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Basketball Courts Saved...For Now

The controversy surrounding the town basketball courts on Route 77 has officially come to and end — for now. Town officials have announced that the beloved courts, commonly referred to as the “police courts” will remain in place at the Emergency Services (ES) complex for the “foreseeable future.”

Last year, town officials faced considerable public backlash after announcing that the two courts would be moved further up Route 77 to Bittner Park in order to make room at the ES complex for long-planned facility expansion to accommodate a training facility and storage of police and fire equipment. When residents turned out to vocally oppose the plan, officials immediately responded by looking for another solution that would allow the courts to remain at the complex.

The courts are a popular recreation destination thanks, in part, to their proximity to I-95 and the perceived safety of being located at the ES complex. The lighted courts also allowed for players to use the facility until 11 p.m. The proposal to move the courts to Bittner Park was received as an unsatisfactory solution to many fans of the courts and parents.

Now, First Selectman Matt Hoey, says that the expansion project will return to its original design and the town will see two separate facilities on the property, allowing the courts to remain.

“We have reverted to the original presentation from the Fire Department and Police Department and went with two separate projects,” Hoey said. “Initially, we challenged the Police Department and the Fire department to see if there was a common solution where we didn’t have to build two separate facilities. To their credit they said, ‘Well, there’s an option for us to do something a little less expensive than two projects’ and that was the initial idea in this project.”

The new complex will house storage for emergency equipment that is currently scattered across several sites in town. In particular, emergency personnel wanted marine assets such as boats, on-site to facilitate responses to emergency calls. The site will also be home to a specialized training facility for fire and EMS staff.

Hoey added, however, that the courts would remain open where they were for “the immediate future,” and was careful to iterate that residents should be aware that the site is a constantly evolving public safety complex which, one day, may require the courts be removed for further development of the Town’s safety assets.

“Right now, the courts are going to stay,” said Hoey. “I am fully satisfied with the fact that the Fire Department’s needs will be met with these two additional bays for the immediate future. However, we have a more significant challenge with the police department.”

That challenge, according to Hoey, is the need to expand the female officer’s locker room.

“What has come to light since that decision was made is that we potentially need to enhance our facilities in the police department building to accommodate the fact that we have significantly more female officers than were ever contemplated when we built the building 20-plus years ago, which means separate but equal facilities — locker rooms, bathrooms, and showers,” Hoey explained.

He added that the town is continuing to look for solutions for facility expansion as well as additional storage requirements.

“This is a parcel of property that the Town of Guilford bought for an emergency services complex,” Hoey said. “I will make no promises — and I don’t think anyone should make a promise — that if there are eventual needs that dictate the use of all of that property for emergency services that we would move in that direction. But for the foreseeable future we think we have accommodated the solution and the immediate needs. Part of that is that we still don’t know the needs of the Police department as it relates to the expansion of the facilities for female officers. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the courts are going to remain exactly where they are.”

Kim Mastriano-Guile, one of many parents who advocated for saving the courts, said she was pleased with the outcome and town officials’ efforts to work with the community.

“I’m relieved that the courts will be staying, at least for the immediate future,”Mastriano-Guile said. “I was impressed by the outpouring of support from so much of our community for keeping the courts in place. I am also appreciative of Matt Hoey’s willingness to work with us in finding an alternative solution that works for everyone.”

Hoey added that money initially set aside for the original plan to move the courts to Bittner can now be utilized to improve the courts at Adams Middle School.

“I have had conversations with [Parks and Recreation Director] Rick Maynard about Adams,” said Hoey. “We had made a commitment that we would resurface and reestablish lighting for the Adams courts. We will be moving forward with that because we will no longer need to build new courts up at Bittner. That hasn’t been decided by the Board of Selectman yet, but in conversations with Rick Maynard, we are looking to reallocate some of the funds for Bittner Park…and restore those courts.”

Hoey did praise community activists and their efforts to save the courts.

“I greatly appreciate the community input we received, relative to the concerns and the potential loss of the courts. Quite honestly the Board of Selectman, the Fire Commission, the Police Commission, and the respective chiefs heard those concerns and have made a decision…that would allow for the courts to stay,” Hoey said.