MONTAGUE — Parks and Recreation Director Jon Dobosz held a public information session last week regarding the Montague Center Park Improvement Project, which would see major park renovations completed by 2024.
The meeting, held at the Montague Center Fire Station, consisted of Dobosz summarizing the planning committee’s current ideas, a presentation of preliminary design work and a period where residents could ask questions.
Dobosz explained the project’s planning committee formed in 2018. Its first step was to pursue creation of a master plan for “identifying the natural and artificial elements of the park and how they coexist.” Three students from the Conway School of Landscape Design were tasked with synthesizing this master plan and met “a couple times” with the committee in the process. Dobosz said there were also two public workshops that welcomed input from residents.
Dobosz then presented graphics showing how the park would be altered during the improvement project, emphasizing that the design work is intended as a “general representation” and is not bid-ready. The plan includes baseball field improvements; a relocated, covered picnic area; additional seating; a walking path; a pollinator garden; new trees along School Street; a new shed; a parking lot, following the proposed demolition of the former blacksmith building on Station Street; and a renovated playground with new play structures.
The new playground, he said, would be more welcoming to children under 5 years old than the current playground, which caters more toward 5- to 12-year-olds.
“There’s not a lot of elements in the playground right now that serve that group,” Dobosz noted.
Dobosz referenced the potential for a “treehouse-style climbing structure” as one of the main additions. The planning committee initially considered reusing a structure maintained at the former Montague Center School, but concluded that investing in new equipment would be of greater benefit.
“A brand new structure, while obviously more expensive, will get us 15 to 20 years,” Dobosz said.
Dobosz added that the committee had been thrown a “couple curveballs” within recent weeks relating to stormwater management. The original design had to be modified to accommodate recently observed flood patterns. The committee anticipates needing to consult a credited architectural firm to resolve flooding-related concerns.
Within the master planning process, the park improvement budget was estimated to be in the realm of $250,000.
“That does not mean that it is going to be the end budget,” Dobosz clarified. “I think that we can do it for much less than that.”
In addition to already amassing $4,500 in donations, Dobosz hopes to receive grant funding from the state’s Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant program. He said he will attend a meeting this week where he hopes to get a better sense of how much money Montague may receive, as well as a window in which to expect notice of receipt or rejection.
This year, the committee is aiming to move the picnic area closer to the playground area; make baseball field and backstop improvements; and add an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp to the shed. Should Montague be awarded a state grant, Dobosz said the town is eyeing 2024 for “full completion of the park.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.