WELLSVILLE - Members of the town of Wellsville’s Island Park Committee have until the end of the month to submit a grant application for improvements at the park, including several changes at the request of the town board.

This week, the Island Park Committee was authorized by town officials to apply for a $250,000 grant from the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Barbara Graves, a member of the town board and the Island Park Committee, said the grant will help fund necessary improvements like a paved path, lighting, security, restrooms and landscaping.

“There has never been a plan on paper that takes on the whole park,” Mrs. Graves said.

In the past, plans have been executed to work on individual improvements and renovations.

“(Former town of Wellsville) board member Peter Brown came up with the idea to renovate the park, it’s something we have been working on for two years,” Mrs. Graves said.

The 7-acre park is a community hub, but it could be a much better park with the planned improvements, she said.

“It’s a part of the community that has been neglected for a long time,” she said.

The Island Park committee is submitting its project in three phases.

Phase One includes an extended walkway around the bike path, where bicyclists and skate boarders could ride, as well as landscaping. Phase Two includes the demolition of the current pavilions, and the building of one multipurpose pavilion.

Phase Three would include the improvements included in the anticipated grant, and Phase Four will be the construction of a gateway entrance with new trees and a sign that reads ‘Island Park.’

“When you drive in to the park, there needs to be landscaping to have that park feel,” Mrs. Graves said.

“Island Park is a center of the community here, it is an icon to the community, and it is (considered) as important as a school or a hospital to people who are moving into the community,” Mrs. Graves said.

Town Supervisor Dar Fanton asked the Island Park Committee to re-evaluate its priorities before submitting the grant application.

At the town board meeting, Mr. Fanton asked Mrs. Graves to use the anticipated grant funding for Phase Two of the project rather than Phase Three, but without the intentions of tearing down any of the current pavilions.

Instead, the town board requested that the current pavilions simply be improved without the construction of the new, multipurpose pavilion.

New security measures will be key in avoiding vandalism at the improved park, she said.

“It’s a very secluded area down there,” she said. “People are worried that if we fix it up, we will have vandalism, so we have to get security down there so (law enforcement) can see the park from the police station.”

Mrs. Graves said the project meets seven of nine pieces of criteria included in the grant application.

Even if the grant does not come through, the Island Park Committee is dedicated to seeing that the improvements happen.

A recent foundation was established to hold fundraisers for renovations to the park and planning for those fundraisers will begin this month, Mrs. Graves said.

printer friendly version

e-mail this story

Reader Comments

There are No comments posted. comments to this story.
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bradfordera.com.

Submit a Comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.