Park Commission backs $2.85M Cow Pond Field plan

Park Commission · Meeting of June 22, 2026

Groton's Park Commission voted to advance a scaled-back $2.85 million renovation plan for Cow Pond Field ahead of this fall's Town Meeting. Chair Mary A. Jennings, Vice Chair Mark Presti and CPC Representative Jack Petropoulos were reelected at the commission's annual reorganization meeting. Commissioners unanimously backed "Option 3," which trims roughly $1 million from an earlier design while restoring $208,000 for youth baseball field lighting, in hopes of securing a $1 million state grant and Community Preservation Act funds.

The board also voted to ask the Conservation Commission to delay enforcement of an order closing the field's access road over protected turtle habitat until after the town meeting vote. "I can't have any more desire in my life than to have this happen," said member Jeffrey Ohringer, who argued the parking lot alone would cost $1.5 million without outside funding. Commissioners separately approved roughly $9,600 toward a shared DPW mower.

In the full story:

• Reviewing the Commission's Legal Authority
• Election of Officers
• Working Group Composition and Liaison Assignments
• Meeting Schedule
• Cow Pond Field: Accessibility and Conservation Feedback
• Cow Pond Field: Option 3 Funding Vote
• Enforcement Order and Conservation Commission Request
• Budget: DPW Mower Contribution and Signer Designation
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,990 words

Source: the Park Commission meeting of June 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.