I was surprised to read recently in a newsletter from Friends of Seaside State Park the assertion that Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has made a final decision to tear down the park’s historic buildings.

Really?

Last I knew, engineering reports indicated the former sanitarium buildings, designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert, were salvageable, despite years of neglect by the state, through multiple gubernatorial administrations.

They are, after all, on the National Register of Historic Places, which, given the state’s ownership, should trigger a thorough analysis by preservationists, including the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office.

When I asked DEEP about the claim from the park advocacy group that the demolition decision has already been made, I was told that’s not true.

“DEEP is still in the process of exploring funding options for the park. Demolition of the buildings is one of the options being considered for the park, but the final plan will be dependent on funding levels,” DEEP said in a statement.

I wonder about that, though, since the advocacy group, which says it has been working with the state, was so unequivocal in its newsletter.

“Now unfortunately we know that both the Infirmary Building and Nurses’ Residence must come down and there is no way to reverse the state’s decision on this,” Helen Post Curry, president of Friends of Seaside Park, wrote in the newsletter.

Curry is the great granddaughter of architect Gilbert. I doubt she is making up the state’s resolve for demolition.

When I left a message on the Friends’ web page asking for more information I got a message back saying I should ask the state.

Maybe I’m just a cynical old journalist, but it sure seems like DEEP is treating demolition as a done deal and not being forthcoming with the public.

It turns out the state, looking for some $5 million to $10 million, applied for and did not get a grant from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which would have funded a simplistic “passive” recreation remodeling of the park.

Deputy Environmental Commissioner Mason Trumble suggested to Connecticut Public Radio back in February that a passive park would involve tearing down the buildings.

“The buildings would come down,” he said in the news report. “Obviously, we want to make sure we do a good job of recognizing the historical and cultural value the buildings represent. That’s really important to us.”

So it sure seems like the Friends of Seaside State Park are right, that the demolition decision has been made, and DEEP is not willing to own up to that.

Also, note to Deputy Commissioner Trumble: Tearing down buildings on the national register is not a good way to recognize their historical and cultural value.

Seaside is an enormous embarrassment to the state, not just for the terrible, ongoing demolition of the historical buildings by neglect but for the way the remarkable property has been ignored for close to a decade and made a park in name only.

There were some public hearings about the future of Seaside after Gov. Dannel Malloy, in a surprise election-eve gambit, declared it a park in 2014.

But DEEP can’t now use those hearings, almost a decade later, to suggest they’ve asked for public opinion about how to use the 32-acre property. Time to start over.

The only lawmaker who has shown any interest through the years in this outrageous situation is retiring state Sen. Paul Formica of East Lyme.

When I caught up with Formica to ask about the assertion that the decision has been made to demolish the buildings, the senator expressed his frustration with the lack of progress on plans for the property.

“This is a problem waiting for a solution for way too long,” said the senator, in a great understatement.

It’s time for other lawmakers to bring a lot more pressure to bear.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com