Milford City Council approved a preliminary plan for Deep Branch Park after months of requests for additional information from city staff. The park is planned for the Sharp property on Rehoboth Boulevard, purchased in 2019 and approved for a park in 2021.
“Well, here we are,” Parks and Recreation Director Brad Dennehy said as he stepped to the podium. “At the last workshop on May 14, I was asked two questions. One was a legal question, and one was a finance question. The two basically were what are the obligations for the city with the grand funding we have taken from ORPT, and the second was, can the city afford to build the park?”
Dennehy deferred the first question to City Solicitor David Rutt, who had reviewed the contract, and his determination was that funds could not be taken back once they were dispersed to the grantee. As for the other grants, the funds were reimbursed, so the finance director submits a reimbursement request, and the state pays the city.
“The second question was in regard to finance,” Dennehy said. “We divided the project into one, two, and three different phases. So, the total was $3.4 million, and the first phase is approximately $1.5 million.” Dennehy then deferred to Finance Director Lou Vitola.
Vitola explained that the city could afford the matching portion of the first phase of the project, plus a small percentage for contingencies.
“We’ve got the grant funding, of which $964,000 remains, leaving a little over $567,000 required in city matching funds,” Vitola said. “The initial Fiscal 2026 to 30 CIP that was presented assumed we would need $250,000 in general fund reserves. But we can avoid allocating any Fiscal 26 general fund reserve dollars if we refocus the downtown restroom funding that was already approved and the Marshall Pond project that was already approved. The remaining $140,000 would be available through Realty Transfer Tax (RTT) that would round out funding without stressing the general reserves.”
Councilman Dan Marabello pointed out that the city had been waiting a long time for the downtown restrooms, wondering if there was a way to do both the park and the bathrooms.
“Just to refresh the mayor and council’s memory, we applied for and were awarded federal funding for that project,” Vitola said. “Those funds were frozen at the federal level, but they have subsequently become unfrozen, so we are confident that we are going to get those funds to cover the cost of the downtown restrooms.”
Councilwoman Lori Connor asked what the projections were to complete the remaining two phases of the project.
“Staff recommends using USDA bond proceeds based on the history of successful grant funding and the unapproved tentative CIP funding sheet, which called for $250,000 in general reserves through the CIP every year,” Vitola said. “Those are placeholders of grant funding and reserve funding, but if only Phase I is authorized and the future phases are not, funding could stop there. But I was asked to take a deep dive into actual, reliable funding sources for this first phase only. The others will not be viewed until 2027 or 28.”
Connor then asked if money spent on the design of the park could be recovered by grant funding still available. Rutt explained he had not looked at language in the grants in that regard, but that they were likely the same, that the funds could not be pulled back, but other grants had not been received by the city, so they may not be available to cover costs.
“I think we’ve heard from a lot of people on this, this has been a long discussion,” Mayor Todd Culotta said. “My concerns still stand with accessibility, location, it’s out of sight most of the time. It’s going to be difficult to monitor and maintain, and it’s outside the city limits, which, right there, doesn’t make sense to me.”
Culotta stated that there was a time when he supported the park, but that was when the city was looking at buying the Rookery, and that there was a chance to add access to the property back through town along the greenway, but those options did not exist any longer.
“I think there are other places within city limits that would work for a park, all the money that has been allotted by the state can be reused elsewhere, I’ve talked to them and they’ve made that clear,” Culotta said. “Do we need park space? Absolutely. Do we need this park space? I don’t think this is a good decision right now.”
Councilman Jason James expressed that the city needed to look at other areas for parks in other wards and that if the park passed, they needed to be careful that the neighbors are not bothered by lighting or noise.
“For me, the fact that the citizens who put us in these seats have stepped up and expressed their desire for this park says something,” Councilwoman Katrina Wilson said. “I really, really want people to understand that they, the citizens of Milford, are the reason we are here. They voted for us, and although we’re good neighbors to all of our towns that are connected to us, we have to put our citizens first.”
Wilson continued.
“I’ve really been thinking hard about this because I initially thought, ‘where are our people? ‘ I was asking why we even want to do this if the people do not want it,” Wilson said. “But they do want it. I am getting phone calls and emails all the time in support of this project. I want to say I am grateful for that because it helps us make decisions. When we know our citizens are supporting our decisions, whether we agree or not, they are the ones we are here to speak for.”
Wilson also acknowledged that the plan had changed somewhat over the past few years.
“When this came to us, there were so many different things we were looking at, and it was a clearer pattern, but I still feel it is just a good project,” Wilson said. “I really, really hate for our staff to have labored and the money that’s been spent to be in vain if we don’t do this. I think, like everything else, we have managed this city well. Everything isn’t roses, but for 30-plus years, we have managed this city. While growth seems to be in abundance, it’s not a lot of growth. A lot of it has been on the books for years. We’re just trying to get everything else up to support that growth, and parks support that growth. Retail supports that growth. I just hope everyone up here keeps in mind who we’re serving.”
Marabello agreed with Wilson.
“I just want to piggyback on Councilwoman Wilson,” Marabello said. “A lot of this growing is because farms have been sold by the farmers. We cannot prevent that either. But we always try to do the right thing with our neighbors. We do it all the time. I live right on Rehoboth Boulevard. I notice more traffic, but I think we can manage that well.”
Councilman Danny Perez, who is new to the council, agreed with Wilson about the growth but was concerned about the maintenance of a park as large as what was proposed.
“I have been here 25, 26 years now, and I’ve seen a lot of what you said in growth. I have also listened to the residents in favor of this. My only concern about this project is maintenance. The land is pretty large, and whatever you put out there, you have to maintain it, and that means you have to hire people, because the residents are not going to go out there to cut grass and pick up trash.”
Perez pointed out that he owns two businesses in Milford and tries to keep the common areas in front of his businesses clean.
“Front Street was shortened, and they put in the sidewalk, which I think is great,” Perez said. “I’ve seen people walking, riding bikes. This past weekend, I saw young couples with children in strollers. But what you don’t see is the maintenance. There’s a common area grass that needs to be cut, and although it seems insignificant, you have to enhance the beauty of the city. This is a beautiful idea, but will it add more costs for maintenance? You can add a line item, but it is simply going to mean more cost.”
Marabello made a motion to approve the preliminary site plan, and James seconded. Culotta asked if he had to poll the council since it was a land vote, and Rutt stated he did not. Culotta chose to take a roll call vote anyway. Marabello, James, Wilson along with Councilwoman Nadia Zychal and Councilman Michael Stewart voted yes. Kalesis, Connor, and Perez voted no, with the motion carrying five to three.
Following the decision, the council voted to grant Howard Webb an agricultural lease to farm the land for the remainder of the calendar year or until construction commenced. The motion passed unanimously.
