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Chicopee Recreation Committee outlines park renovation plans, flags staffing and contamination issues
Summary
Interim Parks & Recreation Superintendent Benjamin Strepka briefed the committee on major and minor park projects, noting Sarah Jane PARC design nearing completion, PCB contamination at a splash pad and Szot Pool, and staffing shortfalls that complicate maintenance and ADA upgrades.
Interim Parks & Recreation Superintendent Benjamin Strepka gave the Chicopee Recreation Committee an update on May 28, 2025, detailing a slate of park renovation and maintenance projects and noting constraints on staff and funding.
Strepka said Sarah Jane PARC is finalizing design work that includes new ADA walkways, an inclusive playground, playing-field improvements and skate-park upgrades, with construction planned to start after OPEE and National Night Out in August. He identified a separate Sarah Jane splash pad as contaminated with PCBs and said the city plans to remove the existing pad; Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for that work are on hold.
The committee heard that the Szot Park Master Plan is in draft form and will use a phased approach, with Phase I focusing on Abbey Memorial parking, a picnic area and a splash pad. Strepka said Szot Pool also requires PCB remediation and that contamination extends beyond the pool footprint, complicating cleanup and design work.
Other highlighted projects included Abbey Brook restoration (Phase I nearing completion, Phase II in design for the lower dam and Phase III for the upper dam), Rivers Park dugout improvements (shade structure, concrete pad and benches, with much work done in-house) and a planned PARC grant program that lists upgrades for Ike Alpert, Dana, Ray Ash and Garrity Grove.
Strepka warned that 18 playground areas citywide are approaching the end of their useful life and that upkeep is currently handled by one staff member without formal training. He said maintenance capacity is constrained by 16 staff on duty versus 21 positions budgeted, aging equipment and the need to adopt newer technologies (including electric equipment and remote pool filters) to meet workload and changing ADA standards.
Staff reported completed and upcoming field work (seeding, levelling and infield mix additions), bench replacements at several sites, and facility repairs such as cleaning and initial plaster, gutter and roof work at Sarah Spalding Chapel that will require a larger assessment for full renovation.
Strepka also presented programming and seasonal schedules: youth and adult leagues continue, OPEE is set to run June 30 through Aug. 8 (sessions are full), pools and splash pads will open in late June and run through August (Ray Ash to open with pool; Szot has a cracked pipe; Fairview and Sarah Jane splash pads will not open until resolved), and a calendar of summer events includes Pride Fest (June 14), fireworks (June 28–29), movie nights (July 11 and Aug. 8), National Night Out (Aug. 6) and Aldenville summer concerts beginning July 1.
Committee members asked operational follow-ups during the meeting. For example, Chairman Bill Courchesne asked about a hollow tree stump at Ray Ash Park; Strepka said he would inspect it and refer larger concerns to the Forestry Department.
The update signaled several projects reliant on grants (PARC and OLRP) and state review, and committee members noted that funding holds and staffing limits will affect the pace of repairs and remediation.
