By Wiley Wood

The dragonflies like it. Pairs of brightly patterned skimmers chase each other around the pools in City Meadow Park, before disappearing into the long grasses. A lone visitor approaches on the walkway. “First time here,” he says in greeting. “They told me two people couldn’t walk abreast, but they must have been awfully fat people.” He walks on, saying, “You get a different perspective from down here.”

First Selectman Matt Riiska reports that steps are being taken to further integrate City Meadow Park with Norfolk’s downtown, as originally planned.

Allied Engineering of Canaan will design and build a set of stairs between the walkway and the lower entrance of 32 Greenwoods Road West, the former Haystack Pizza building, in fulfillment of an agreement with the building’s former owner, David Torrey, who granted the town access to the park across a corner of his land.

The engineering firm will also undertake preliminary work toward the design and construction of two access points to the park from John J. Curtiss Road, one near Robertson Plaza and the other near the Mountain Spirits store.

SumCo Eco-Contracting, which built the park last fall, will be returning in the upcoming weeks to replace dead trees and remove invasives, according to Riiska. The invasives include Norway maples and honeysuckle vine.

A recent community survey (see related article) revealed that many Norfolk residents consider City Meadow Park a waste of money and effort. “Everybody has opinions,” says Riiska, who points out that no town funds were used in the park’s construction. The cost, estimated at $750,000, came from a state grant and private donations.

“It’s not for us to say that the state’s in no condition to dole out money for frivolous projects,” says Riiska. “It’s the game you’ve got to play. You go after the funds that are available so you can keep doing things to try and make the town better.”

Asked about debris on the boardwalk and plants growing up through the cracks, Riiska was unsure how maintenance would be conducted, but he is concerned that the park not be a drain on the town, saying: “We’re going to start a fund for the eventual replacement of the boardwalk, so as not to burden the town in the future.”

Could the sunken wetlands ever have been used to solve the town’s parking problem? “The short answer is no,” says Riiska.