Groff Park on a drizzly day
The town has submitted a $600,000 request of the Community Preservation Act Committee for a major overhaul of Groff Park that will include the town's first splash park, a new additional pavilion, and badly needed new ADA compliant playground equipment set on a safer surface.
The overall cost is projected to be $1.2 million so the town will also be submitting a PARC grant (Parkland Acquisitions & Renovations for Communities) in July, 2016 to help cover the other half of the costs.
But if the state grant is not approved, like our last one for the historic North Town Common renovations, the amount requested from CPA will still be enough for the splash park since the 60+ year old wading pool is ABD (All But Dead).
If the CPA Committee recommends the funding it will still require Town Meeting approval this spring. The design work is being done by Berkshire Design Group who also recently designed the $240,000 ADA compliant make over of a preK playground at Crocker Farm School.
Now if we could just do something regarding the sorry state of War Memorial Playground ...
Wading pool was demolished last year at War Memorial Playground
It will be hard for me to support the $$ for Groff park, in particular the spray park. Is there any information/data that suggests that it would draw many families? The attendance/use of the other pools is shockingly low, indicating that families either aren't here (much) anymore or have other activities they'd rather do...of course after these are built they require a lot of ongoing associated costs (hardly a one-off)
ReplyDeleteFire one mid-level administrator, hire one DPW employee, use the difference to pay for the spray park. This is the sort of thing that could be done if not for town meeting nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful idea. Groff park is packed all summer and the playground and spray park will certainly get used. My kids love the wading pool. The playground equipment is desperately in need of replacement. Some of it is from the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you attack town meeting for budgets that are prepared by the departments, financial director and town manager, approved by the finance committee and select board? Town meeting is the last to vote and has final approval of the budget, but doesn't set the employee staffing and priorities. After a budget is approved the town manager has control over it's actually spent. You've picked the wrong target for your complaint.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with all this anti-town meeting craziness? Town meeting doesn't determine the staffing of town government or salaries. Nor does it vote for school staffing or salaries. Town Meeting just votes yes or no on a final budget amount. And then the school superintendent and town manager decide how this actually is spent. Town Meeting does vote and approve specific capital spending. It voted to replace the ancient furnaces at Fort River, for example. If you don't like town staffing, talk to the town manager, select board and finance committee.
ReplyDeleteWhy these totally unfactual slams on Town Meeting?