The plan for a park off Black Point Road, which was revised to be more community-friendly, might still not be what the neighborhood is looking for.
Scarborough residents will vote Tuesday whether to approve a $975,000 bond to construct the $1.3 million park. The town already approved $350,000 two years ago to pay for the park. However, residents criticized the council last year for spending money on the park before getting approval from voters. Under its charter, the town is required to get voter approval for projects costing more than $400,000. Originally, the park was planned to be built in phases, each costing less than that.
The town council held a public hearing on the referendum question Oct. 24, at which two residents spoke against building the park.
Though the plan for the park was altered from its original, which included lighting, a public address system and a turf field – all of which have been eliminated – the residents said the current plan was still not appropriate for the neighborhood.
The park is planned for a site next to St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, which, according to Emily Ward, is still too small for the athletic facilities planned. The park is now designed to have a multi-use field, basketball and tennis courts, restrooms and storage facilities, recreation areas for seniors and small children and a trail with fitness stations.
The changes came from recommendations by residents, who gathered in focus groups a year ago to make suggestions to the town. The result looks more like Memorial Park, which is located behind Scarborough High School and serves the town with trails, open space, playing fields and a gazebo.
Still, Ward said at the public hearing, playing fields are not appropriate for the setting. Imagine, she said, attending a funeral for a loved one at the church and hearing cheers coming from the ballfield.
Winifred Malia, who lives on Black Point Road, also questioned who would pay for damages done to cars from foul balls flying into the church’s parking lot.
Bruce Gullifer, director of community services, said there is a need for more athletic fields in town, which is currently being “bombarded by outside groups and our own teams” with requests to use its facilities.
According to Ward, who lives on Cammock Road, off Black Point Road, the site is not the place for fulfilling those needs.
“It’s not a neighborhood park,” she said of the plan.
Brian Van Dam, chairman of the Scarborough Community Services and Recreation Advisory Board, said he believes the park will be used by mostly neighbors during the weekdays and will draw more people from around town on the weekends. He said the park will fulfill a need in town for a place where seniors and children can gather together and interact, as well as providing fields for a town that is “maxed out” in terms of sports facilities.
“We would be no more of a disturbance than we would in our own back yard,” he said.
Ward hoped to see something that would utilize the natural setting, not violate it. She said she envisioned trails winding through the woods, rather than paved sidewalks along the road.
Malia said she feared the sidewalks were not not safe enough for children to be walking and playing on.
“I’m afraid that a child is going to get injured or killed,” she said. However, addressing the safety issue, she said, would just make the price rise – something she would not support, either.
Malia said she thought there may be other costs incurred by the park that aren’t included in the bond, like paying a maintenance person for upkeep or putting up fences to separate the park from abutters – both proposals she had heard from the town.
Ward said cutting down trees, creating the loss of both privacy for abutters and the natural setting of their neighborhood, was “antithetical to the original purpose” of setting aside the open space.
According to Van Dam, most of the opposition to the park that he has run into is from a lack of understanding about the design. He said the plan “started in the wrong direction,” but has been altered in response to citizen input.
“People are still under the impression that it hasn’t changed,” he said.
By adding areas for seniors to participate in activities, trails for people to walk and extra fields, he said, it could satisfy several things “there is a great need” for in Scarborough.
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