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Boscawen committee delays site work, approves pavilion design tweaks and reviews ADA ramp recommendations
Summary
At its June 1 meeting, the Boscawen Town Park Improvements Project committee voted to approve minutes, delay site work until after Old Home Day to finalize scope, accepted a structural engineer's stronger framing recommendations for the pavilion, and reviewed ADA ramp fixes suggested in an email from John Porter reporting Moe Stimpson’s site review.
BOSCAWEN, N.H. — The Boscawen Town Park Improvements Project committee met June 1 and approved the minutes from its May 4 meeting before agreeing to postpone on-site construction until after Old Home Day so members could finalize the project scope, coordinate with Peckham and other subcontractors, and complete interpretive pieces.
The hiatus gives the committee roughly two months to refine plans and collect cost estimates. Charlie Niebling said he is awaiting initial scope and cost feedback from Jeff Perry at Peckham; the committee identified a detailed scope and a proposed project cost from Peckham as a key next step.
The meeting also reviewed structural recommendations for the park pavilion from structural engineer Anette Dey. Niebling said Dey recommended enlarging two horizontal plates and the ridge members that hold the rafters, from 7" x 7" to 7" x 9", and adjusting some joinery; the committee incorporated those changes into the design.
Members discussed access and historic-resources implications. Lorrie Carey said she may need to return to the New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources for further approvals. Carey also raised ADA compliance concerns and said a state representative had indicated a preference for asphalt, a point the committee contrasted with alternative approaches.
The committee reviewed an email from John Porter summarizing the findings of Moe Stimpson’s on-site review of the Dorval House handicap ramp. According to the email, "Moe looked it all over and did not think it was that bad." The email relayed these specific suggestions from Stimpson: "Leave the existing base structure and check support members," "Remove the wooden decking and replace it with the synthetic TREX material," "Add railings on both sides that are 1.5\" in diameter and 1.5\" from the sidewall," and "Add a transition piece at the beginning that is made of gravel, concrete or blacktop." The email also recommended grading approaches with compactable material such as stone dust and noted that reversing the ramp entrance would require a longer ramp and interfere with pavilion access because of existing topography.
The committee also reported a kickoff call with Bill Gegas of the New Hampshire Division of Parks about reimbursement procedures under the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant. Members on the call included Kellee Easler, Kate Merrill, Mike Tardiff (CNHRPC) and Niebling.
On fundraising, members discussed a sponsored picnic-table program with potential price points of $1,250 to $1,500 per table, including a donor plaque, and considered purchasing tables from the prison store. The committee plans to unveil picnic-table sponsorships at Old Home Day and to post an online photo thanking Joe Roy for donating timber and trucking for the pavilion.
Actions recorded in the minutes included approval of the May 4 minutes (moved by Fred Reagan; seconded by Charlie Niebling; recorded as "all in favor") and a motion to adjourn (moved by Lorrie Carey; seconded by Fred Reagan), after which the meeting ended at 4:15 p.m. The committee set its next meeting for June 30, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in the 4th Floor Conference Room.
The committee identified several follow-ups: obtain Peckham’s cost estimate and detailed scope, have Lorrie bring past renderings and photos to the next meeting, continue donor solicitation, and finalize the picnic-table fundraising framework.
