In last week’s open discussion thread, many of you had questions about the status of the Triangle Park in Cordaville, which admittedly is looking a bit rough these days. Evan Lips of the Metrowest Daily News read your comments and decided to write an article about it. Here’s what he found out:
Spring came, and the snow melted, uncovering piles of unused stone dust, rock and hay bales. (Triangle Committee Chairman Nancy Vargas) said complaints from neighbors started to flow in.
“The reality is that we hit a lot of hardships, and this isn’t supposed to be a full-time job for us,” Vargas said of her committee.
(DPW Superintendent Karen Galligan) said that after the first phase was completed last fall, a series of roadblocks held up the second, final phase.
You’ll find more details in the full article here.
Despite the roadblocks that held up work on the project this summer, the committee says you’ll soon see progress on the park. Vargas gave some more scheduling information in a recent comment on the blog:
The contractor was back on site as of Thursday. They are anticipating a duration of 7-10 days to complete the hardscape. Please be advised that, in the construction world, 7-10 days often becomes 3 weeks, sometimes more, and is dependent on the weather.
Plants will be delivered on September 15, according to DPW Superintendent Karen Galligan. Ms. Galligan’s maintenance contractor will then complete planting and clean-up.
At Monday’s meeting, BOS chair Bonny Phaneuf requested a projected completion date and Karen Galligan stated that October 15 was realistic.
For some background on the Triangle Park, check out these posts:
- Construction on Cordaville park is underway (October 2009)
- Initial phase of the Triangle Park nears completion (November 2009)
A few clarifications:
First, complaints never started “to flow in.” The only “complaints” were more like concerns and were limited to those expressed on this blog. I also got one call at my home. Hardly a “flow.”
I also never said that “we hit a lot of hardships” because we didn’t. The ledge that was found on site cost a little bit more to deal with, but did not delay the project significantly. The big delay was the delay in the Phase II funding which lead to the contractor being occupied elsewhere. I guess you could say that this year’s drought was a hardship, but despite that, and our inexpert planting efforts, the plantings from last year did very well.
Other than the significant funding delay (three months), the truth is that this kind of timeframe is pretty typical in construction.
People appreciate what the various committees and their members do for the Town. It’s just that the Triangle seems to have taken a long time. I think it’ll look great when completed.
I am glad to hear that the triangle is straightened out. I hope the $154,000 price tag is adequate to complete the project.
The time to voice objections to this project has long passed.
The project was approved at 2 town meetings under the auspices of the Community Preservation Act funding with the justification that this was both a historic and recreational issue. So shame on those of us, myself included, who did not read up on this and fully understand the issues.
Kudos to Mrs. Vargas and the other abutters to the triangle who doggedly kept after this project. Thank you to the Triangle Committee members who put so much work into this project to fulfill the wishes expressed by the voters at town meeting.
I hope it will look nice when it is finally completed BUT, we’re talking about $143,000 in improvements to a very small piece of property that was already graded and planted by the MBTA (state funds but still-our taxes- same as CPA) when they built the train station. And YES, the neighbors and town officials did have input to those MBTA decisions.
“I hope the $154,000 price tag is adequate to complete the project.” ???? Let’s hope the town’s elected officials don’t spend one more penny of our money on this project.
Will this completed project beautify the town? Certainly.
But it really stretches the imagination to call this landscaping project both “historic” and “recreation” related.
The amount of money spent on this project has really caused me to reconsider my support for CPA funding. It appears these CPA funded projects get less scrutiny at town meetings than they would if they were submitted as separate warrant articles. I will watch for all CPA sponsored issues at next year’s town meeting with a very sharp eye.
Umm, Mike, I hate to have to point this out, but they ARE separate warrant articles. Have been every year.
This past Saturday, there was a fireworks show held at the Hopkinton State Park to cap off Ashland Day. As I was driving past the Triangle Park I noticed a car parked on the grass/loam on the Cordaville Road side. Not on the edge, mind you, but pulled onto the loam facing the bell. I couldn’t believe it! Now, I’m not a huge fan of the rusty metal, nor am I totally happy with the cost of this project, however, the taxpayers are paying for this, and I just happen to be one of those taxpayers. I walked back to the park and looked at the vehicle, an expensive foreign built SUV with a Southborough Transfer Station sticker on the bumper. I asked the owner (quite ….brusquely) to move his vehicle. I reminded him that the taxpayers paid good money for the project, and it has had to be raked out a few times due to cars driving on the loam. His initial response…..”is it seeded?” I asked him what difference that made, he still shouldn’t have parked there. He agreed, made a comment about what type of mistake was made on his part (can’t spell it out here, but I won’t disagree), and moved his car. I don’t think it was disrespect, rather it was another example of how people think, or more accurately, don”t think. I hope people see this and realize that people do expect some common courtesy. Please don’t park on the grass or the loam. Let everything grow in so that next year all the hard work and dollars spent will look nice. Perhaps the DPW should put in some boulders or something to prevent autos from causing any further damage.
You’re right, people don’t think, or more to the point, they don’t think about anyone but themselves. It would be a shame if we had to put up signs to remind people to pick up their trash, pick up after their dogs and not to park on the lawn. Honestly what ever happened to common sense? I think it’s been replaced by “entitlement.” Welcome to the snooty suburbs!
And I want to add a thank you for what you did. But also, a reminder to be careful. Approaching a stranger like that can be dangerous in this day and age. The police will send a cruiser if you call them to help avoid confrontation.
Thanks……….I know the police are available but didn’t see the need to bother them with this.