Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
ARPA-funded raised beds installed at Newington senior center; volunteers and students completed build
Summary
Staff reported three ARPA-funded raised garden beds installed, completed largely by 12 Newington High School students; staff also updated commissioners on TV lounge furniture and planned kitchen renovations.
Commission staff reported that the ARPA-funded raised garden project at the Newington senior center was completed the night before the meeting and that volunteers and students finished the installation.
The staff member described three raised beds made from concrete pavers—two 13-foot beds and one 16-foot bed, each about five pavers (roughly 25 inches) high—and said the beds will be planted with tomatoes, squash, peppers, beets and potatoes. "Twelve kids from the track team showed up at 3:30... by 5:30 these 12 kids had it done," the staff member said, describing the rapid volunteer effort and the benefit of increased garden capacity for the center's human services food programs.
Staff explained the garden was funded through ARPA money allocated to senior center projects via the state unit on aging; heavy spring rains delayed installation earlier in the season. Two of the three beds were already planted at the time of the meeting, and the third bed was expected to follow soon.
Staff also updated commissioners on related facility projects: TV lounge furniture has been ordered and flooring lead times mean work should begin by the end of June, and a capital improvement project for the kitchen (not ARPA-funded) is planned to renovate the existing commercial kitchen so the center can move to more in-house meal preparation over the coming year.
The commission and staff agreed to take a garden tour after adjournment and to continue coordinating volunteers and facility logistics.
