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Local parks group ranks park improvements; mister, dog park top priorities
Summary
After presentations and discussion, the group ranked four park proposals; a hand-activated water "mister," a dog park, and natural landscaping rose to the top and will be developed further for possible POS funding requests and presentation to the town commissioners.
Presenter (Speaker 8) outlined four candidate projects for town park improvements — natural landscaping (including a potential rain-garden/‘‘Zen’’ path), a modular fitness trail, a dog park, and a hand-activated water misting feature (the "mister"). Speaker 8 described tiers of work from minimal plantings to larger landscaping and provided past fencing quotes and soil-test references for the dog park, and an example timeline from Middletown that included permit and key-card options.
The group discussed operational details and constraints: water availability and piping near the bathrooms and fountains (DPW noted an existing line), the potential need for a French drain in low areas, and manpower or concrete-pad requirements for the mister. Speaker 3 told the group that "there will be POS funds" this year, opening the possibility of submitting the projects to Project Open Space for partial funding; submission timing was estimated (submissions around May; notifications around July) but the exact amounts and schedule were not specified in the transcript.
Members agreed to rank the four projects and use a points-based tally. Using the stated scoring method (1st=4 points, 2nd=3, 3rd=2, 4th=1), the presenter reported the composite results: the mister led (16 points), the dog park second (15), natural landscaping third (14), and the fitness trail last (6). The group decided to develop more detailed cost and implementation plans for the top three priorities (mister, dog park, natural landscaping) and to hold off on the fitness-trail work for now. DPW (Speaker 5) was asked to gather water-run cost and manpower information and return with numbers at the next meeting.
Why it matters: the prioritized projects could be advanced for town budget consideration and POS grant requests. The proposals range from modest (entrance plantings, community-built fitness stations) to larger vendor-built options (fencing, soil remediation, installed fitness stations), and each will carry different cost, maintenance, and permitting implications.
Next steps: staff and volunteers will prepare tighter cost estimates and site plans to present to the town commissioners for budget approval and to support any POS funding requests.
