City of New London plans to reach agreement with owner
By Robert Cloud
The city of New London expects to reach an agreement with the property owner who built a private fence on city property.
At a May 4 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Committee discussed a fence that C&R Waterfront Bar and Grill installed on the east side of the building.
The purpose of the fence is to conceal the restaurant’s trash bin.
The new fence is taller and longer than a previous fence.
It is also located entirely on city property and was installed without the city’s permission.
Taft Park, located east of the restaurant, is the site of the Veterans Memorial.
The restaurant’s wall is on the park’s property line.
“I think everybody’s in agreement that the fence itself does look a lot better,” City Administrator Chad Hoerth said.
Hoerth said the city needs to develop an agreement with the restaurant that grants an easement to allow the fence on public property.
City Attorney Earl Luaders will draft the agreement, Hoerth said.
“What I would suggest is that we come up with an agreement to define maintenance, define liability, define any future modifications so there’s a process for that,” Hoerth said.
A spokesperson from the Veterans Memorial Foundation said the veterans believed the new fence was an improvement.
The restaurant also plans to have a mural of an eagle and a flag painted on the side of the building. Shrubbery will be planted along the fence.
Veterans Memorial
In other business, the city plans to take responsibility for donations and inscriptions at the Veterans Memorial.
In a May 4 memo to the Parks and Recreation Committee, Hoerth said The Veterans Memorial Foundation “indicated from the start that their plan was to eventually disband and give the program to the city.”
The city will continue to accept donations and have names engraved on the memorial wall.
“I’ve had a meeting with staff and we do not feel this would be too much of a burden for us,” Hoerth said.
The city will set up a segregated account for donations, which will be used exclusively for inscriptions and monument maintenance.