Patterson Town Park Improvement to Cost Close to $200,000
The Patterson Town Board is expected to approve the borrowing of close to $200,000 in order to make repairs and improvements to Veteran Memorial Park on Maple Avenue.
The list of repairs and improvements are part of capital improvement plan that was developed by the town’s park advisory board over the past several months.
Earlier in the year, the Town Board discussed borrowing the money to make needed repairs based on the fact that the current cost of borrowing money was low.
Town Planner Richard Williams reiterated that point at the Town Board’s June 27 meeting when he presented some of the details of the proposed projects, along with a total cost estimate.
“We get the benefit of having improvements while at the same time paying them off, rather than trying to piecemeal them each year,” Williams said.
The capital improvement proposal for the town park would entail a total remodel and renovation of the bathrooms, storage areas and the park office.
“For those of who have not had the opportunity to go in those buildings, it’s just a little bit scary,” Williams said, noting the buildings also had very poor ventilation and mold problems, too.
Other improvements included the installation of 270 linear feet of fencing along Maple Avenue, the addition of playground equipment, and the repaving and expansion of the front parking lot to extend the current two rows of parking to three rows.
Already in the works, Williams said, was a project to install a new sidewalk that was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
All told, the improvements and renovations would cost $219,085.
Williams said the plan was to use $25,000 previously included in the budget to begin to pay for some of the improvements and then borrow the remaining $194,000 that would be paid back over the course of 10 years.
Under discussion at the meeting was the issue of poor drainage at the park that has been causing flooding on a nearby street when there is heavy rain.
Councilman Charles Cook asked if the current drainage pipe possibly could be rerouted so that it didn’t funnel run-off into the pond at the town park.
“Certainly what you are referencing is an issue of concern. There is a good amount of sediment getting in,” Williams said.
He went on to explain that many years ago, two manholes had been installed in the drainage pipe in order to capture sediment but at this point nobody knew where they were located. He said the plan is to locate them this year, clean them out and then find funding in order to install a water treatment device in order to capture the sediment from the run-off diverted by the drainage pipe before it reaches the pond.
Williams said that rerouting the drainage pipe away from the pond would have a significant cost and cause a lot of disturbance at the park.
Town Supervisor Michael Griffin agreed.
“This is the most practical, cost-effective way to do it and I’m sure there are times, especially in the summer time, that pond could use a good heavy thunderstorm for a refill. So, while it might not be the best quality water, at least it is water….and whatever sediment you do have will settle down fairly quickly,” Griffin said.
Griffin said there was possibility that public funds allocated for projects to reduce the amount of phosphorous in storm water run-off might be obtained to pay for a rerouting of the drainage pipe in the future.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
