The Berlin Falls Park Committee last week reviewed conceptual plans for park development.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 15, 2018) The Berlin Falls Park Committee continues to get its dozen members up to speed on a number of studies and surveys done during the last two years.

Committee Chairwoman Amy Field described the most recent meeting, last Thursday, as a “fact-gathering session” that reviewed concepts from 2016 with representatives from architectural design firm EDSA, Inc.

She said the review of interpretive studies from 2017 was likely during the next committee meeting, next month.

“Although we have the documents of past studies done on the property, we felt like it was important to hear it from the horse’s mouth and have the company explain to us the concept plans,” she said. “It’s basically about educating ourselves. We’re currently just trying to get all the puzzle pieces on the table,”

Field said it was not a certainty any of the ESDA concepts would be adopted.

“The concept plans, really, are about the whole layout of the property and in those plans we’ve already found some incompatible uses,” she said. “For example, if we want to preserve the nature habitat of the ponds, we’re certainly not going to offer kayaking.

“These different studies came out at different places in the process, so we’re try to make sure we understand all those studies before we move forward,” she added. “We haven’t even heard all the ideas from each committee member yet, because I think some people are just wanting to make sure we know the facts so we can make good, educated proposals.”

Committee Vice Chairman Jack Orris said the group has already come a long way since its first meeting in January.

“Right now, we’re still kind of tossing around ideas,” Orris said. “Everyone has their own ideas and we’re just trying to narrow them down a little bit. Obviously, we’re not looking to do everything at once, but we might try to tackle three or four projects at the same time.”

He said ideas that have come up include an outdoor amphitheater and an indoor/outdoor skate park near the front of the property. Also a possibility is preserving the back half preserved for passive use, such as nature trails.

“We want to keep the passive and the active part of the plan intact, so now we’re just trying to mold all that together,” Orris said.

Field said her goal is for the committee to review all of the studies by the beginning of summer. At that point, she said members can draft a list of “two-to-five priorities that we want to pursue and then put under the microscope.”

“We talked about also in the short term, meaning spring and summer, getting the front of the property a little bit spruced up,” she said. “Right now the banner is just in the back parking area, so putting something in the front area and making the entrance more welcoming are things people might see happening over the next several months.

“We’re just enjoying this time together. Each committee member cares a lot,” Field continued. “We’re anxious to showcase what we’ve done, but we also want to be really thoughtful and not start throwing out ideas until we know if they would be compatible and we’ve explored all these partnerships and options that keep coming our way.”

The committee will next meet on April 19 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.