Town Council Will Look How To Best Use Pistol Creek

One of the items on the Town Council agenda for tonight's meeting is: Discussion on the proposed plan for a Pistol Creek Field Complex for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey playing fields. – Parks and Recreation.

The Parks and Recreation Dept. have a proposed plan to build some fields at the former golf course. They believe that the new soccer and lacrosse fields would alleviate crowding on other fields in town.

Pistol Creek currently has a clubhouse and walking trails but little else on the sprawling golf course property. There are certainly limitations to the amount of development to the site due to its' uneven landscape and brooks and wetlands that run through it.

"We are looking to develop a plan that allows us to more fully utilize Pistol Creek," Berlin Mayor Adam Salina said. "This proposal for soccer and lacrosse fields is the first one to come to us and I'm excited about it because the town owns the land and we need to use it more often.

"The request for the fields makes sense and should be a first step towards using the property more often. I would like to see us keep a golf component there, whether it's sand traps or a putting green, maybe a gazebo. Who knows? The sky is the limit. One thing we do not want to do is to infringe on the walking trails, which are very popular."

Salina said the town may seek out a consultant to come in and give their advice on the proper utilization of the park.

"We would look for someone who has experience in how to develop a town park," Salina said. "They would come in and give us ideas of how to develop the park and give us ideas and what would work best in that space.

"Obviously we are not in a rush to do this because the park can be developed in phases. Like I said, I think the fields would be a great starting point and would help with overcrowding at other fields in town."