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We have a Name, and a Mission!

The Transition Team met on October 28^th and various subcommittees reported on their progress; all activities appear to be on schedule, and even potential office space for the new non-profit was discussed.

What was really exciting, though, was the final approval of the name of the new entity, as well as its mission statement.

The new non-profit will be called the Thames River Heritage Park Foundation.

This is its mission statement:

“The Thames River Heritage Park Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission and purpose is to develop, promote, coordinate, and help preserve a new type of Connecticut state park known as the Thames River Heritage Park, which will include sites of national and historical significance along the Thames River in and around the City and Town of Groton and New London, located across from each other near the mouth of the river. The Foundation carries out its purpose in collaboration with the State of Connecticut, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Navy, local municipalities and regional authorities, and the numerous heritage sites within its area. A primary role of the Foundation is the oversight and operation of a water shuttle system designed to transport visitors to and from sites of significance on both sides of the Thames River.”

We are now eagerly awaiting word, which should come in two weeks, on the two Navy surplus boats we’ve applied for. With the boats plus the approval of our Urban Act grant application, which we hope will be on the Bond Commission agenda in January 2016, we will be well on our way to having the water taxis operational by next summer. Fingers and toes crossed!

It’s Official

The Thames River Heritage Park Steering Committee met for the final time last Wednesday, and agreed that the Transition Team would take over the coordination of the next steps in forming the non-profit that works in collaboration with the sites within the Park on both sides of the Thames River. One of our favorite reporters, Judy Benson of the New London Day, has been covering both the Steering Committee and Transition Team’s activities since their inception; you can find her article on the hand-off here.

The Steering Committee met for over a year to “revive a plan to join existing historical sites on both sides of the Thames River into a multi-site state park.” Many members are now members of the Transition Team, including Chris Cox, who is its new Chair. This is really helpful, since it ensures the continuity of the activities planned and the timeline for completion. For example, the two grant applications initiated by the Steering Committee are now being overseen by Transition Team sub-committees, and hopefully we’ll hear some news regarding their status within the next few weeks. At the Team’s next full meeting we’ll be approving the mission statement and reviewing the status of the 501 c 3 application. So stay tuned!

Community Partners

We have so many possible community partners within the Thames River Heritage Park. It’s the job of the team to make sure they have all the information they can get about the Yale Study that helped establish and define the Park and its goals, and see if we can coordinate with all of them to find out what they’d like to see in terms of collaborative events for next year. One of the objectives of the establishment of this new kind of park is to expose the public (that’s you) to all the historic and cultural spaces within its borderless borders.

The New London Maritime Association celebrated its newest lighthouse acquisition this month with many events--and a great cake! — *The New London Maritime Association celebrated its newest lighthouse acquisition this month with many events–and a great cake!*

Here’s a starter list of just some of those organizations, parks and museums. They are all fascinating, accessible, and within short distances of each other on both sides of the Thames River. As the team continues to solidify the new 501 c 3 entity, why not spend these remaining Fall weekends (and the weekends after that) exploring some or all of these cool places?

The New London Maritime Society/Custom House Maritime Museum, New London
Fort Griswold, Groton
The USS Nautilus Museum, Groton
The Hempstead Houses, New London
The New London County Historical Society/Shaw Mansion, New London
The Avery Copp House, Groton
The Ebenezer Avery House at Fort Griswold, Groton
The Nathan Hale Schoolhouse, New London
The United States Coast Guard Academy, New London
The Lyman Allen Museum of Art, New London
Fort Trumbull, New London
The Old Town Mill, New London

And while you’re at it, be sure to visit Connecticut Explored, a quarterly online and print copy magazine of Connecticut History, preservation, and activities/events all around the state. Hopefully, you’ll be reading about the Thames River Heritage Park in an upcoming issue!

The Team is zeroing in on the TRHP’s nonprofit status . . .

. . . and not a moment too soon, to judge by all the great events going on this month in and around the borderless borders of the Park, that we’d love the new non-profit to be part of. As members learned at the last meeting of the entire Transition Team, all sub-committees have been working hard and had great news to report. Progress has been made on the setup of the 501 c 3 organization that will be set up to develop the heritage park in coordination with the towns and DEEP, the initial locations being Fort Trumbull, Fort Griswold, and the New London waterfront area. Nautilus Museum representative Captain Carl Lahti also reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to be part of the park and water taxi transport system, as soon as necessary dockage is in place. The Governance and Organization sub-committees have drafted a mission statement which will be reviewed at the next meeting of a whole; then Bylaws can be created and we’ll have all the pertinent documents in to the Secretary of State within approximately two weeks after that.

With a mission and Bylaws, Team members can flesh out the draft marketing plan and accounting system, and then begin to really concentrate on promoting the park for next year, and teaming up with all the great historic, educational, and entertainment activities offered by organizations and businesses in the area.

But non-profit status or not, the areas comprising the Park are loaded with fun and exciting things to do this fall (we hope you all survived the pirate invasion in nearby Mystic this weekend). Coming up is the increasingly popular and educational Fall Thames River Cruise held by the New London County Historical Society on October 18^th. Held on the Cross Sound Ferry, this year’s program will include both indoor (below deck) and on-deck presentations, this year centering on Native American maritime life in the area, and featuring guest speaker Dr. Jason Mancini who will be giving a presentation on Indian Mariners. It’ll be awesome!

And whatever you do, do not miss the 2015 New London Food Stroll on Wednesday October 14^th –walk around downtown and sample an uncountable variety of yummy things from over 50 participating restaurants and vendors, enjoy music, and enjoy the great weather.

Be sure to visit the “Minutes” page of our website to get a full report of team meetings. And check our Facebook page—if something interesting is afoot in the Groton/New London area, especially within the borderless borders of the Heritage Park, we’ll do our best to promote it here!

Also visit the New London Waterfront District’s web page for a calendar of events, adventures, and festivities.

Water Taxi plans are right on schedule

Although you may have read last week in the New London Day about the water taxi “taking a vacation until next year,” rest assured that the subcommittee in charge of getting it up and running has been far from idle. The group met on September 21 to review their successes so far which include the receipt of an eligibility letter from the CT State Agency for Federal Property (CTSAFP). Once the DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) has put ICN numbers on the boats they can be formally requested by the CTSAFP.

Subcommittee members have also drawn up a startup and operations budget, including transport, re-outfitting, gear, storage, inspections, painting and operations costs such as personnel, fuel, and insurance.

The demo water taxi at last year’s Maritime Heritage Festival was a huge success

The group also discussed sponsorship opportunities and other uses for the boats that would offset costs – i.e. charters, weekday shuttle, or private harbor tours.

So it shouldn’t be long now before the boats are turned over to the City of Groton . . . and then let the retrofitting begin!

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