July 2025 Meeting Minutes
Call to order
A meeting of The Park Rd Association was held at Playhouse on Park on July 17, 2025.
Co-Presidents Welcome
Re-established the Park Road Beautification Club, co-chaired by Donna and Leah. First meeting was well attended and productive. Next step to plan Fall events.
Town Reports:
Economic Development – Kristen Gorski / Lauren Siegel
· Greg Summer, Town Engineer
Update on Park Road project: plan to introduce angled parking was researched and proposed, but ultimately unsuccessful. Designs should be wrapped up by end of summer, and will go for bid in the Fall. Some work may be able to be completed over the winter, with repaving to begin in Spring 2026.
o Paving Arnoldale. Oakwood/Park intersection has some temporary improvements with paint and cones, attempting to improve pedestrian safety and slow traffic. If successful, will permanently implement those curb changes in the Park Road project.
Project includes 4 raised mid-block crosswalks, similar to the new speed hump on Oakwood, just south of Park.
· Kristen Gorski
361 Park Road (former DKN salon) has a new salon moving in soon.
278 Park Road – Gold Dumpling taking over former Great Tso space. Waiting on final inspection.
260 Park Road – Eight Gates, taking over Lash Asthetica space. Acupuncture, to open in next few weeks.
Z Bowls has closed permanently. Sold the building, Burger Squad bought the space.
74 Park Road – Senior Helpers has opened, and Ceara Market was just issued certificate of completion – to open next week.
BC Property Group to Attorney Segal has retired and vacated the space.
1026 Boulevard – Wine & Liquor Store will expand into 77 Puffs space. Locally owned.
Valero Gas Station purchased by Road Runner. Extensive renovations are expected.
61 Park Road – owners of One Park have put that parcel up for sale or lease. Small parcel, including forested/wetlands space and small single-family home. RMMS zoned – multi-family, same as One Park.
· Walk Through held three weeks ago. Kristen, Lauren, Tracy, John Philips from Public Works, Sam Santenello from Zoning. Review for zoning violations, enforcement opportunities. Full list will be submitted to Tracy and Johnny.
Litter in front of Sweet Spot
Driveaways and parking lots on private property not being maintained (potholes, overgrowth of weeds,
Dumpster issues at Plan B Plaza, Cigar lounge, and a few other spots.
Façade and siding falling off on several buildings
Several spots with pavers upheaving creating safety issues.
Tree maintenance including sidewalk obstruction and utility interference. WH Tree Advisory Group to be included in supporting property owners with resources.
Catch basins, broken lampposts, etc, being addressed by Public Works.
Town applied for Brownfield assessment grant in Feb, awarded in June. $200,000 from CT Dept of Economics to hire environmental specialists to assess the Playhouse on Park property, in support of future renovations.
Town Manager - Rick Ledwith
· Additionally on Brownfield Grant – received 5 grants in the last 3 years, significant work done by Kristen and the WH Economic Development team.
· US News & World Report – Named West Hartford 19th best place to live in the Country. #1 in CT and the Northeast.
· Two pedestrian fatalities, NB Ave near South Main, the other on South Main. Significant changes introduced all around town over the last several weeks. Additional raised crosswalks, speed humps. 25 quick builds in the last two weeks, more planned. Speed and Red Light enforcement programs progressing.
· America 250 Committee formed to make plans for a July 4th event and other related events.
Chamber of Commerce – Chris Conway
Two ribbon cuttings: Choccodiva, Senior Helpers
Annual Meeting – Brian Denton from ACP just joined Chamber BOD
10 Awards – Patrice Taff, Westfield Bank, Volunteer of the Year
Year in Review: broke membership record with 164 new members, retention rate up significantly.
New business directory is out
River Bend Bookshop
Waldo is on through the end of July. Customers have been reporting they are glad to discover some new-to-them businesses.
Meeting adjourned at 10:02am
Next Meeting: September 18, 2025 (No Meeting in August)
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