Hyde Park Commission appointments lead to lively Town Meeting
It’s rare that a Stafford Town Meeting is anything more than perfunctory, especially when the only matter at hand is a few appointments to boards and commissions. Given the discussion those same appointments created on Facebook, it’s not entirely surprising that the November 4, 2026, Town Meeting was more interesting than most.
First, some context.
Back on September 2, 2026, the Board of Selectment voted to send the appointments of Donna Wright, Terry Armelin, and Scott FInch to a Town Meeting to be appointed to 4-year terms on the Hyde Park Commission. The Town Meeting was scheduled for November 4, 2026. The Hyde Park Commission has been largely inactive. It last filed meeting minutes in May of 2022. Many of its existing members’ terms expired earlier this year.
Since that September 2 meeting, Stafford held two community meetings where we heard from the YMCA of Greater Hartford and Michaels Organization to hear about their proposals for potential reuse of the Witt School, which sits atop the hill in Hyde Park. In other words, Hyde Park is now in the spotlight.
So, in the days leading up to the November Town Meeting, Stafford resident Derek Dimmock posted to Facebook documents—which appeared to be AI-generated—alleging conflicts of interest among the remaining existing members, and the soon-to-be-appointed members. Some members responded directly, calling out the incorrect information in their own biographical information. Other commenters pointed out other inaccuracies, and eventually the posts were taken down.
Skip forward to the November 4 meeting where a brief power struggle emerged for the largely ceremonial job of moderator—the main qualification for which seems to be a decent understanding of Robert’s Rules of Order. Lately, that job has fallen to John Whetton, Director of Public Works and former selectman. But before the second on the motion to nominate him could be made, Marnie Hofmann called from the back of the room that she wanted to nominate Charles “Chuck” Alfano. Once the rules of order were sorted out and a vote was taken, Alfano won, meaning he got to read the moderator’s script.
Sometime in recent days, Finch withdrew his application for the Hyde Park Commission. So, that left Wright and Armelin to go up for a vote (along with a few less controversial appointments to the library board).
Wright—who, Stafford Free Press learned, put in her application years ago, waiting for a vacancy to appear—is the current president of The Stafford Garden Club and an alternate on the Board of Finance (BOF). Armelin is one of the cofounders of The Stafford Garden Club and is married to Selectman Tony Armelin.
After the initial motion on Terry Armelin’s appointment was made Hofmann interjected again—though the motion still had to be seconded before discussion could be had. Eventually, she said, “I believe there is an appearance of a conflict of interest to have the selectman’s wife, because the selectman talks about Hyde Park, he talks about funding, he makes decisions. It appears to be a conflict.” Hofmann voted against the appointment but was outvoted.
Donald Passardi then asked if the Hyde Park Commission members would also be the trustees. Morrison said, “I just know them to be commission members.” After the meeting, Stafford Free Press asked Beth Dadalt—the First Selectman’s Executive Assistant and keeper of much of Town Hall’s institutional knowledge—for some clarification around the difference between the commission and the trustees.
Dadalt provided a copy of a document dating back to April 24, 1979, which says the Hyde Park Commission’s duty is to “maintain and keep Hyde Park ‘in a careful and proper manner for all time.’” Additionally, it says, “The Commission has control over Hyde Park which consists of Hyde Park, Hyde Park House, and Olympic Field (a.k.a. Keefe Plains). Any supplement to the existing facilities needs to be voted on by the Commission, and furthermore, be ‘laid out in a manner suitable for park purposes and have the care and management of the same.’”
Dadalt told this reporter that, at one time, the trustee was the bank, CBT, which no longer exists. So, in 2026, the Commission is responsible for ensuring the remaining money is being invested properly and used to maintain the park. A balance of $111,000 must remain in trust, often leaving the Town to find a way to fund big projects. For instance in 2020, Stafford applied for and received a STEAP Grant for $128,000 ”for the replacement of the playground and basketball courts, field irrigation, and field house design at Olympic Field. This will be matched by $93,000 from the town.”
At the last 2022 meeting where minutes were filed, the Hyde Park Commission discussed using ARPA funds to address drainage issues, and approved a one-time donation of $2,000 from its account to address an estimated $3,917.47 in damage to the park’s playscape.
To add another layer on top of all this, Rick Hartenstein, a former selectman and the Hyde Park Commission Chairman, also recently formally resigned from that commission—and clarified why in a Facebook post (see below). So, if you’re keeping track, this—along with Finch’s withdrawn application—now leaves two open seats on the five person commission.
Witt School update
After the Town Meeting adjourned, the Board of Selectmen meeting began, giving Director of Grants and Community Development, Amber Wakley-Whaley, a chance to update the board on the Witt School and get direction on next steps. Wakley-Whaley said that the preliminary feedback from residents suggests a preference for a YMCA at the Witt School over more housing. The feedback survey will remain open until mid-November, but in the meantime, she wanted to know what the board felt the next steps should be. (Fill out the feedback form here.)
Are more meetings on the horizon? A referendum? A public hearing? Morrison said, “Clearly, the status of the Witt School is going to be a town decision. It’s going to be the people who live in this town, the taxpayers. Clearly, it’s going to be them who decide where we’re going to go. You and I may not even be here when this thing has been completed and is running.” He suggested another informal meeting to get more input.
“I don’t want to hold up the process…but this is huge,” Morrison added. He even noted there’s still the option to take the school down, though it would cost Stafford more money.
“We know that the building is weatherproof at this point… We have the time to at least get something more than an outline on finances,” said Selectman Armelin, who noted the people he had spoken with were concerned about the money.
Selectman Tim Cromwell asked if there was still an opportunity to get more proposals. Wakley-Whaley said that would likely require reopening the Request for Proposals (RFP) and possibly consulting Stafford’s attorneys, but nothing is out of the question.
During the public comment section of the meeting, Hofmann said, “Why hasn’t the Town addressed returning the property to the Hyde Park Trust? I believe the original intent of that gift should be honored and the public’s interest in the land should come first.” If you’re not sure what that even means, it’s important to note Hyde Park, and more specifically the Witt School, have a long and complicated history—which began long before most of the people now dealing with the consequences were born. You can read Stafford Free Press’ breakdown of the main issues here.
Alfano also asked about the vacancies now available on the Hyde Park Commission and whether they would be advertised. Interested parties can apply to be a part of that commission—or any other in town—using the application found on this page of the Town website. And you don’t even have to wait for a vacancy to be advertised.
Stay tuned for more information on when the next meeting will be held to discuss the future of the Witt School.
