$1 million-plus raised to redo Millerton’s Eddie Collins Park

MILLERTON — Prepared to forge ahead in 2021 with the first phase of the Millerton Community Park’s (aka Eddie Collins Memorial Park) long-awaited revitalization, the Eddie Collins Memorial Park Revitalization Committee (ECMPRC) updated the  community on the project’s status and  Phase One of the revitalization plans during the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

In addition to the entire Village Board, the meeting was attended by Jeanne Vanecko, vice chair of the ECMPRC and project coordinator, and Kevin Hasselwander, a landscape architect from The Chazen Companies, in attendance to talk about the plans for Phase One.

Projecting an aerial sketch of Phase One improvements, Hasselwander highlighted recent developments made to the plans, such the parking lot that was narrowed from a full two-way circulation loop to a one-way loop to help reduce the overall footprint of the site. With accessibility identified as a key feature in the design, Hasselwander said they’ve incorporated two drop-off spaces, and the entry road has been adjusted to make it feel “more pedestrian” in nature.

Hasselwander called attention to the new soccer field as one of the big features for Phase One as well as the playground improvement area. In addition to incorporating more Poured-in-Place rubber than they originally anticipated, he said little rain gardens have been added to the play area to help with the challenges of stormwater management and add more shade. On a later date, Vanecko pointed out that while the rain gardens will cut down on the infrastructure, they’ll help establish bioremediation.

Projecting an aerial sketch of the project’s conceptual master plan, Hasselwander underlined the new swimming pool and the reoriented Little League field. Two new features included pickleball courts and tennis courts, which he said would help frame the soccer field and create a central activity zone. 

Additionally, he mentioned there have been conversations about potentially reincorporating a skate park or potentially doing a pump track, which refers to “a looped sequence of rollers and berms [swoop, banked turns] for bike riders,” according to www.bicycling.com.

Looking at the new pickleball and tennis courts, Vanecko said the committee has had a number of people approach it to do “some very serious underwriting of those elements,” adding that potential donors would like to see the courts constructed so they can have a winter cover put on them so they could be used through the winter season. She said they’ve also talked to a couple of private schools that are interested in renting court time on a regular basis. 

In addition to giving a whole new functionality to the park, she said the village would gain a stream of revenue through the wintertime by adding the new courts. That being said, Vanecko explained that it was important for Hasselwander to do a feasibility analysis of whether there is room for the courts.

“We have a lot of exploration to do financially,” Vanecko said. “At lease we know we can accommodate it physically in the park if we want to do that.”

Above all, Vanecko emphasized the fact that everything in the park is going to be handicapped accessible.

In moving forward, Hasselwander said they’re looking to get everybody on board with the Phase One vision, seeing as “that’s the one that’s going to be hitting the books this year,” and that they’re looking to seek bids for Phase One by the end of February or the beginning of March.

Major money raised, more to go

Another major update reported by the committee was its success in raising more than $1 million. With Phase One calculated at $1,250,000 based on a preliminary study, Vanecko said it had raised $1,115,000 and has $85,000 left to raise. 

Praising the public’s response to the project, she attributed the fundraising feat to a combination of public agencies (both state and county) and private individuals who have made substantial grants to launch the project.

For more information on the Millerton Community Park project, go to www.millertonpark.org.