Frear Park Conservancy makes progress on park improvements

TROY, N.Y. » The Frear Park Conservancy is making progress in its ongoing project of park beautification.

The non-profit volunteer organization works almost all year long to improve and maintain the beauty of Frear Park and its many features.

The Conservancy’s most recent project was repainting the walls and columns that mark the park’s main entrance. The next step will be to touch up the masonry, filling in cracks and gaps. Conservancy president Brian Sano and vice president Jaime Magur are hoping to get as much done as possible before the weather turns too cold to do anything further.

Once spring arrives, the next step will be landscaping the ground around the walls. Sano has ideas for tulips and other bulb flowers which will provide a low-maintenance burst of color.

“It’ll be nice to get the holiday decorations up on the walls this year. It’ll look really nice,” he commented.

Once the walls are columns are finished, the Conservancy will focus on maintaining both park entranceways. The next big project on their to- do list is the pagoda near the main entrance.

Magur figures the pagoda project will have three parts: repairing and restoring the fascia, replacing missing slate on the roof, and repainting and weatherproofing the structure.

Sano would also like to see the flagpole near the pagoda fixed so that a flag can be flown.

“I’ve talked to the deputy mayor, and it’s definitely something they want addressed,” said Magur. “It’s just a matter of fitting it into the budget. It’s going to take a grant - it’s an expensive job.”

Magur hopes that a privatepublic partnership agreement will help to make the pagoda restoration project possible. If local businesses and volunteers chip in and come together to work with the Conservancy, it will help the project to get done in about two years or less.

It is likely the pagoda restoration will happen in phases, focusing on one part at a time for repair work.

“It’s definitely doable, it’s just finding the right way to do it,”

Magur commented.

More information about the Frear Park Conservancy, including how to volunteer or join, can be found on the Conservancy’s FaceBook group.

MELISSA SCHUMAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Frear Park Conservancy president Brian Sano and vice president Jaime Magur are working hard to beautify the park.

MELISSA SCHUMAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP One of the freshly repainted columns at the entrance to Frear Park.

MELISSA SCHUMAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP One of the Frear Park entrance walls with a new coat of paint. The next step is touching up the masonry.

MELISSA SCHUMAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP One of the columns and walls at the entrance to Frear Park, freshly painted.