APPRO-2024-34 : Requesting an Appropriation from Free Cash in the amount of $75,000.00 (Seventy Five Thousand Dollars) to Parks Capital Projects(475) - Conant Playground

Transcript (~7 min @ 14:55)

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▶ 14:52 Maya Jamaleddine: Next I have appropriation 2024 dash 34, requesting an appropriation from free cash in the amount of 75,000, uh, dollars to Parks Capital projects. 4 75. Conn Playground F is with us tonight.

▶ 15:14 Speaker 1: Hello. Hi.

▶ 15:15 Speaker 5: Um, so if many of you know, Conant Park is one of our little pocket parks that has a, uh, baseball field, um, in the vicinity. It was vandalized, um, about a year and a half ago. We did some repairs to it, um, but because of the age of the equipment and adding new equipment on, it wasn't, um, the integrity of the structure, uh, couldn't hold the new equipment coming in. Um, so we had taken off some bridges, boarded up some windows, and what happens is once you have vandalism, it's just brings on more vandalism. So the playground really has been beat up pretty bad. Um, and there's not a lot for the kids to, to climb and play on. So, um, that's why we're here to try to get some money to redo that. Playground

▶ 16:01 Speaker 2: Questions.

▶ 16:05 Speaker 2: Counselor Van Dever,

▶ 16:07 Kimberly Vandiver: Um, do you have any, um, preliminary ideas about, um, what types of improvements or additions you would, would make with the money?

▶ 16:15 Speaker 5: So, um, when the vandalism initially happened, I have a few, um, neighbors that had reached out to me. So we are gonna, once I have know that we have money, I'll be able to sit with them and have conversations. Um, I think it's not a big park. Um, it's not a lot of money, but it's enough to be able to get, um, you know, inclusive pieces so that we're, you know, bringing all our playgrounds one by one as we do 'em to make a more inclusive to everybody. Um, so I think it's just a matter of what type of climbing structure, what type of, you know, is it nets? Is it this, it'll really be based on what some of the people, you know, that we talk to in the neighborhood are interested in having.

▶ 16:55 Kimberly Vandiver: Right. Yeah. That'll be nice to see. I've been by there and, and I agree. It really needs some work. Yeah.

▶ 17:02 Maya Jamaleddine: Yeah. Thank you. Councilor Ra.

▶ 17:04 Speaker 1: Yeah. Um, you speak about some matching funds. Mm-Hmm. What, where

▶ 17:06 Speaker 5: Is that? So, um, sometimes, usually during summertime, a lot of the, uh, companies, um, will have matching funds. They'll match the funds that you're giving us. Mm-Hmm. They're giving us, um, and there's a few right now that are on the state bid list, which those are the ones obviously that we'll be reaching out to. Um, so it'll make, you know, we'll be able to make the money go a little bit longer than, than what we have a little bit more equipment. A lot of it goes into, um, you know, the labor of, of a lot of stuff. DBW helps with the take down, but as far as the installation and all that, that's all part of it. Nice.

▶ 17:40 Cal Finocchiaro: Well, I know that, uh, playground is really important when my boys are playing baseball there, the younger ones would play, it keeps the kids occupied if that Aren, you know, they're watching the game.

▶ 17:51 Speaker 1: Yeah. Keep them busy watching the game, So I appreciate That.

▶ 17:54 Maya Jamaleddine: Yeah. Yeah. All Right. Thank you. Vice Chair Williams.

▶ 17:56 Speaker 4: Similar to Councilor Rio's Point. Mm-Hmm. Man, I'm never gonna get it.

▶ 18:03 Ryan Williams: Finna, um, I just wanted to say thank you for the work that you did at FO Park similar to this and kind of expressed my confidence for the work going forward at Conant, because we had a lot of residents who had a lot of ideas about that, and you were very helpful and very thoughtful about the way that you worked with me and them. And we all kind of like, put ideas together and came up with all kinds of different designs and came to something that I think people really like.

▶ 18:28 Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, we still have,

▶ 18:29 Speaker 5: before the 14th, they're coming in and doing the pouring place rubber.

▶ 18:33 Speaker 1: And that'll be the last, the last piece over there. Nice.

▶ 18:35 Speaker 4: It looks great out there. So thank you for that. Good. That's it. Just wanna say thanks.

▶ 18:39 Maya Jamaleddine: Thank you. Councilor Stewart.

▶ 18:41 Robb Stewart: Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Bill, uh, for this work and coming forward as, uh, the Ward three City counselor. Uh, Kona Park is in the ward, and it is used quite a bit. Um, even today with kids coming down to, um, I see them all the time. We, we typically pass through there when we walk our dog. Um, so, and we don't go on the field. Yeah. Yeah. Just putting it out there. The dogs Out there, just, Just putting it out there. And thank you for putting that sign up too. Um, uh, I just, I fully support this and appreciate, uh, you taking what's kind of, um, a little pocket of Melrose that not a lot of people know it's actually even there, uh, and making it, uh, more accessible and more useful. So, uh, with that I'll make a motion to recommend to the full council.

▶ 19:28 Maya Jamaleddine: We have a motion to recommend, uh, made by Councilor Stewart, seconded by Second Vice Chair Williams. On discussion, I have Councilor Gpe and then Councilor Ro.

▶ 19:39 Mark Garipay: Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Spell for me in here. Quick, quick question. Um, do we have any lights there for at night? Is it lit up at all? Uh, what, no. What do we, um, we, we tend to, especially in the summer, we tend to have a lot more vandalism. Yep. Yeah. Uh, is, is that part of this at all to try to

▶ 19:58 Speaker 5: No, I, I think that in most of the, the park parks and little field parks, you know, we only have lights. Um, we can go to safety light. I'm sure that there's something that we can work into down there for a safety off of the concession building or whatever. Um, but as far as like light lights, field lights, big lights, um, we tend to, parks are open from sunup to sundown. Um, so once you add a little light edge, it makes it a little more attractive to hang out, sit around. So, yeah. But a safety light. Yeah. I think that's, that's doable.

▶ 20:31 Mark Garipay: Just wanna make sure we have the issues at, um, Lewis Mon over the last couple years and we're spending, spending the money and it's great, fully supported, but, you know, sometimes we just don't have place for kids to go at night and they're gonna congregate. So anything we can do to deter vandalism, I appreciate it.

▶ 20:53 Speaker 5: Agree. Thank you. Thank you. I was gonna say isn't enough.

▶ 20:58 Maya Jamaleddine: Thank you. Councilor Panara. This could

▶ 21:01 Cal Finocchiaro: Possibly just be an emailed question to you, but I've, since we're on the subject of Conant beyond the baseball field Mm-Hmm. I know a lot of residents have said, you know, what do we do with that area that's like overgrown? Like, is that conservation land? Is that part of

▶ 21:14 Speaker 5: That? So it used to be a playable field many years ago. Um, something, you know, I can't speak to it, um, exactly, but there was, there's water issues back there when there was an old basketball court back there that was cracked. And when that came out, the water levels seemed to kind of go away and it just, you know, it flooded it. Um, we've done some work to the backfield to try to get the front field more playable, but I think honestly we would have to probably do some sort of, you know, desktop study to find out like where the, where the water is, like where is it coming from, and if there's a way of removing it. But there's a lot of water issues down in that area.

▶ 21:52 Speaker 1: Alright. Thank you.

▶ 21:56 Maya Jamaleddine: Thank you. Any other questions on, uh, discussion?

▶ 22:00 Speaker 2: Seeing none, Mr. Clerk,

▶ 22:03 Speaker 1: Vice Chair Williams? Yes. Councilor Garipay P? Yes. Councillor Stewart? Yes. Councilor Hamilton? Yes. Councillor Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor for Naro? Yes. President Elli? Yes. And Chair Aldine? Yes. That motion passes unanimously. Alright,