KENT, Conn.—The Parks and Recreation Commission voted to employ Cardinal Engineering of Meriden to create a master plan for Emery Park when it met Monday morning in special session. The master plan will be an overall vision for the site and not a construction document.
Cardinal will be paid $37,000 for the plan, which will cover the entire park, including restoration of the swimming pond, playground upgrades, proposed facilities such as a bath house, toilets, showers, ADA-compliant trails and the like.
Members met Monday with Timothy Cermola, Cardinal Engineering’s vice president, and project manager Roy Seelye to discuss the scope of the master plan and its timing. Timing is urgent because $100,000 in ARPA funds designated years ago for the project must be expended fully by Dec. 31 of this year or be returned to the federal treasury.
It is unknown if the ARPA money can be applied to the cost of the master plan and final design. Town Treasurer Barbara Herbst is seeking an answer to that question.
Member Heidi Wilson questioned the Cardinal representatives about what projects might be completed by that date. “The one-hundred thousand is meaningful to us,” she said. “Is it possible to do a preliminary report after you do some initial work? Are there things we can do that would allow us to tap that fund?”
She mentioned constructing walkways or creating parking, but Cermola said, “We can’t just say ‘put a sidewalk there.’ We have to have the right grades. The first thing to do is to approve a plan.”
He said the final design could easily consume the $100,000 if the funds can be used for that purpose.
Wilson persisted, asking about installing electrical upgrades, but Seelye said, “We can’t do the wiring until we assess what you are going to do. It all has to be decided before we can decide what size power lines we’re going to bring in.”
The men said they should be able to deliver the master plan by August.
“We will do our best to do it by midsummer, and once the commission agrees to the plan, you can look at some construction,” Cermola said. He suggested such things as demolition of the existing pond walls to use some of the ARPA funds. “Taking out all the walls could be a decent price,” he predicted, expressing the opinion that it wouldn’t be worthwhile to try to rehab the existing pond structure if the town wants a 50-year lifespan for the amenity.
Attention turned to whether the town should employ the feeder pond that has channeled water into the swimming pond in past years. It has been assessed by other firms consulted about revamping the swimming area and the Emery Park Subcommittee was advised it should be dredged.
“We have already been given figures for the feeder pond that were astronomical,” said Wilson, speculating that a well could cost less while providing cleaner water. But again, the Cardinal Engineering representatives advised patience. Plans for the park are extensive and placement and volume for the well could change as the plans progress.
Seelye cautioned that where and how the water feeds into the natural pond could trigger permitting from the wetlands commission, the Army Corps of Engineers and DEEP.
Recreation Department Director Matt Frasher said the town should be careful of “pond to pool” regulations. “We want to maintain it as a pond and not a pool,” he said.
Cermola said that he had believed a decision was previously made about the water source and assessment of alternatives was not included in their original quote. The firm was asked, nevertheless, to “look at what is viable, to take a second look at alternatives such as a well and put prices on both of those.”
Cermola the entire site needs to be upgraded to be ADA compliant. “This is a master plan, not a design, and it can be done in phases,” he said. “When we do it, we do it with real numbers, usually within 10 percent of the actual bids.”
Both men said they need a detailed survey before they can start. Local surveyor Gary Hock has been asked to complete this work and expects to have it done by mid-May.
Wilson asked about future communication with the plan designers. “We have ideas about what we want. We’re not looking for a downtown city park,” she said. “We’re looking for something natural and rustic.”
Cermola said Cardinal Engineering will assess the site and advise the commission what is out of compliance. It will then work with the commission to ascertain what it wants to have happen.
