Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/5/2022
EASTHAMPTON – After months of planning, the Parks and Recreation Department in Easthampton has officially created an outline detailing a six-year plan for projects and potential funding for Nonotuck Park upgrades.
The plan is spread out in three phases and includes costs for pool upgrades, an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant playground, as well as money for ADA-compliant pathways and connectivity, a bioretention area, bike racks and signage.
During a meeting on June 27, Parks and Recreation Director John Mason detailed the upgrades and additions people should expect throughout Nonotuck. Pool upgrades will include adding a rubber membrane on top of the concrete, adding tables inside the pool area, improving pool filters, adding shade structures and fencing that is “more inviting,” and making some other mechanical improvements, as well. According to Mason, the total cost of these pool upgrades will be a little over $1.2 million and will take two to three years to complete.
“Every few days, we get a call asking if the pool is open,” said Mason. “The number one ticket item that we want to get done is the pool. The White Brook [Middle School] pool closed and never came back, so it’s at that point where the city has to make a decision about moving forward with these pool upgrades.”
According to Eric Poulin, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, the pool at Nonotuck Park was built in 1960. “It’s really been cobbled together for many years,” said Poulin. “It’s reaching a critical point like the schools did, and we have to fund schools. If we want to have a strong community, I feel like this pool is incredibly important.”
The second phase of the Nonotuck six-year plan will include an ADA-compliant playground that will go next to the existing playground. According to Mason, this phase will also include the addition of a trail that will connect to the ADA-accessible bathroom.
Phase three, meanwhile, will include additional park pathways, a raingarden in the center, connectivity paths, signage, bike racks, as well as the potential future use for the old playground they have.
“Some of these improvements are tied with funding,” said Mason. “When you apply for [Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities] grants or other grants with the state, they want to see accessibility upgrades; they want to see shade structures; they want to see certain things that are going to improve the quality of life.”
According to Mason, there are a couple of different grant opportunities Easthampton could pursue to fund these projects. The first opportunity to obtain money is July 14 while the next one will be in February.
“[City Planner] Jeff Bagg and myself are looking at funding sources outside the city as best we can,” said Mason, adding that a lot of these grants include 50 percent matches. “We are going to attack those types of funds and see where we’re at…. we are going to do the best we can.”
According to Bagg, there will most likely be at least one more community meeting to go over final plans for the improvements. “It’s really about stacking the grants together,” said Bagg. “It’s going to take that second grant [in February} to really carry it forward so the city knows they have enough funds to move [the project] along.”
More detailed information about the improvements are available on the city’s website at https://www.easthamptonma.gov/628/Nonotuck-Park-Community-Pool-Project.