BRATTLEBORO — After nearly five years of work, the first significant addition to the town's recreation space in more than a half-century is nearly complete.
The 10.7 acre West River Park, located on Route 30 just northwest of the Interstate 91 bridges, will include a lighted softball diamond, an all-purpose field for soccer, lacrosse and Ultimate Frisbee, and a walking trail around the park's perimeter.
The park will also have a concession stand, a picnic and play area, and a canoe and kayak launch area.
But, according to Recreation & Parks Director Carol Lolatte, Brattleboro residents who have been patiently waiting for a new recreation area will have to wait a bit longer before using any of the fields.
Lolatte said that while the softball and multi-purpose fields have been seeded, the town wants the fields to have at least one growing season for the grass to take root before having people play on it.
“It's tough asking people to be patient, but we want to make sure the fields are going to stand up to all the use they are going to get in the future,” she said.
If all goes well, the multi-purpose field will be ready for soccer this fall, and the softball field will be put into service in 2013.
The total project cost is about $1 million. More than $700,000 has been pledged toward the project, and the fundraising drive is entering the final stretch.
With the access road and site development work done last year, Lolatte said the first phase of the project was now complete. Next up is raising about $83,000 for a softball backstop, fences and foul poles, along with benches and soccer and lacrosse goals. The final phase is installing lights, bleachers, and playground and picnic equipment, at a cost of about $335,000.
Some of the organizations that have already contributed include the Vermont Community Foundation, the Withington Fund, the Vermont Land Trust, the Small Fry Association, the Brattleboro Area Softball Association and the Brattleboro Rotary Club. There have also been a number of anonymous donors to the park's development fund.
Filling a need
When the park is finally ready, it will not be a moment too soon for Lolatte's department, which has been struggling to keep up with the demand for playing space after the town lost access to Fulflex Field in 2007.
The 7-acre parcel on Putney Road was originally built in the early 1940s, when American Optical opened a factory in Brattleboro. It had been used for decades as a practice field for softball and soccer teams, but liability issues made Fulflex, who took over the AO plant in the 1980s, decide to declare the field off limits to athletes.
Suddenly, Brattleboro was faced with a space crunch. Living Memorial Park, which opened in 1955, had no more available space to expand.
“The Men's Softball League has needed more fields for years,” said West River Park Committee member Ben Underhill. “The Fulflex decision brought everything to a head.”
A private effort to buy the field from Fulflex never got off the ground, so the town stepped in and formed the Field Space Committee. It looked at eight parcels around town before settling on the Route 30 site.
Town Meeting Representatives in 2008 approved a $250,000 bond to buy the land, but stipulated that the successor to the Field Space Committee, the West River Park Committee, would raise the money needed to develop the parcel.
After completing the permiting process, the land for the park was purchased from Cersosimo Industries in October 2010, and ground was broken last June.
Renaud Brothers Construction, together with volunteers from the community, Brattleboro Union High School, and the Windham Regional Career Center, began work clearing the land.
Paul Freed, chair of the West River Park Committee, said the BUHS/WRCC students are a big reason why the work got done quickly.
“The forestry department helped clear the land, the horticulture department is doing the landscape design, and others are designing the concession stands and maintenance building,” said Freed. “The park is going to get the most use from our kids, and having them work on it has given them a sense of pride and ownership in the project.”
The park's drainage system for the ball fields got an early test from Tropical Storm Irene last August, but the fields escaped without harm, Lolatte said.
Those interested in making donations, or assisting with the fundraising effort, should contact Lolatte at 802-254-5808, e-mail westriverpark@ brattleboro.org, or visit the West River Park page on Facebook.