The Go-To Place In Stony Creek: Port-O-Potties

Tourism is all about going to fascinating places, but practically speaking, it’s also about having a place to go while you’re touring.

Yes, we’re talking potties.

And we’re talking about the seaside village of Stony Creek — - a busy tourist attraction with amazing views of Long Island Sound and boat tours of the Thimble Islands. But the public beach, park, shops and docks have no public restrooms. Yes, there is a row of portable potties . But….

“Here we have a large tourist attraction and a pretty beach and we have no bathrooms,” said First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos in an interview. ​“Right now what we have is rather cruel.”

Branford town officials and members of the Stony Creek Association (SCA) have been trying to solve the dilemma for years. They’re hoping a state grant might help, and have recently applied for funding.

“It’s unfortunate that for a tourist attraction there are no public facilities other than portable potties,” said Dan Bullard, president of the SCA. He said plenty of folks have complained about conditions.

“It would be fantastic to have a nice, efficient, clean, environmentally correct facility for people to use. It seems like the right thing to do,” Bullard said. ​“And for the local merchants, it’s economically important.”

Post Office Building

Actually, the grant would solve two seemingly diverse problems.

For several years, the town has been interested in buying the building that houses the U. S. Post Office in Stony Creek. The owner of the property put it on the market a few years ago and the board of selectman voted unanimously in June 2008 to find a way to purchase the property without putting the burden on taxpayers. The board of selectman at that time included DaRos, Fran Walsh, and John Opie. Both DaRos and Opie live in Stony Creek.

The post office property is across the road from the park and beach properties that the town already owns. The plan is to continue leasing part of the building to the post office, and then construct public bathrooms in the other half. (The top photo is a view of the portable potties and Long Island Sound, directly across from post office.)

“That would solve a couple problems,” DaRos told the Eagle. ​“The cost to the town would be very little and the benefit would be great.”

The town recently submitted an application for a grant through the state’s Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) in the amount of $500,000. The money would be used toward the purchase of the property.

“I hope the state takes a good look at this because they’re promoting tourism,” DaRos said in regard to the grant application.

The grant will not cover the town’s complete bid for the real estate, which officials haven’t disclosed. But DaRos is hopeful some Creekers might be interested in donating to the project. ​“We have an indication private donors would help us out,” he said.

The property is owned by Thomas Colville, a well-known private American art dealer who has offices in New Haven and New York. Colville told the Eagle in a previous interview that he purchased the post office building in 1993 when its prior owner went bankrupt. Click here to read that story.

“The seller has been patient and has been working with us,” DaRos said recently.

When the post office building at 202 Thimble Islands Rd. went on the market in 2008, the asking price was $1.6 million, but that price dropped, and then the economy bottomed out. The parcel is only 0.18 acres and the building is 1,400 square-feet, but the location and the views of Long Island Sound add to the value.

The town already received a $150,000 state grant toward construction of public bathrooms in Stony Creek, and there were plans to build them at Bayview Park. However, DaRos said that location is problematic because of the high water table and other engineering concerns.

So, everything is on hold until the status of the state grant application is known. If the grant is approved, there soon could be someplace new to ​“go” in Stony Creek.

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