Who doesn't remember the close vote back in 2011 to sell half of Riverside Park in New London to the Coast Guard, for an expansion of the Coast Guard Academy campus.

It was same election that brought Mayor Daryl Finizio to office, and the mayor in waiting declared the sale of the park to the Coast Guard void, even though it appeared to have passed muster by voters.

The issue became moot, though, when a recount showed that voters had actually rejected the $2.9 million sale, by a slim little margin of 19 votes.

Now that Mayor Finizio has been sidelined by an overwhelming Democratic primary defeat, it might be a good time to revive the idea of selling part of the park.

I would welcome any or both candidates for mayor weighing in, as the election closes in. Should the city restart negotiations to sell part of the park?

I think the answer is yes.

After all, New London is now an official Coast Guard City. We love the Coast Guard and can barely contain our excitement that a National Coast Guard Museum might someday become a star on the downtown waterfront.

The academy is already a beloved institution here, and the same reasoning that made so many vote for the sale four years ago still applies: This important institution should be respected and accommodated, to be sure its long history in the city continues.   

There is no question Riverside Park is in much better shape than it was four years ago, thanks to more attention by the city as well as the many dedicated volunteers who are committed to maintaining the park.

Still, on my visits, I don't see a lot of use. Most days you could shoot cannon balls through it and not hit anything except a tree.

But selling half of the 18-acre park, which was proposed four years ago, would still leave plenty of space for an accommodating park.

Indeed, it would still be one of the biggest parks in the city, an enormous amount of open space for the surrounding neighborhood to use.

I would also suggest that the money from a sale, which could be considerably more than $3 million, four years later, be used as a down payment on a new community center in the park.

What a great location for a facility that would so benefit not just city youth, but adults too. Both Connecticut College and the Coast Guard Academy enjoy waterfront athletic facilities with spectacular river views.

All city residents should have access to the same kind of facilities.

One of the things I heard frequently from voters during the Democratic primary is their disappointment that the city has been unable to develop a community center.

The Ocean Community YMCA runs a beautiful and heavily used facility in Westerly, with two swimming pools and all kinds of community and family programs. They are planning a major extension of their facility in Mystic.

The same Y has expressed an interest in New London, too, and I'm sure it would be eager to manage a new facility financed with proceeds from a Riverside Park sale, grants, donations and bonding money.

I'll bet the neighboring two colleges would also be glad to get involved in volunteering students to help with youth programs at a park-based community center. The SEAT bus can stop there. It would make the city more enticing for new residents and businesses.

There are some issues related to a requirement to replace lost park space, but solutions to that, including amendments to the law, can be found.

City voters almost agreed once to sell a part of the park. Now is a good time to question candidates, not just for mayor but also City Council, to discuss the issue again.

I'll bet negotiations to put another deal together, one to send back to voters, would be pretty easy to negotiate.

And this time the question could be not just whether to sell part of the park but whether to sell the park and use the proceeds to create a new community center at Riverside Park, to make it a more vital part of the city than it's ever been.

It's election season. The candidates can and should do better than pledge that the city will be better managed, that no more residents will be crushed to death at the transfer station.

Let's hear plans for some big things, like a community center, not just broken promises for one.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct