Officials discuss upgrades to park
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Town officials are asking residents for their ideas on how to upgrade a beloved children’s playground that was built and paid for by the residents themselves 30 years ago.
The small, wooden park behind the town ice rink on the Common was built in 1989 with donations from the public and residents’ sweat equity. However it is beginning to show its age.
Commonly known as “Castle Park,” hundreds if not thousands of kids in southern Saratoga County have spent time in the park climbing its wooden towers, walking on the swinging steps, and testing their balance on the rubber tire “stepping stones.”
With an engineering assessment report on the park’s conditions from a local firm, Supervisor Philip Barrett made a short presentation at a Nov. 6 Town Board meeting on possible changes and upgrades. He is enlisting the public’s help on how to proceed.
This is not the first time the town board has tried to upgrade the park. In 2009 the town was ready to budget nearly $185,000 to demolish the park and install all new playground equipment. Pushback from some of the families who use it and from some who helped build it squashed that idea.
After repainting the park and smoothing over the rough edges 10 years ago the park, Barrett said, is again beginning to show its age.
“There are issues that need attention,” he said at the board meeting. “We are establishing priorities. We’re taking a set of goals and initiatives and narrowing them down.”
The biggest obstacle, Barrett said, is the question surrounding what to do with the engraved bricks that were part of the original fundraising effort. Those bricks, which surround the park, have residents’ names and dedication to loved ones on them.
The town has proposed a priority and action plan that would improve the aesthetics of the entrance by removing old poles as one enters, removing dated and wooden decorative features and planting greenery. Fencing in the rear of the park, the auto tire “stepping stones” and a free standing play structure to the rear would also be removed.
A straight metal slide would be removed and removal of the swirl slide would be considered also. The remaining wooden structures would then be sanded and stained. All the work would be done by town personnel.
Barrett also suggested changes to the toddler space at the front of the park. He is suggesting the individual attractions in the front, left, quadrant of that area be removed and replaced with new equipment for the toddler age group. The base of peastone would also be removed. A rubber base would be installed with the new equipment. The work on the toddler area is estimated to cost $79,500 and would be done by a contractor.
He acknowledged the biggest hurdle is what to do with the bricks.
“We don’t have a master list,” Barrett said. “Perhaps we could have a weekend where people could remove them,” he said.
Town Clerk Pat O’Donnell said most of the bricks were purchased in memory of someone.
“That’s why it’s important they be treated well,” she said.
Barrett agreed but saw the brick path as having outlived its usefulness.
“There is a definite ownership of them by many people who still live in town,” he said. “We have some different ideas. We’re trying to make it work for everybody so they can keep their brick. It’s been 30 years. The park is still popular and it’s used by many children every year. It’s still a successful venture after all these years. We’d love to receive more feedback.”
Anyone who wishes to comment on the issue can send comments to Barrett at 1 Town Hall Plaza, Clifton Park, NY, 12065 or contact him via email at pbarrett@cliftonpark.org.