A New Riverside Park
Stonington voters approve Circus Lot purchase, creation of cemetery commission
By Carrie Czerwinski, Special to The Day
Stonington ― Voters at Monday’s Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved the $35,000 purchase of an overgrown property in Pawcatuck known as the Circus Lot.
The approval by a 146-10 vote will allow the town to buy the property back from Westerly as part of an estimated $2.2 million plan to create a riverfront park with athletic fields and a fishing dock at the end of Noyes Avenue.
When the town sold the property in Pawcatuck to Westerly in 1982 to use as a well, Stonington reserved the right to buy the property back for $35,000 if it was no longer in use. Westerly officials recently provided the town with documentation confirming the property is no longer in use.
The 2023-24 town budget includes $125,000 to purchase and begin work on the property.
