private citizen and was not representing the mayor's office.

"My concern, with Kathleen, is I wanted to talk to her before she started charging forward,'' DeVars said. "I know how well connected she is and how passionate she is and I didn't want to see a full charge before she had all the facts."

The conservancy organized last year to save the park from being sold to the Coast Guard Academy. A deal to sell about nine acres of the park to the Coast Guard Academy for $2.9 million failed in a November referendum.

Stuller said she wasn't sure if DeVars called her as a member of the conservancy or as "a fairly prominent individual around town."

She said she is still "trying to figure out the purpose of him reaching out to me.''

But, she added, there is "absolutely no support (from the conservancy) to sell the park.''

In his campaign for mayor, Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio opposed the sale of the park.

Zak Leavy, executive assistant to the mayor, released this statement Monday afternoon: "Mr. DeVars is a private citizen who speaks only for himself and does not represent the views of the administration. The administrations position on Riverside Park remains unchanged and would refer you to the Mayor's earlier statements with the Coast Guard regarding their expansion. The Mayor intends no further comment on this subject."

After meeting earlier this month, Finizio and Academy Superintendent Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz said their staffs would research potential sites for academy expansion.

At a press conference Friday night, Finizio announced the city had a $12 million budget shortfall. A special City Council meeting to discuss "the potential purchase and sale of real estate by the City of New London," was canceled due to concerns that it would violate Freedom of Information laws. Finizio said at the press conference that the city would consider selling city property to help close the budget gap, but would not comment on Riverside Park.