Herons to flock to Brookfield Town Center

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – Years ago, at famed Hialeah in Florida it was the flamingos that were an attraction for the horse race fans.

In Brookfield Town Center it apparently will be herons in the Pocket Park along Federal Road for the residents and shoppers in the emerging central business district.

The Bird Watching HQ web site reports that there are 10 species of herons that are active in Connecticut.

“If you visit any type of water habitat, you are likely to see at least one species of heron,” Bird Watching HQ states. They are known for being “majestic in flight.”

On September 5, Brookfield Arts Commission Chairman Gary Blumberg and Treasurer Loretta Ball told the Board of Selectmen that the herons are “very active” in Brookfield.

The town is bordered by two major bodies of water – Lake Candlewood, the largest lake in Connecticut, and Lake Lillinonah.

Some years ago there was a restaurant on Candlewood Lake Road called “The Blue Heron.

The Arts Commission appears to be on a path of putting two heron sculptures in the Pocket Park near Dunkin Donuts at 756 Federal Road.

Municipal Community Development Specialist Greg Dembowski told the selectmen he estimates it would cost $38,000 for the sculptures.

In a later phone interview with Patch.com, he said that First Selectman Tara Carr and the Arts Commission will ask the Board of Finance at its September 13 meeting to release $20,000 toward the project. He indicated that would be allocated from the capital budget for the fiscal year that started in July.

Dembowski added that another $11,000 would be utilized from unused funds in the account for Streetscape III which encompasses the Pocket Park, which recently opened with landscaping and benches.

Other Selectman Steve Dunn proposed that the town can allocate e $7,000 in unused funds in other accounts to fund the remainder of the project.

The selectmen unanimously approved sending the project to the Board of Finance.

Blumberg and Ball said that if it is approved there, a small group would then review written proposals from engineer/designers. Dembowski said the town also will need to acquire an encroachment permit from the state Department of Transportation.

Dembowski said a selection of a contractor would be made by January and the two heron sculptures and three illuminating lights would likely be installed by next April.

In 2002, the Arts Commission installed the first horse sculpture on the municipal campus on Pocono Road. Then Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R-Brookfield) was among the speakers at that event.

The 198-acre Brookfield Town Center has emerged in recent years as a New England-style central business district.

The third phase of Brookfield Village, a mixed-use housing/commercial area should be completed within months.

Emporium Plaza, which will include a supermarket, smaller retail outlets and housing is slated to open next summer.

Dembowski has said that the Still River Greenway, which opened in 2016, has become the “second most used trail in Connecticut.”

References:

Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.

Phone interview with Greg Dembowski, Patch.com, on Thursday, September 7, 2023.

https://birdwatchinghq.com/herons-in-connecticut/

https://patch.com/connecticut/...