SOUTHWICK – A straw pole of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Thursday night was unanimously in favor of the latest request for the funding of Whalley Park.
John and Kathy Whalley presented the current to-do list of remaining items for the town to complete once the park is officially turned over to the town.
The items on the list totaled just over $1.1 million, a big cut from the $2 million in items presented a few months ago.
The Parks and Recreation Commission and Board of Selectmen are co-applicants for CPC funding of the items, which include lighting fields, concrete sidewalks, equipment, shade trees, and more. Last week, there were an additional $300,000 in projects. However, CPC member Dennis Clark told selectmen that the CPC would not likely approve the entire list.
The board suggested trimming items, including ornamental trees and shrubs, and asked architect R. Levesque Associates about cutting other costs, including lighting and concrete.
Whalley said he decided to complete a few more items, including two youth baseball field infields at a cost of $100,000, so that lighted fields and safety remained intact.
“There’s a lot of things we took out that I’m going to do,” said Whalley. “I wanted to make sure you have everything you need to make it a functional park.”
Whaley said “there’s not much left to do” and said he will also take care of the pavilion planned for the park. Whalley will also donate $100,000 for the first few years of maintenance.
A member of the audience raised the question of maintenance costs and wondered where the funds would come from, suggesting that the Whalleys are offing the town a Mercedes, but it can only afford an Aveo.
Parks and Recreation Chairman and CPC member Kelly Magni said once the park is up and running, it will sustain itself.
Selectwoman Tracy Cesan offered a list of potential maintenance items, including two part-time employees, which totaled $40,000.
She said she made calls to surrounding communities to find out if there are similar parks and how much income is generated.
“Westfield’s Whitney Park has three softball leagues that use it spring, summer and fall,” said Cesan. “One league has 12 teams, another has 12 and one has 16 and they each pay $600 to play. And that’s just one sport.”
Cesan said both Holyoke and Chicopee have teams without fields that would likely look to Whalley Park and be willing to pay to play.
“Whitney Park is turning people away,” said Cesan. “We just need time to develop this.”
The Board of Selectmen will discuss the most recent costs at its meeting Monday and the CPC will vote on the project Aug. 23.
