Charlestown’s 227-acre Ninigret Park is home to a dog park, soccer fields, areas to walk and bike, tennis courts, and a playground – all popular attractions in daytime hours.
But the main draw at night is the Frosty Drew Observatory. The non-profit was founded in the early 1980s and is popular with casual visitors and diehard astronomers alike.
Some say the observatory is among the most accessible places to clearly view celestial events and planetary wonders on the East Coast. That’s because Ninigret Park is just off Route 1, and much of Charlestown is undeveloped and protected from the kind of light pollution you see in cities like Providence.
“Our mission is to bring children out under the sky and show them this opportunity that they have in a career in astrophysical science,” said Scott MacNeill, the Frosty Drew Observatory director. “We want to meet the ‘Mars Generation’ kids – the children that are going to be the adults that actually go and walk on Mars.”
MacNeill is one of the more vocal critics of the idea of installing lights at Ninigret Park to give youth sports teams a place to practice after dark, something that may be under consideration as the town works with an engineering firm to update the 2008 master plan that guides public use and development in Ninigret Park.
“If lights are on in the park, the sky is not going to be visible,” MacNeill said. “And if there are lights there, they’re going to find reasons to use them more often. We see this in just about every sports field in the state.”
Charlestown Town Council President Deb Carney says a lot of concerns being raised about the expected draft of the master plan are based on “hearsay” and people who want to “stir up trouble.”
“I’ll say it’s misinformation that’s out there about what is in this plan, and what is not in this plan,” Carney said.
Carney said she hasn’t seen the new draft Ninigret Park master plan, but any lights added would be dark sky-compliant and likely used for team practices only at specific times of year.
She said she’s hearing rumors from people who think the plan will have far-fetched proposals, like a stadium meant to hold up to 14,000 people.
“We are not trying to lure the New England Patriots to Charlestown,” Carney said. “However, I’m sure somebody out there is telling people that.”
Carney added, “People can coexist in the park. You can have sports, you can have Frosty Drew, you can have your dark sky. There is no reason why we cannot have something for everybody down at that park.”
Carney is affiliated with the political action committee Charlestown Residents United, which is regarded as a group that wants more business activity and development that’s friendly to kids and families.
Two of the people amplifying concerns about light pollution in Charlestown – former Town Council member Bonnie Van Slyke and Planning Commission Chair Ruth Platner – are stalwarts of the Charlestown Citizens Alliance, a conservation-oriented PAC.
The two groups regularly clash over land use matters in town.
Carney noted that any addition to the Ninigret Park master plan would not be automatically implemented, because money would need to be allocated first.
The new draft of the master plan for the park will be unveiled Thursday at a 7 p.m. meeting at the Charlestown Elementary School.
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
