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Chelsea council conditionally approves Timbertown Park upgrades, designates park as B2B trailhead
Summary
The City of Chelsea conditionally approved a public–private Timbertown Park upgrade and designated the park as a B2B Trail trailhead, pending further review by the Community Center Work Group and future partnership agreement discussions with HWPI and WCPARC.
Chelsea’s City Council on Dec. 19 conditionally approved a proposed upgrade of Timbertown Park and formally designated the park as a trailhead for the Border‑to‑Border (B2B) Trail, advancing talks on a public–private partnership to fund and build infrastructure improvements.
City Manager Roy Atkinson outlined components of the project — parking lot and electrical upgrades, new lighting and restrooms, repairs to the play structure, pathways restoration and a six‑court pickleball facility. Atkinson said funding would come from private sources supplemented by SCPARC and HWPI, and that the city would likely handle electrical upgrades and public‑works construction tasks through its Department of Public Works.
Council Member Eric Keaton moved the measure recommending conditional approval pending findings by the Community Center Work Group; Council Member Kate Mehuron seconded the motion. Council voted to begin partnership‑agreement discussions with HWPI and WCPARC and to designate Timbertown Park as a B2B Trail trailhead; both motions passed with votes recorded as "All Ayes." The motions do not commit the city to final expenditures or to the final scope of construction; they authorize conditional approval and the start of partner negotiations.
Joe Ziolkowski of the Main Street Park Alliance, who presented to Council earlier in the meeting, described recent environmental testing at the Main Street Park site and said additional testing was planned before the group advances design or construction work. Chelsea resident Gaye Morgenthaler thanked staff for replacing a flag at Timbertown Park and urged Council to reconsider certain board and commission appointments during public comment.
The Council’s action sets the project to a next step in which the Community Center Work Group will report its findings; only after that report will the city enter binding partnership or construction agreements. The Council did not authorize specific capital expenditures at this meeting.
