JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
While initial Berlin Falls park developments have focused on passive-use items, like this interpretive signage unveiled last year, the Berlin Falls Park Committee earlier this month discussed more active development.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Jan. 31, 2019) Earlier this month, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams commented publicly, “This is the year when we’ll probably see more visible impact [at Berlin Falls].”

The Berlin Falls Park Committee, during its most recent meeting, hinted at several new developments, from building demolitions and interactive sculptures, to firming short and long-term priorities and recommending a permanent name for the park:

Demo update

Park Coordinator David Deutsch said bids to demolish nearly all of the smaller buildings on the more than 60-acre former industrial property would be opened Feb. 8.

“We’ll know in a few weeks what those prices are … for the demolition of the small buildings throughout the site,” he said.

He said a former laboratory building “which [has] the potential for a restroom” and a tower were not among the structures listed for demolition, nor was the largest building on the property, which one estimate suggested would cost $600,000 to bring down.

Fire sculptures

Planning Director Dave Engelhart weighed in on a fire sculpture previously proposed by committee member Joan Maloof.

Engelhart said he spoke with Worcester County Fire Marshal Chief Deputy Matt Owens, who asked for more specifics.

“The thing that Joan had brought in last time, I sent him … I approximated [it to be] thereabout five feet tall,” he said. “I wanted him to tell me what he would have to see to permit these or say, yeah, they’re safe.”

Owens’ reply, according to Engelhart, was that the “proposed outdoor fires” would have to be constantly attended “by a competent person until such fire is extinguished.”

“He’s not opposed to it – he would just want to see what we would propose,” Engelhart said.

Committee member Kate Patton said the fire sculptures ought to be part of an overarching park development plan.

“I don’t want it to disappear,” she said. “We could have a summary of, essentially, the bonfires or a special sculptural project like this [that] could be done with specific guidelines.”

She added, “If we want to do an event, either for the Spring Equinox or Summer Solstice or something, we could apply for a permit, whether it’s a bonfire or one of us could bring one of these special fire spears … and then just do it as a special event, one time.”

Park naming

Councilman Zack Tyndall and committee member Roger Fitzgerald updated the group on activities of the park-naming subcommittee.

Tyndall said the ideal would be to decide on a name sooner rather than later, “so that we kind of have a clear name moving forward as we start to brand.”

Patton said she was under the impression that Williams “wanted to reserve the name for a funder.” She noted the three existing parks in town were all named after historical figures, including Commodore Stephen Decatur and Dr. William Henry.

Both Tyndall and Fitzgerald suggested some means of public outreach to gather naming ideas. Fitzgerald then proposed a practice survey with committee members taking part in a trial run.

Tyndall said the subcommittee would develop it and have a hard copy ready for the next meeting. Town Administrator Laura Allen said when the survey was “ready to launch for real,” the town could help promote it using newsletters and the online marketing tool Constant Contact.

Planning update

Fitzgerald is also part of a “physical subcommittee” that met on Jan. 9 to discuss short, mid and long-term park priorities.

In the short term, before March 31, he said the group wants to finish an annotated park map to include locations for a bandstand, amphitheater, viewing areas around the ponds, bird viewing blinds, and a bridge over a stream in the woods.

He also mentioned water safety kits and park benches, as well as space for pollinator gardens and “an area that would be used in the future for a skate park … [to include a] skate park, roller skating [and] ice skating.”

For mid-term priorities, by Dec. 31, Fitzgerald said the committee wanted bird-viewing blinds, the bridge, benches, water safety kits and a permanent restroom in place.

In the long term, by June 30, 2020, he said the group recommended construction of a bandstand and amphitheater, and piers for water access.

“I love it,” Chairwoman Amy Field said. “Roger sent me that and I thought it was perfect.”

Also discussed

Allen said about $259,000 remains in the budget for park development, leftover from the bond used to purchase the land. She said the funds paid for Deutsch’s consulting salary, but would not necessarily be used for the proposed YMCA feasibility study.

Field said the committee would meet again on Feb. 21 to discuss the study and go over a calendar for potential spring events at the park.