Click Here for the Link

Deputy House Minority Leader William Hamzy said Wednesday that he and his colleagues from Bristol and Southington will make an all-out effort to get the money approved at the State Bond Commission’s meeting next month.

“This is one of the rare projects where a state investment will lead to an immediate private investment,” Hamzy said. “A lot of times, we do these public projects with the hope that they’ll develop some private activity. But this one’s different: We know $3.3 million will bring about $20 million.”

One of the questions I had (I thought the park was paying to move the road) was answered later in the article:

The park’s management wants to get the work under way so at least some new attractions can open in 2010. Hamzy said Lake Compounce has said it needs the state funding commitment in September, or will pursue the project on its own — but with a scaled-back expansion.

Looks like the state (more specifically the Governor’s office) is still debating releasing these funds. While the concept of assisting a private business expand in such difficult economic times on the surface rubs me the wrong way, this is different. When you peel back the layers the park has been a good partner for the state, brings in a lot of out of state traffic and as Rep. Frank Nicastro said in the article…the payback is not just a one time thing. Jobs, Sales Tax revenue, increased local tourism spending, etc….it really is a win-win for CT and the park.
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 This weekend the park opens for the 2008 season.  There are multiple discussions on-going about who’s going, what’s new for this year (a freshly painted Zoomerang, a new twist to BoulderDash and expanded Ghost Hunt to name a few).

Check out the fan forum for updates!

SJF

So I’ve created the Photography forum on our discussion boards.  It’s a place for us to post links to our favorite photos, compare shots, have some contests…all in all hopefully a lot of fun.

I’ll post the details of our first contest inside.

Check it out!

Check out the fan forum (click here) for pictures, a report of the afternoon and discussion about the trip, the park’s future, etc.

 Thanks go out to Jerry Brick and his staff for graciously holding the tour and to forum member Sue for organizing the outing!

Steve

Just a quick message…we’ve got the site fully migrated over to it’s new host, so hopefully there won’t be any more downtime. 

As I said on the message boards, I don’t think a whole lot is going to change here, at least in the short term…But I’m open to suggestion.  If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see here drop me a line at jr@theforcums.com or PM Me on the message boards.

I want to thank Josh for all the work he’s done here and I look forward to his continued participation with the site, in whatever form it may be.  I’ve been a member of this site pretty much from the beginning and it’s amazing what Josh has been able to build here.  And I look forward to finding new ways to take this place to the next level. 

I look forward to interacting with you all here and seeing you in the park this summer. 

 Steve

Best Roller Coaster

Published Mar 3, 2008

Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce
271 Enterprise Dr., Bristol, Conn. 860-583-3300
Most of the thrill of a coaster comes during the very first ride, so there’s no point in revisiting the same ones over and over again. That’s why you’ll want to try the heart-pumping Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce, which—even though it’s the nation’s oldest amusement park—is off the radar of many New Yorkers. It got its name because it was built into the side of a mountain. Since its debut in 2000, this tree-canopied ride has quickly become a coaster-junkie favorite, because it is fast (reaching 60 mph), long (two-and-a-half-minutes), and delivers plenty of stomach flips (biggest drop: a solid 115 feet). Whizzing through the foliage, it represents nature’s fury.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with LakeCompounce.org–meeting some of the members and interacting with all of you on the forum. I’m also very appreciative of the way Lake Compounce management and staff took me and the other members in and made our contributions seem very welcome and even important to the park’s operation. These days, I just don’t have the extra time and creative energy that I’d like to put into the site. Frankly, I think the LakeCompounce.org visitors and members deserve to have someone at the helm with more time, energy, and creativity to spend on the site. Even though I am stepping down, that does not mean I love the park any less. I’m still a Lake Compounce fan and look forward to continuing to build the relationships that I made when I started the site in 2004. And of course, I will still drive for Boulder Dash.

-Joshua B