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The following letter was sent to members of the RTM Parks & Recreation Committee. It is being published here with the authors' consent and by their request.

To the Editor:

 The following is an update to the letter we submitted to you for the March 14 meeting, which was cancelled due to a lack of a quorum.  Please note, that the attached presentation has been updated to reflect corrections that the Parks & Recreation Commission Chairman, Mary Flynn, asked publicly to have made in her letter to the editor of the Darien Times.

 We represent part of a growing group of concerned Darien citizens, and we would like to bring to your attention the current debate over the Ox Ridge field.  We supported the purchase of the property for the number one reason of preserving this iconic piece of land, and to make it available to ALL Darien residents through careful planning that encourages passive recreation.  To our surprise, we learned that the Board of Selectmen is contemplating full year-round programming and up to 15 community events, and more importantly has approved active athletics on this field.  We also know the Purchase Agreement allows for portable structures such as bleachers and goal posts, and a 1,000 sq ft concession stand, which is larger than the concession stand at the Darien High School?   The current proposed planned use for this field is not what we expected.

Read the purchase agreement here.

 Furthermore, the town Parks & Recreation survey showed that 2,500 Darien families responded and ranked preservation of open space as #1, while more youth programming ranked 10th and more athletic fields ranked 13th? At this point, the public's interests and values are not being reflected in the Board of Selectmen’s plan for this property. 

 The Planning &  Zoning Commission will commence with the permitting process within the next month or two, and we are looking to you to discuss this and perhaps provide your input to the Board of Selectmen and Planning & Zoning Commission.  We are asking that you do not recommend active athletic programming on this field, and instead, we ask that you recommend and pursue a grander vision of a beautiful park that can be used for a vast array of unstructured, passive recreational activities. 

We've attached a presentation that highlights our points. See the presentation by clicking here. Thank you for your time.

  1. Arvind & Shalini Anantharaman  22 Morehouse Drive

  2. Brian and Laurie Bessey  Hollow Tree Ridge Road

  3. Anna and Cliff Blaze 24 Saddle Ridge Road

  4. Sean and Emily Bryan 1 Ox Ridge Lane

  5. Susan and Dave Ballard 16 Indian Spring Trail

  6. Lauren Calahan 561 Middlesex Road

  7. Mollie and John Callagy  Hanson Road

  8. Susan and Dave Cator 38 Deepwood Road

  9. Richard and Maureen Chilton 9 Indian Spring Trail

  10. Maggie Morrow and Brian Clas  9 Hickory Lane

  11. Karla Coe 19 Pembroke Rd

  12. Amy and Zachary Comey  20 Saddle Ridge Road

  13. Lewis B. Cullman 543 Middlesex Rd

  14. Tracey and Steve Culliton 5 Brookside Road

  15. Ellen Loyd Debenedittis and Andrea Debenedittis 525 Middlesex Road

  16. Kelley and Mark DeGennaro 16 Intervale Road

  17. Bart & Heather de Bie 95 Pembroke Road

  18. Tracy and Peter Drippé, 35 Blueberry Lane

  19. Dr. Rhett and Heather Druggee  11 Ox Ridge Lane

  20. Karen and Brad Elders  10 Prospect Avenue

  21. Tiffany and Brian Van Elslander 769 Hollow Tree Ridge Road

  22. Patricia and Thomas M. Finnegan 503 Middlesex Road

  23. Abby and Mike Flanagan  19 Blueberry Lane

  24. Teresa and Vincent Foley 107 Tokeneke Rd

  25. David Freelove-566 Middlesex Road

  26. Amanda & Rockie Gajwani 580 Middlesex Road

  27. Kim and Lou Giannattasio 6 Saddle Ridge Rd

  28. Richard and Renee Gregory 451 Middlesex Rd.

  29. Jane and Ed Handler  31 Hancock Road

  30. John and Martha Hendrickson- 577 Middlesex Road

  31. Judy and Bill Holding 22 Saddle Ridge Rd

  32. C. Lincoln Jewett     537 Middlesex Road 

  33. Christine and Patrick Keane 10 Pembroke Road

  34. Costa and Cheryl Kensington 366 Mansfield Avenue

  35. Julie and Bryan Kelley 9 Blueberry Ln

  36. Leelee and Michael Klein - 2 Saddle Ridge Road 

  37. Cristina Orsi-Lirot  23 Fairmead Road

  38. Bob and Sheryl Lincoln   Brookside Road

  39. Jenny & Brendan Malone 2 Ox Ridge Lane

  40. Dawn MacDonald 174 Mansfield Ave

  41. Doug and Annie McKee  2 Ridge Acres Road

  42. Charu Narula 16 Coachlamp Lane

  43. Mina Patel 22 Shady Acres Road

  44. Julie Philips  362 Mansfield Avenue

  45. Linda and Doug Reid 515 Middlesex Road

  46. Tim & Patty Reis, 18 Ox Ridge Lane

  47. Margie Roney  45 Birch Road

  48.  Suzanne Schutte 600 Middlesex Road

  49.  Jenny and Kevin Schwartz 8 Saddle Ridge Road

  50. Neenu Sharma  137 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, Apt 2322

  51. Linda May Smith 2 Saddle Ridge Road

  52. Jane and George Song 556 Middlesex Rd

  53. Linda and John Tavlarios  15 Wrenfield Lane

  54. Lynn and Hank Wilson 527 Middlesex Road

  55. Cynthia and David Yowan  10 Saddle Ridge Road