Walking the proposed site for the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial, it is easy to see why committee members are enthusiastic about the property at Fairfield Hills. Secluded from the current walking trail that runs between the Glander Field area off of Mile Hill South and the cul de sac at the end of Keating Farms Road, and sheltered from the noise of passing cars on Wasserman Way below, the memorial could be tucked into the tree line separating the High Meadow from the East Meadow at Fairfield Hills. Giant pines create a cathedral effect and even with spring's late snowfall on the ground, the wooded view from where an old farm road leads up from the cul de sac is picturesque.

However, should the location be selected for the permanent memorial to the 12/14 tragedy, getting people to the site will be the challenge, said Gary Sorge, vice president of Stantec Consulting Services in New Haven. Creating vehicular access to the High Meadow site would not be inexpensive, Mr Sorge told members of the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Committee (SHPMC) and Newtown Parks and Recreation on March 21. Mr Sorge and Tom Hammerberg, also of Stantec, spent nearly two hours with the group Monday morning, walking the High and East Meadow sites that SHPMC has suggested could be an ideal site for the permanent memorial.

Stantec has worked with Newtown Parks & Recreation on developing the trails at Fairfield Hills.

The goal of the crisp morning's walk, said SHPMC Chairman Kyle Lyddy, was merely to "get the lay of the land." It would be a first step to finding out if the property is appropriate so far as constructability and how to bring infrastructure to the memorial, and to gain an understanding through insights offered by Mr Sorge and Mr Hammerberg as to "if this can work. And we think it can," Mr Lyddy said, as the group set out on foot, following the abandoned farm road from the cul de sac toward the selected memorial site.

Accompanying the Stantec representatives and Mr Lyddy were SHPMC members Agni Pavlidou Kyprianou, Donna Van Waalwijk, and Steffan Burns, as well as Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold and Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Ed Marks.

Referring to the site drawing Land Use Director George Benson and Deputy Director Rob Sibley provided in late 2015, Mr Lyddy pointed out that the drawing was a starting point, but that he hoped information gained on Monday would provide alternatives to look into. Parking and the addition of a driveway are concerns that have been raised, he said, especially as the commission will accommodate American With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The commission members are also keeping in mind the environmental impact that placement of the memorial at the High Meadow might have.

Multiple trees at the proposed site, approximately 0.88 acres at the east edge of the High Meadow, have succumbed to time and weather, Mr Lyddy noted.

Mr Burns also observed that invasive species have encroached, and suggested that improvements to the memorial site could include restoration of some of the High Meadow as actual meadowland, not just the hay field it currently is.

The main concern, Mr Lyddy explained to Mr Sorge, is that the memorial site be a destination, and be somewhat secluded, "Not something people will see from trails."

Among the observations Mr Sorge and Mr Hammerberg offered first off was that regulations today are very different from when the overgrown farm road was utilized regularly. He offered the suggestion, as well, that rather than following that road through the middle for the span of trees separating the East Meadow from the High Meadow, or bordering the trees on the High Meadow side, a better option might be for the road to continue on the East Meadow edge of the trees, ending in a parking spot that could have visitors exiting into a naturally beautiful wooded area. There, a switchback style pathway could lead to the actual memorial site, visible from that parking area through the trees.

Mr Sorge also mentioned the need to consider the grade when determining where a roadway would go, and pointed out that the nearly one-acre piece of property was quite a large piece for this project. Commission members agreed that more than likely, less than the full 0.88 acres would be needed.

Mr Sorge threw out another idea for the commission's consideration: an additional walking path through the High Meadow from the current walking trail to the memorial site. Parking would be off of Mile Hill Road near Glander Field, and visitors would walk up to the memorial from there. Whether or not the Water Authority would want increased foot traffic on that paved roadway would be something to find out, said committee members. That roadway would also need to meet ADA requirements. That access could eliminate the need for building any new roadway to the memorial site, but Ms Kyprianou said she felt it was important that the memorial have its own access.

In addressing the commission's criteria that the memorial be situated privately, and not interfere with walkers' use of the current walking trail at High Meadow, Mr Sorge and Mr Hammerberg undertook a brief experiment. The site is in a slight valley, across the meadow from the walking trail. A ridge through the center of the meadow gives a deceptive sense that the proposed memorial site is not at a much lower level than that of the walking trail.

Using a measuring rod, Mr Hammerberg stood in the approximate area of the proposed site and raised it to a height of 25 feet. The rest of the group walked up the slope and across a ridge to the paved walkway to see how much of the memorial site might be viewable from there. At several points tested along that walkway, not a bit of the bright orange cap topping the measuring rod could be seen.

The SHPMC has not yet settled on the High Meadow property as the site for the permanent memorial, and has met opposition from conservation-minded residents who believe any change to the open space would negatively impact the flora and fauna of that property. The conversation with Mr Sorge and Mr Hammerberg, Mr Lyddy stressed, was just that: a conversation meant to help clarify the feasibility of creating a permanent memorial on that piece of property.

The

Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission Design Guideline Subcommittee special meeting, 4 pm, Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, agenda posted.