Hatten Park is first choice for new sled hill

NEW LONDON – The New London Parks & Recreation Committee agreed that Hatten Park would be the first choice for the location of a new sled hill in the city of New London.
The committee heard information about different location options for a new sled hill when it met April 6. Because Hatten Park is on the National Historical Registry, any changes or additions to the property need to be approved by the National Historical Society. Because of that, the committee directed Ginger Sowle, director of the New London Parks & Recreation Department, to contact the National Historical Society to see if the city could add a sled hill facility to the property.
The city needs to find a new location for the city’s sled hill because its current sled hill will be eliminated when a new wastewater treatment facility is constructed within the next few years.
Sowle told the committee that the current sled hill in the city is located on 1.37 acres and is approximately 300 feet long from top to bottom. It is also 100 feet wide at the top and 200 feet wide at the bottom. It shares a bathroom and warming shelter with a boat launch. An ice rink is also onsite, utilities are available, and there is available parking.
The current sled hill also allows for walking access from Parkview Elementary School and the intermediate middle school.

“They do use it in the winter,” Sowle said.
She said the city’s current sled hill is “standard.” The new location for the sled hill should be 300-400 feet long with an average width of 150 feet. The hill should also have about a 25-degree slope. This would allow sledders to go fast enough for it to be fun, but not too fast to make it dangerous.
“Ours isn’t that great, it’s a little slow,” Sowle said. “So, we have an opportunity to make it a little faster.”
Sowle said the new location should also have flat space at the top for sledders to congregate, side space for sledders to ascend to the peak, space for an ice rink, a bathroom and warming shelter, and utilities.

Options

Different location options for a new sled hill were presented by Sowle, who told the committee that she was “neutral” on where the new sled hill should be located. She added that all the options presented meet the specifications needed for a proper sled hill.
Sowle said there are two different location options at Hatten Park of “unprogrammable space that isn’t in a floodplain.” The two locations would be the Kunkle ball field or directly west of either Allen Field or the Stadium.
“My thoughts were to make it a winter destination with the upgrades to the pavilion hopefully I’m going to get funding for through a grant,” Sowle said.
Locating the sled hill at Hatten Park would keep the sled hill in the same general location it is currently located. It would still be within walking distance of the schools.
The existing bathrooms and shelter could be winterized for a warming shelter facility, Sowle said.
Since the property is on the National Historical Registry, the city would need permission to add a sled hill to the property, Sowle said. She added that a representative with the National Historical Society indicated they were unsure about the addition of a large sled hill on the property.
Sowle said the site is only 2,000 feet from the current sled hill.
“I don’t know how much it’s really changing the look of the area because it’s only moving it 2,000 feet away,” Sowle said.
Another option would be the New London nature area. This location would provide a wide-open space, and an opportunity to begin the development of a park.
“The north side is going to need a park soon,” Sowle said. “We’re going to need a shelter. We’re going to need bathrooms. We’re going to need those things for those community members.”
A disadvantage of the location is that there are no utilities at the location, Sowle said. It also is not a walkable distance for school students.
“A significant amount of that park is located in wetlands, giving us very limited space to put a hill or other amenities,” Sowle said.
Krostue Park would be another possible location for a new sled hill, Sowle said, adding that a lot of it is located in a floodplain.
This would be an opportunity to upgrade an existing park, she said. She added that a lot of community members would be able to walk to the park due to its central location in the city.
Sowle said Abraham Park has a little bit of space for a sled hill, but the sled hill would be smaller. There are facilities at the park that could be upgraded for year-round bathrooms and a warming shelter could be added to the building.
“It’s unused park space that we could use, which would be great,” Sowle said. “It’s kind of out of the way though.”
There is plenty of street parking at the park, but no parking lot.
Sowle also shared possible locations on city properties that are not designated as parks.

Next steps
Members of the city’s Public Works staff met with an engineering team on April 1 regarding the proposed new wastewater treatment facility for the city, Sowle said. They will need to make a final decision by June.

Sowle said she’d like to solicit input from the public regarding the new location for a sled hill.

Timeline
Sowle reminded the committee that at a previous meeting, committee member David Dorsey told the committee that the city would not go through a winter without a sled hill.
“The plan is to, this upcoming winter is our last year on the sled hill, the winter after that is our first year on the new sled hill, and I’m not sure how that aligns with the development,” Sowle said.
Dorsey said the dirt would need to be moved during the winter.

“To get into that park location, and the amount of trucks (needed), it’s going to have to be when there’s frost in the ground,” Dorsey said.
Sowle said the dirt from the current sled hill will be used to create the new sled hill. This means the location of a new sled hill needs to be finalized prior to work beginning for the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility.