Total Project Cost: $200,000
Project soft costs, including land survey, environmental review and design, are being funded by the $25,000 FY24 CPC grant. This work is in presently in-process. The total project is anticipated to be $200,000 less the FY24 CPC design funding received. The estimated construction cost will be included with the proposed design.
Project Description:
GOAL: The West Side Park complex is 10 acres of Town owned property located at the end of West End Avenue. The CPC funded portion of the proposed project will create lacrosse fields, a tranquility garden, add a parking area between West End Avenue and Lane Street and assist with renovating the playground. The Park funded portion will reconstruct the bridge connecting the playground to the fields, partially fund the playground renovation, build restroom facilities, install security cameras, picnic areas, seating and landscaping throughout the property. COMMUNITY BENEFIT: Lacrosse is fast becoming the game of choice for many of our young people. Although there are many ball fields in town, most are reserved for a specific sport. As the “new game in town”, lacrosse often only gets to play or practice in whatever field is left unused. By creating these fields, lacrosse would now have dedicated fields rather than competing with baseball, softball or soccer to locate a vacant field each week. As lacrosse is mainly a spring & fall sport, the open space of these fields will also provide residents with passive recreational opportunities throughout the year. The installation of a Tranquility “Healing” Garden has been requested by the community for many years. ELIGIBILITY FOR CPC FUNDING: The proposed West Side Park project is eligible for CPC funding as it will meet the criteria of “land (that) will be used for active or passive recreation including, but not limited to, the use of land for community gardens, trails, & noncommercial youth & adult sports, & the use of land as a park, playground or athletic field” . For FY24, the CPC funded the soft costs associated with this project. We have signed contracts with Maddigan Land Surveying and Stephen Chrmiel, Environmental Engineer, as these reports are needed prior to designing the new fields. We anticipate this work to be completed in late fall and the design to be completed spring 2024 AGREES WITH CPC PLAN: The Open Space and Recreation component of the CPC Plan states that the purpose is “to acquire, create, and preserve open space, natural resources, and recreation areas and to rehabilitate or restore recreation facilities. The proposed West Side field project meets these criteria.