Options Presented in the Hannah Williams Revitalization Project

Discussions continued Monday night regarding the future and potential renovations of Hannah Williams Park and Playground, and meeting attendees got a glimpse of two options for the park’s new layout.

The Finance Committee has included $120,000 for the park in its proposed FY12 budget, on which the town will vote during the April Town Meeting. In addition, the Friends of Hannah Williams Playground has collected $14,000 in donations that can go toward the updates.

Don Ouellette, director of the , has been conducting some informal research into the cost of constructing the new playground structure there, but cannot solicit any formal construction bids until after the budget and project are approved at the Town Meeting.

If the budget and project pass in April, Ouellette said he wants to start immediately on the renovations, and he has already created a tentative schedule for changes and work at the park.

Immediately after Town Meeting, the schedule calls for the park to be surveyed and trees to be inspected for trimming or removal. The renovation of the park, Ouellette explained, is more complex than simply demolishing the old play structure and constructing the new one.

In fact, his tentative schedule has work beginning in mid-April and culminating with a ribbon-cutting scheduled for Sept. 19.

“It’s not as simple as knock it down and put something new in there,” Ouellette said, adding, in response to a meeting attendee’s concern, that testing the soil for heavy metals will also be part of the project.

“I don’t see this as an end-product project either,” he said, noting that some elements, such as replacing the temporary fencing with permanent fencing, might be put off until next year.

Of the two options Ouellette brought to the meeting, Option A involves moving the play structure to another area of the park, which would allow the old play structure to remain open while the new is constructed. Parking would then be moved closer to Maple Street, which Ouellette said he likes.

Option B, on the other hand, involves building the new play structure basically where the current structure stands. In this case, Board of Public Works member Chris Brown pointed out, parents could watch both their young kids on the play structure while keeping an eye on older children playing ball in the field.

Both options include a walking path – possibly wide enough to be a bike or tricycle path – around the perimeter of the area as well as preserve the monument currently at the site and address parking frustrations.

Under the current schedule, Ouellette said he intends to order the playground equipment in July. He cannot order it before the start of the new fiscal year, so July is the earliest possible time.

It will likely take about 60 days to accept delivery of the new equipment and, probably around the end of August, Ouellette said he expects to close the park so the old structure can be demolished and the new constructed.

The next meeting to discuss the project is March 17. At that meeting a representative from O’Brien and Sons, a playground equipment supplier who has a current contract with the state of Massachusetts, will be at the meeting to discuss specific equipment. It is possible meeting attendees will select equipment at the meeting.