Friends of Crawford Park highlight plantings, pollinator garden; council approves new paver path and donor program

Allison Lazarus, president of the Friends of Crawford Park, told the Rye Town Council that volunteers have added new plantings, replaced bench plaques with brass, and installed memorial trees around Crawford Park.

"We recently planted three new memorial trees — a crab apple, a red maple and a dogwood," Lazarus said, and thanked the town’s parks staff for ongoing coordination. She also reported vandalism in the sunken garden last year — "somebody pulled out all of our flowers ... twice" — and urged residents to report misconduct.

Carmen Koigbach, a Friends board member and former president, described restoration of the sensory garden and the group’s new pollinator garden. She listed plants installed by volunteers and Girl Scouts — including wild bergamot, yarrow, culver root, foxglove, butterfly bush and milkweed — and urged care for irrigation and infrastructure. "Two of the items that are not doing so well are the hakoi plantings ... we have to actually look at the implementation of a scheduling of watering," Koigbach said, calling for town staff help with watering and soil or mulch adjustments to protect new plants.

Council and staff discussed technical fixes for the soaker irrigation tubing and agreed to have maintenance staff recheck timers and possible leaks. Vic Federico, director of parks and facilities, said the system is timer-controlled and that maintenance staff would inspect possible blockages and repairs.

On the consent side of the meeting, the council unanimously approved a contract with Cassel Construction to install a paved path connecting the sunken garden to the pavilion at Crawford Park. The contract includes materials, installation and associated plantings. Council members also debated the proposed donor paver program that will allow community members to purchase engraved pavers for placement in the new walkway; after discussion the council agreed on a $200 suggested donation per engraved paver to encourage broader participation.

Allison Lazarus said the Friends will work with town staff to set up a giving page and signage for the donor program. "We are always looking for more volunteers," she said; the Friends also plan additional fall plantings, signage for the wildflower garden, and on-site storage to reduce trips carrying supplies.

The council vote to award the paver-path contract passed on roll call (Councilpersons Pamela Jaffy, Randy Sier and Thomas Nardy and Supervisor Gary Zuckerman recorded as 'yes'). The project timeline calls for design coordination with staff and a subsequent construction schedule to be posted when available.

Next steps: staff will finalize the contract paperwork, the Friends will open the donor page and the parks crew will inspect irrigation components noted during the meeting.