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Search Is On for New Saybrook Bocce Court Site

Old Saybrook’s plan to install two bocce courts hit a snag in mid-September, but is far from being a lost cause. Town officials are seeking a new site that meets the safety concerns of all stakeholders.

A proposal earlier this year by First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., would have placed two bocce courts behind the Town Hall, within the area allocated for overflow parking.

There were concerns that the Zoning Commission (ZC) might reject the proposal due to parking concerns, despite the plan’s efforts to redraw parking lines to minimize the impact. But the item was withdrawn from the ZC’s Oct. 1 meeting agenda after the Parks & Recreation Commission (PRC) opposed the motion at its Sept. 12 meeting. The PRC has control over activities on the Town Green as well as in the area surrounding the Town Hall.

A subsequent PRC motion to consider other locations for the bocce courts was approved.

PRC Chair Susan Esty explained that the commission was concerned about the proximity of the proposed bocce courts to the basketball courts located in the same area.

“Knowing how often balls go foul and how often players try their very best to grab the ball before it goes into foul territory, we thought the bocce courts were a little bit too close to the basketball courts,” Esty said.

Foul balls hit from the nearby baseball field were an additional concern.

“We are looking for an appropriate place for bocce courts. It is not a dead issue with us,” Esty said.

Fortuna is confident the town will have its bocce courts.

“As long as they tell me they’re taking another look, I’m good with that,” Fortuna said.

The cost to the town is minimal, he said, as construction work would be done by town employees and at least one volunteer has stepped forward to help.

“So it’s going to be built with probably a lot of volunteer and town resources,” he said, “but we have to find a location.”

Fortuna also expressed relief that, while regulation bocce courts run approximately 90 feet long, residential and municipal courts run 65 to 70 feet, which is the size Fortuna plans to install.

“Let’s face it. We’re going to have kids doing it, and we don’t want to make it so difficult that it’s not fun,” he said.

The ultimate location of the courts may also determine whether the town provides the bowling equipment to players, Fortuna said. If it’s not on the town campus, people may have to bring their own equipment. He added that, as there is no definite location, such details have yet to be determined.

In the meantime, pickleball enthusiasts are a bit closer to having a local place to play: the new pickleball courts, located in Main Street Connection Park, are now surrounded by a black chain-link fence. Fortuna explained that the weather has been too cold to stripe the courts: the temperature of the air and surface should be at least 50 degrees in order to paint.

A few expected warmer days between now and Thanksgiving, he explained, will allow that work to be completed. The courts are slated to be completed by spring.