Vote on Varney Playground Plan Expected This Month

Bill Gilet, chairman of the Varney Playground Master Plan Design Committee, presented the committee’s proposed master plan to the Board of Selectmen on Monday night.

“The objectives, just to be clear, were to really design the landscape of the park; it includes the baseball fields, the beach, the boathouse, and the basketball and tennis courts,” Gilet explained.

The board was generally accepting to the proposal, despite concerns from some residents, but voted to continue the public hearing during the board’s next scheduled meeting on April 22.

The absence of board member George Dixon prompted board member Jim Lane to point out Dixon’s dedication to this area of Chelmsford and the board unanimously agreed to postpone any motion in support of the plan.

The proposed plan features numerous amenities including maintenance of the current boathouse, boat ramp, tennis court, basketball court with lighting and stadium seating, baseball field with new scoreboard and dugouts, fitness center, sledding area, and a “splash pad” water recreation area.

The plan costs $1.7 million excluding contingencies. The master plan was proposed in three phases with the first costing $450,000 and focusing mainly on bringing the area into ADA compliance.

The second phase would concern the baseball, tennis, fitness, and parking areas. The third would include improvements to the beach and boat area.

The plan could be voted on as early as next spring’s town meeting.

Citizens expressed concerns over parking and incidents around the basketball court. The proposed parking situation includes 30 spots on Adams Street with two handicap accessible spots; the Varney Street lot includes 16 spots and one handicap accessible spot.

“We’ve done our best to listen to everybody in the community in trying to design it so that you have parking,” Gilet said in response.

“Does that create issues? Sure,” he continued. “But at this point, this is the best option out of the two for both safety and the use of everyone in the area,” Gilet said.

In order to assuage any issues surrounding the basketball court; the committee suggested moving the court to border Adams Street, where it is more visible and accessible to police cars. The basketball court is the only area of the playground with lights.

“It’s really accessible to see the line of sight that you’re asking for for the police patrols,” Gilet commented.

State and federal grant money is expected to help the city pay for the project. A grant application is due on April 24, just in time for the board to make a decision at its next meeting on April 22. The grant winners are expected to be announced in June.

Click here to view the official Varney Playground Master Plan.