Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/arsenal-park/page/4/)
On Oct. 11, Town officials will present some proposals for how Arsenal Park could look after being renovated. The meeting is the second public meeting on Arsenal Park, which is located behind the Arsenal Mall. At the first meeting in August residents gave input about what they like about the park, and things they would like changed. See results of the Arsenal Park survey filled out by residents by clicking here.
The second meeting for the Arsenal Park Design has been moved to Wednesday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Commander’s Mansion, the Department of Community Development and Planning announced. The DCDP sent out the following announcement:
Below is a summary of the information about the upcoming meeting and links to documents from the first meeting:
Community Meeting # Two: Options for Design and Enhancements
When: Wednesday, October 11 –6:30-8:30 PM
Where: Commander’s Mansion, 440 Talcott Avenue
See the Content for Community Meeting # One held August 15, 2017
Survey Results: Arsenal Survey #1 Results
Meeting Documents: Click the link to explore the presentation, breakout meeting summary, and look at the breakout sessions map exercise with comments received: Document Center Meeting Folder
With the folder, there is also a link to the online comments received prior to the meeting. Presentation: Meeting Presentation with Breakout summary report out. Project Webpage: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/index.aspx?NID=867
In preparation to renovate Arsenal Park town officials are collecting ideas from the public for enhancements and additions to the park located off Arsenal Street, behind the Arsenal Mall.
On Tuesday night, the Community Development and Planning Department hosted a Community Meeting at the Watertown Library where residents broke into groups to brainstorm ideas. Arsenal Park, at 13.2 acres, is the second biggest park in town, after Filippello Park. It features numerous activities and features, including playing fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, a tot lot, a skate park, community garden plots, gazebos, grills, a spray deck, a bocce court and an amphitheater. Residents brought up a number of ideas for improvements including better access to the site. Arsenal Park can be hard to find, and the only auto entrance is through the Arsenal Mall parking lot.
Planning for redesigning Arsenal Park has begun, and Watertown officials want to hear from the public about how they think the park should be improved. The first Arsenal Park Design Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Watertown Library (123 Main St.) in the Watertown Savings Bank Room. The park sits next to the Arsenal Yards, the former Arsenal Mall, which is undergoing renovations and expansion. While redesigning of the park Town officials are looking at how the park fits with the new mixed use project which will have apartments and a hotel along with the shops and restaurants. Arsenal Park currently includes a grass field sometimes used for softball and soccer, tennis courts, basketball courts, a skate park, grill and picnic tables and a gazebo, among other features.
With all the changes coming to the Arsenal Mall, the park next door will also see some changes. Town officials will soon begin discussing how to renovate Arsenal Mall, and the changes could include the relocation of a small piece of the historic Arsenal. During a community meeting about the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project Watertown Senior Planner Gideon Schreiber said that discussions about the park will begin soon. “On June 21 there will be a meeting with an internal (town) group and abutters to discuss the process,” Schreiber said. Following that meeting, there will be public meetings to discuss changes to the park.
With field space difficult to find in Watertown, Recreation Director Peter Centola told the Town Council Thursday that lighting at fields is one of the main priorities for his Fiscal 2018 budget.
Some fields would get new lights, while others would get the ones already there in better working shape, Centola said. Finding practice and game time has become a problem for Watetown youth sports groups, so lights would enable the fields to be used longer. Centola noted that discussion about Phase II of the Victory Field renovation is about to start, but is not in his budget for Fiscal 2018. Updating the electrical boxes at Casey Park’s baseball field, Filippello Park and Saltonstall Park are key projects, Centola said. The three are part of one project.
Town Councilors were not ready to approve having temporary lights at Arsenal Park to help the Watertown Youth Soccer program deal with its growing number of players.
On Tuesday night, the Town Council discussed putting the lights at the park, but the majority felt that there are too many questions remaining to give approval. Watertown Youth Soccer has 669 players, from 600 families, in the program, said President Mark Leonard. That number is up from 400 players three years ago, and the program does not have enough field space for all the teams, Leonard said. After discussing where temporary lights could go in town, the Human Services subcommittee looked at Arsenal Park as the best place, Councilor Aaron Dushku, a member of the Human Services subcommittee said. While the lights would be for the soccer program, other youth sports would benefit because it would free up other fields, he added.
With a growing youth sports program and limited field space in Watertown, a Council subcommittee recommended allowing temporary lights at a town park. The Human Services subcommittee voted to support having temporary lights at Arsenal Park, said Councilor Aaron Dushku, vice chairman of the subcommittee. “The council will listen to the report, ask questions and make a vote when we next reconvene as a whole,” Dushku said. “Naturally, this will be a recommendation to the administration that they work out the finer details of the process -some of which were discussed.” The subcommittee meeting was well attended, with a large contingent of residents who live near Victory Field.