Town seeks input on proposed improvements to Parloa Park
BETHEL — A splash pad, a larger basketball court and new swings are just some of the upgrades proposed for Parloa Park.
The Parks and Recreation Department will hold a public hearing Wednesday to get input on a proposed improvement project to transform the park at the corner of South Street and Blackman Avenue into an enhanced multirecreational destination for people of all ages.
“We want to improve Parloa because it’s a downtown park and one of our oldest parks, and we just felt like it was time to do some improvements there,” Parks and Recreation Director Eileen Earle said.
During the public hearing will take place at the Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center beginning at 7 p.m., landscape design firm SLR Consulting will share the proposed improvements for Parloa Park.
While its existing shade trees and playground equipment — the latter of which was installed about two years ago with nearly $36,000 in finance board-approved funds — would remain, a number of upgrades and additions are under consideration.
In addition to a reconfigured gravel parking lot, a renovated natural grass field and a new eight-foot-wide path around the park, some of the other proposed improvements include an expanded play area with new swings, a restroom facility, seating area with picnic tables and a 2,600-square-foot splash pad with nearby seating.
A wildflower meadow and butterfly garden are also included in the plans, which also call for the relocation and expansion of Parloa Park’s current basketball court.
“We have a large group that plays basketball, so a full-size outdoor court would be good,” Earle said.
Moving the court would not only allow for a bigger basketball playing area, she said, but it would also make way for the proposed restroom building, which would separate the court and soccer field from the park’s splash pad, playground and picnic areas.
“We kind of want to keep the splash pad, playground and swings all together and then have the restrooms in the middle with the basketball court and field on the other side,” Earle said.
The proposed changes to Parloa Park are part of a capital plan that the town adopted several years ago.
“We adopted the master plan for all park improvements in town, and the Parks and Recreation Commission felt Parloa should be our first priority,” Earle said.
The Parks and Recreation Commission spent about two years developing the plan before presenting it to the Board of Selectmen, who approved it in September 2019.
Many of the proposed improvements for Parloa Park were discussed during public meetings held before adotping the master plan, Earle said.
“We’re now using the master plan for any of our improvements, we’ve been working on it for several years and we feel it’s time for us to put some major improvements into Parloa Park,” she said.
Earle did not have the total estimated cost of the proposed Parloa Park improvement work, but said the hope is to use some of Bethel’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
In September, Bethel’s ARPA Committee presented a list of possible projects to fund with the town’s federal stimulus money, and the most expensive item on it was a $1 million Parloa Park improvement project.
After Wednesday’s public hearing, Earle said the Parks and Recreation Commission will meet to discuss any feedback or suggestions and make any changes they feel necessary before voting on whether to make a presentation to the Board of Selectmen.