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| By Katelyn Gendron Reminder Assistant Editor AGAWAM A unanimous recommendation from the Community Preservation Committee to the City Council for the revitalization of the Meadowbrook and Valleybrook neighborhood parks fell on deaf ears last week. The committee recommended that the City Council appropriate $12,000 of the Community Preservation Act's (CPA) $1.8 million funding to hire a landscape architecture firm to develop a master plan and cost analysis for the restoration of the parks. Despite the committee's unanimous recommendation and favorable recommendations from two members of the City Council's CPA Committee, Jill Simpson and Jill Messick, the council voted six to five defeating the resolution. "I was flabbergasted at their [the council's] response," Karen Vella, a Meadowbrook Road resident, said. She explained that she, on the behalf of the neighborhood residents, has been working with Christopher Sparks, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, for over a year to secure funding for Meadowbrook park. "I will raise my voice to whoever I have to so that the park goes in," Vella said. "I think children need a safe place to go to in their neighborhood." Simpson, chair of the council's CPA Committee, said she believed the appropriation of the $12,000 would be a productive use of CPA funds. Annually, 10 percent of CPA funding must be allocated for housing, historical preservation and open space and the remaining funds may be used for recreation as well as the other three categories. Simpson said neighborhood parks are important because they are more easily and safely accessible to children as opposed to regional parks such as the upcoming School Street and River Road park. City Councilor George Bitzas, and member of the council's CPA Committee, said that while he is in favor of city parks he was opposed to the cost of the Meadowbrook/Valleybrook master plan. He added that he or the town engineer would be capable of creating the master plan rather than using CPA funds. "Landscape architecture is beyond my capability and the capability of everyone on this council," Sparks said in response to Bitzas's suggestion. Sparks explained that not only is the architect's expertise vital to the park and its abutters but also in achieving additional state funding. He said without a master plan it is highly unlikely the city would be awarded an Urban Self-Help Grant for the parks from the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. "We have to develop neighborhood parks. We have to provide recreation for all of our citizens," Henry Kozloski, chair of the Community Preservation Committee, said to the City Council. Kozloski explained that neighborhood park development is key particularly for the Valleybrook neighborhood because "there's not one single park in the northwest corner of Agawam, with the exception of [Clifford M.] Granger School." Other councilors, however, were concerned about the allocation of funding for maintenance in the city's annual budget. City Councilor Robert Rossi said he was unwilling to vote in favor of appropriating the CPA funding when there was no guarantee that the parks could be maintained if built. Sparks said funding can not be appropriated for parks that do not exist. He explained that a maintenance budget for the School Street and River Road park while currently under construction cannot be implemented into the city's budget until the park is completed. Sparks and Vella said they will continue to work for the development of the two parks. Sparks said he will be discussing the council's decision and the future direction of the each park's development with Mayor Susan Dawson soon. "I'm disappointed that a comprehensive plan will not be completed and that the residents of Meadowbrook and Valleybrook won't have updated parks," Dawson said of the decision. |