Lanesborough Rec Committee, Council on Aging Discuss Laston Park Pavilion
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Recreation Committee, in a joint meeting with the Council on Aging, debated the location and specifics of a new pavilion in Bill Laston Memorial Park.
"First of all, it's not a gazebo," said Council on Aging Chair Mark Siegars. "It's a 40-foot by 80-foot steel pavilion."
A Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism grant and $50,000 from the town, approved at a June 2021 town meeting, are funding the pavilion. The Council on Aging wanted to consult the committee on a location to maximize the community's use of the structure.
"We're looking at it as a golden opportunity to have a place for people in the community to use it for any number of things," Siegars said. "And I can tell you that the Northern Berkshire Cultural Council approved grants for people to do some music performances in that location."
The two boards discussed several solutions for a location that would not cause any conflicts with other facilities in the park. Recreation Committee co-Chair William Auger suggested the pavilion could go in the open space on the other side of the baseball dugout but said that might not work because of the dimensions.
"Just on the other side of that dugout, there's a huge area right there. But that was when I understood the building was 40-by-60," Auger said. "If it is 40-by-80, that might push you guys over the hill."
Auger said if they remove the dugout, the pavilion might fit in the space. He explained the area would be suitable once the town renovates the park's walking path.
"The dugout that is there now, we just use it for outdoor storage, we can take down that and start from there and still have your 80 feet and 40 feet," Auger said. "The only issue we have right now, for the rec committee, is having the town redo the walking path so we can get wheelchairs accessible to it."
Siegars said the town could apply for a grant to improve the path.
"You have the town administrator here, and I'm going to tell him you can apply for a $15,000 grant from AARP to do improvements. And you are more than likely to get it."
Siegars suggested putting the pavilion near where the town had planned to build the proposed new police station, which would allow people to watch sports and other activities from the structure. Auger said this would not work because the primary use for that location is parking to avoid the park's floodplain and Siegars agreed.
"We'd be losing a lot more parking," Auger said. "Because people park in that high part because it's not in the floodplain. And that's our only other option because the other side of the swing set, that's the floodplain, and nobody can park there."
Siegars said he will get three quotes from contractors to put the pavilion together. The pavilion project must be complete, according to Siegars, by the end of the fiscal year.
"It's really the footings and the pattern that's the most difficult part. If you have something to hold it up, all you got to do is bolt it together. All the steel roofing, the whole nine yards, it's packed together."
Tags: public parks,
