Politics & Government

Meeting Thursday To Discuss Renaming Of Madison's Newest Park

The first effort, which resulted in the name "Constitution Park" didn't go over so well. Now the town is trying again, with the help of Eagle Scout Nate Rogers.

On Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Town Hall next to the Madison town green, there will be a meeting to discuss the renaming of Madison's newest park.

Here are the details from Boy Scout Nate Rogers who is helping the town gather information as part of his Eagle Scout Project. He says in the statement below that he would "like to invite anyone in Madison to come hear about my project and to fill out a suggestion form. In the event you are unable to attend the meeting however would like to suggest a name and reason for your choice, then you can email to me at constitutionparkrename@gmail.com.

Here is the full statement from Nate Rogers:

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In July, 2013, Madison First Selectman Filmore McPherson approached the various Boy Scout troops in Madison with a possible Eagle Scout project, which was to help rename Constitution Park. I thought that this sounded like a very interesting project and contacted Mr. McPherson to discuss it. After our discussion, I was selected to be the lead organizer of this project, which is to obtain suggested names from the Madison community to then present to the town's Board of Selectmen. I met with my Eagle Adviser, Larry Kilburn and submitted an Eagle Scout project application to our BSA Council. The application was approved and I began to go to work. 

The new park, located on the sight of the former Griswold Airport, has been part of our town history for many years. Griswold Airport first opened in 1931 as a small privately owned airport and continued for the next 75 years. It is located along the shoreline, near Hammonasset State Park and is right on the water overlooking the Long Island Sound. The land was purchased by Leyland Alliance, a housing development company, with a plan to develop 127 housing units however many in the town were not in support of this. In early 2010, the Town of Madison voted on buying the 42 acres of land. In May of that year, the purchase was completed and Madison bought the land for 9 million dollars. Since then, the town has been working on building a park with trails and sports fields that residents in Madison will be able to use for years to come. The park will be opening in the Spring of 2014.

Many people in town are not happy with the name (Constitution Park) that has been given to the park because it does not directly relate to our town. Mr. McPherson has asked that the residents of Madison have the opportunity to submit their suggestions for a new park name. In September, 2013, I began my project by approaching the principals and various organizations within each of the town's six public schools. At the high school for instance, I was able to work with the schools student leadership and have every student at Hand respond with name suggestions via surveys handed out at their homeroom. I have since received over 600 student responses from the schools throughout Madison. My last step is to now include the residents of Madison in providing their suggestions.

On January 9th at 7pm, I will be hosting a town meeting at the Memorial Town Hall to discuss my project and offer town residents the opportunity to suggest names for our new park. I would like to invite anyone in Madison to come hear about my project and to fill out a suggestion form. In the event you are unable to attend the meeting however would like to suggest a name and reason for your choice, then you can email to me at constitutionparkrename@gmail.com.  It would be a great honor to say that you have been a part of naming a park here in town.

Location Details
Memorial Town Hall
8 Meeting House Lane
Madison CT 06443 US

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here