Parks & Rec unveils proposed improvements to Spec Pond

Date: 7/13/2010

July 12, 2010

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

WILBRAHAM -- The Wilbraham Parks and Recreation Department made its pitch to the public for a grant application that could bring in $500,000 toward the proposed upgrades to Spec Pond.

In a public meeting on July 8, Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryan Litz laid out the proposed renovations, which include improvements to the pavilion area, three new baseball and softball diamonds, a series of walking trails throughout the park, beach improvements, a fishing dock, a spray park, a dog park, as well as making all areas of the park handicap accessible.

All overhead utility lines will be buried, not only as a safety precaution, but also as a requirement of the grant. In order to apply for the grant, underground lines must be included in the plans.

With the expansion and improvements to the facilities, the Parks and Recreation Department and its supporters hope to make the park a benchmark for the town and the region.

"We want this to be a showcase and this grant will help us make it that showcase, not just for Wilbraham, but for Hampden and other areas of Western Massachusetts," Wilbraham Friends of Recreation (FOR) President David Clini said. "People talk about Stanley Park [in Westfield], they talk about Szot Park [in Chicopee], they talk about Look Park in Northampton and we want them to talk in the same light about Spec Pond."

The funds being applied for, according to Litz, would come from the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant, a state grant offered by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services.

Once the application is submitted, the town has to wait approximately 90 days for a decision. If the funds are granted, Litz said several more planning meetings will be hosted and proposed date of completion for the project will be June 1, 2012.

It is the second time the town has applied for this grant. Wilbraham also applied for the 2009 fiscal year, but was not one of the 21 communities selected to receive the grant.

This time around, however, Litz is optimistic.

"South Hadley received a quarter of a million dollars for their clubhouse, a golf course clubhouse," Litz said. "That sort of led me to think, 'Wow, if they're giving South Hadley a quarter of a million dollars [for that], certainly a facility like Spec Pond, which is used by thousands of people of all ages, really, we could put in for it.'"

If the $500,000 is awarded to Wilbraham, it will make up nearly two-thirds of the total monies needed to complete the project. The town of Wilbraham would have to foot the bill for the additional $306,000.

The plans unveiled are the second stage of the movement to improve the Spec Pond area. The first step was a $600,000 undertaking that included a new retention pond, new sidewalks and an access road from Post Office Park.

The improvements from both projects will total $1.8 million.

According to Litz, Wilbraham has more than the $306,000 required to complete the project. Leftover funds from the 2008 fiscal year Community Preservation Act (CPA) equal $80,000 worth of usable money, while funds from the CPA for the 2011 fiscal year will equal $250,000. The Parks and Recreation Department also expects $20,000 in fundraising dollars from the FOR.

Some at the meeting raised concerns about CPA funds being used for park renovations, indicating that the understanding was that those funds were to be used to buy and preserve land and historic sites in town.

Litz, however, stated that park improvement does fall within CPA guidelines and nothing is being done with CPA funds that could be considered an illegitimate use of the money.

"One of the things we did is a lot of research on the usage and what it can and can't be used for," Litz said. "We met with the town council and we explored a lot of different things before we even put our proposal [together]."

Should Wilbraham not receive the grant, it would put a major dent in the renovation efforts, but it would not halt them completely.

"We've made contingency plans if we don't get the grant to be able to do at least part of the project," Clini said. "However, it won't be anywhere near as large as we want it to be."

With the grant's competitive nature, backing from the community and leaders is necessary, according to Litz.

State Sen. Gale Candaras and State Rep. Angelo Puppolo voiced support for the project, while the FOR, the Recreation Commission, the Scantic Valley YMCA and the Wilbraham Open Space and Recreation Committee have all written letters endorsing the endeavor.

The public, Litz said , may also write letters of support addressed to Melissa Cryan at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Letters must be brought to the Recreation Office at 45C Post Office Park by July 12.

"The application deadline is July 15. Our goal is to submit the application on July 13, so it gives us a couple of days leeway in case something should happen," Litz said