Stonington ― Among the $4.6 million in 2023-24 town capital improvements that the Board of Selectmen recommended this week is $445,000 to develop a riverfront park featuring athletic fields and a fishing dock on the overgrown property known as the Circus Lot.

The Board of Selectmen increased the Planning Department’s initial $35,000 request to $445,000 to partially fund the estimated $2.2 million development of the park off at the end of Noyes Avenue in downtown Pawcatuck.

The property once hosted circuses and recently the town cleared out the remnants of a homeless encampment there.

“We have this asset in town that’s nearly half the size of Wilcox Park. It’s six acres of beautiful riverfront land that we just think could be such an asset to the community, and right now it is so underutilized to the point where it’s actually been more of a problem than an asset in the past,” First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough said Wednesday, adding that the town is also seeking grants to help fund the project.

She noted that residents have expressed frustration about the shortage of athletic fields in town, and that the project would also promote economic development of the area, conservation, and provide public access to the water.

“We know it’s a big ask, but it also could be this amazing park right in downtown Pawcatuck that we think could be really fantastic for everyone,” she said.

The capital requests, including the one for the circus lot, will now go to the Board of Finance for review and approval. Residents will eventually vote on the proposed town, school and capital improvement budgets this spring.

Other town requests

During the Board of Selectmen review of capital request this week, Chesebrough also discussed a $28,000 request to buy two Generac lighting systems that the police, fire and public works departments could use at emergency scenes and special events.

Police department requests totaled $446,241 and included four new vehicles, technology upgrades, maintenance and upgrades to surveillance cameras in town, body cameras and the onboard computers in police vehicles, as well as funds to replace the current records management system.

Described as “a superior system,” and “the brains of the police department,” by Chief of Police Jay Del Grosso, the new records system, if approved by the Board of Finance, would be funded at $95,000 a year for three years.

Del Grosso explained the current system is reaching the end of its life and that the company that created the system notified the department it will no longer continue to support it. The requested NexGen system is used widely in Connecticut, is specifically integrated for law enforcement and supports electronic ticketing.

The Public Works Department requested a total of $2.7 million for projects including drainage improvements on Washington Street, road paving, repairs to West Broad Street School and replacement of the Fourth District Voting Hall roof.

Other funding requests included two dump trucks, a mini-excavator, and bridge repairs including $350,000 for structural repairs to the White Rock Bridge in Pawcatuck. Westerly would also contribute $350,000 because the bridge spans the two towns.

The school district’s capital improvement budget, including purchases and upgrades of technology, high school roof repairs, a district-wide security camera system, a new maintenance vehicle and repaving a parking lot at the middle school, among other projects, adds $1.1 million in projects for a total of $5.7 million.

Historically, capital improvement Plan budgets have been approved by the Board of Finance at significantly lower amounts. In 2022, the Board of Selectmen approved $8.1 million in town and school projects but the Board of Finance approved $4.7 million.

In 2021, the Board of Finance approved just $2.7 million of the $8 million proposed by the Board of Selectmen.