The parking lot of Herlihy Park in Whately. Staff Photo/Paul Franz
Herlihy Park Pavilion in Whately. Staff Photo/Paul Franz
The driveway entrance of Herlihy Park in Whately. Staff Photo/Paul Franz
Herlihy Park Pavilion and shed in Whately. Staff Photo/Paul Franz
It's horrible-the special town meeting on Saturday will require voters to play several entertainment fund applications at the table.
Residents are asked to consider funding for several improvements to Herlihy Park, including barrier-free renovations and the expansion of the community ice rink. The meeting will begin at 1pm at the 4 Sandy Lane Town Office.
Of the seven articles, Article 3 deals with the allocation of US$107,911 from free cash to make Herlihy Park easier to access by repaved driveways and refurbished bathrooms. According to town administrator Brian Domina (Brian Domina), the town received a $62,588 Park Land Acquisition and Community Reconstruction (PARC) grant, but a condition of the grant required the town to allocate the full amount and Repay later.
At next year's annual town meeting, Domina said that voters will be required to allocate $45,324 of Community Protection Act funding for the project and return the $107,911 requested at the meeting on Saturday.
Domina explained that the goals of the renovation are parking lots and driveways because they are in poor condition and bathrooms need to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
"The driveway has destroyed the concrete.... The parking lot has only gravel, dirt, potholes and grass. We will pave the road for this," he said. "There are currently three bathrooms there, one of which will meet ADA standards....We need to make one of them bigger so that we can get the proper clearance around the fixture."
Article 6 requires residents to approve the use of the unallocated $4,700 in the April 2014 municipal meeting to improve air-raid shelters and small baseball fields.
The town originally hoped to use the money to install the donated air-raid shelters, but because there was not enough space between the fields and the property line, they were never in place. On the contrary, according to the explanation document of the warrant, the money will be used to maintain the existing air-raid shelters and make general on-site improvements.
Article 1 requires voters to allocate $6,500 from the Community Protection Fund to expand the existing ice rink between the Christian Lane police and the fire station, which became a popular activity after it was installed in January.
The money will be used to install fillets for the ice rink, increase the length and width by 10 feet, and add a durable ice rink lining, foam cushions to reduce the impact of falls, and LED lights to allow night skating. There will also be a 15-foot x 30-foot "children's skating rink".
Selectboard Chairman Jonathan Edwards explained earlier that the expanded ice rink will attract more people to Whately, including families.
"There is no doubt that increasing the size makes people say,'Wow, I really have to take advantage of it,'" Edwards said. "If you haven't tried it before, there are many reasons to try it now."
Domina said that other articles are "housekeeping" and involve small grants, such as $7,500 or approximately $9,600 for the Chestnut Plain Road sidewalk replacement project to fund the pumping station connecting the Whately Water Department and Whately Water District.
The full special town meeting authorization can be viewed on bit.ly/3bBu5kA.
You can contact Chris Larabee at clabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.
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