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City staff warn removing small skate‑park lot could cost $75,000 in LWCF funding; residents push alternatives
Summary
City staff told the MSFI committee that a proposed 13‑space parking lot at Pat Russell/ the skate park is tied to a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and to required capping of contaminated soil; residents urged smaller footprint, pollinator plantings or other activation instead of paving.
City staff told the Keene Municipal Services, Facilities & Infrastructure Committee that removing a small parking lot proposed at the skate park would likely cost the city $75,000 in Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant money and could jeopardize future grant scoring.
"If we remove the parking lot from this site, we then lose the $75,000 that was contingent upon that development," Deputy City Manager Andy Bohan said, describing grant and Department of Environmental Services (DES) constraints imposed after soil testing found contaminants where a former parking area had been removed. Staff said consultants recommended capping/encapsulation of the contaminated footprint and that the city could meet DES and LWCF conditions with a smaller lot and vegetation rather than a larger paved surface.
The parking area in the current concept would be small — staff described about 13 spaces in a footprint close to 85 by 60 feet — and would provide direct access for people using the skate park, the nearby basketball and pickleball courts and the Cheshire Rail Trail. Parks officials also said they are planning pollinator planting and other landscape measures to soften the area and encouraged neighborhood participation in the design.
"We could minimize the spaces," Bohan said, "flip it, redesign a little bit so it's not as big as what it needs to be." Parks Director Carus Kenny said staff plan to work with the Cheshire County Conservation District, the Conservation Commission and local master gardeners to add planting and community features if the lot proceeds.
Residents who attended said a small lot would not be well used and urged alternatives to paving. "I think there's plenty of access and parking nearby," said resident Vicky Morton. Joe Shapiro, who lives blocks away, said he worried a small lot would not draw people to the park and urged staff to think about features that attract visitors.
Multiple residents and councilors asked staff to pursue more neighborhood engagement before final design. Several speakers also suggested exploring other remediation or capping approaches, and whether the city could demonstrate existing nearby parking to LWCF so the grant requirement could be reconsidered, though staff said that was unlikely now that the grant paperwork and National Park Service approvals are underway.
The committee voted to accept the communications and recommendations as informational and to allow staff to continue outreach and refinement of the plan. No final design or council acceptance of grant dollars occurred at the meeting.
What happens next: staff said they will continue dialogue with engineering, the grant administrator and neighborhood groups to narrow the footprint, pursue planting and report back before any council action about accepting grant funds or changing the proposal.
