CDM Smith
An overhead view of the final conceptual plan for improvements to the Grove Street entrance area of Filippello Park.
The reconstruction of one section of Filippello Park got the Town Council’s approval, and a meeting will be held the temporary closing of the field on the Grove Street side of the park.
On June 26, the Town Council approved borrowing $1,287,000 to fund the renovation of the area near the park entrance off Grove Street. The lowest bid came from Heimlich Landscaping & Construction, which was one of two bids, said Glenn Howard, landscape architect with CDM Smith.
Many of the Councilors said they happy to approve the funding for the park improvements, which passed 9-0.
“I am really excited about this,” said Councilor Anthony Donato. “This has been on a lot of people’s radars for a long time.”
Councilor Susan Falkoff said, “I think we are getting a lot for $1.2 million.”
The project includes a 25,000 sq. ft. dog park, half an acre of passive recreation space with a path through it, a gazebo, and picnic tables. The basketball and futsal courts will be resurfaced, and new lighting will be added to the court. There will also be a hopscotch and four square area.
The parking lot will be redesigned and repaved, with 14 additional parking spaces. Also, there will be decorative fencing along Grove Street. There will also be solar lights on lamp posts along the entryway. Because the park was built on the former town landfill, designers wanted to avoid any digging, including to put in electrical lines for the lamps, Howard said, so solar lights were chosen. Existing wiring for the lights along the pathway will be replaced.
There was a lack of water fountains on that side of the park. Howard said he was able to find way to get a line from Grove Street to a drinking fountain without too much digging.
Improvements to the stormwater drainage system in the park will be made, including the swales along the perimeter of the park.
Construction will take about four months, and Howard told the Town Council he thought it would be completed by the fall of 2018.
The project will be paid off over 10 years, from Fiscal Year 2019 to Fiscal Year 2028, and the interest costs are projected to be $318,500, according to Town officials.
Field Closing
The field next to the area where the improvements will be made will be the subject of a meeting hosted by the Department of Recreation. A proposal has been made to close the field during the fall of 2018 to let the turf recover. A second meeting on the closing will be held by the Recreation Department on July 9, 2018 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.
During the first meeting, on May 24, people brought up the concerns about the lack of field space in town being made worse by closing the field at Filippello Park.
Also, concerns were made about lack of parking at the park.