ESSEX — Town officials have opined for weeks on issues related to rehabilitating the dilapidated tennis courts at Shepard Memorial Park.
Now, a number of residents have weighed in, telling selectmen at a recent meeting what they thought of the potential plans, and whether any work should be funded by a private enterprise or as a public project.
A Reading-based consultant has refined a proposed design for the courts, the refurbishment of which could cost as much as $1 million, according to selectmen.
Resident Robert Bilsbury said he wanted to offer his perspective as the varsity boys tennis coach at Manchester Essex Regional High School.
“I love the work that you’re doing and I really appreciate there are lots of things to consider here,” he said. “I just wanted to stress the need in our community for public space for kids and people of all ages to be active and social. … I think that’s so huge now.
“There has been some talk that this existing footprint is too small to do a (appropriately) sized tennis court,” he said “We have done practices there for my JV players and it’s been fine. The existing footprint would work. What I really want to do is have this happen and not have it be too expensive and too divisive in the town.”
Funding for the project could possibly rely on such sources as Community Preservation Committee funds and public grants and not additional taxes for residents, resident Sarah Willwerth Dyer said.
“Private funding, of course, is always going to be part of the solution,” she said. “We think the DPW should be deeply involved in this planning project. We still think that building at Memorial Park makes the most sense. This is the best solution.”
Shepard Memorial Park, off Shepard Memorial Drive and adjacent to Town Hall and T.O.H.P. Burnham Library, is an optimal location for the courts, former Downtown Planning Committee member Michael Dyer said.
“If we are going to have tennis courts in town, they should be here in this park,” he said. “We want to attract people down here. The businesses would love to attract people down here. If we’re going to do it, this is the place to do it.”
Town officials met recently with the Conservation Commission regarding the plans, and that the commission ultimately decided to continue the public hearing about the plans, Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki said.
“It was an interesting meeting,” he said. “It was very instructive. This gives the selectmen the opportunity to look at the options for this project over the late fall and winter months.”
If selectmen chose to recommend funding for the work, they may request the Community Preservation Committee help finance it, Zubricki said.
The consulting firm Weston & Sampson has been working to minimize the extent to which the town has to dig into the sub-surface at the site.
One approach “on the low end” would entail grinding the surface of the existing courts and repaving. Another possibility would widen the existing tennis courts’ footprint with the installation of “post tension concrete slabs,” Zubricki said.
“That would allow the project to proceed without being concerned about settling over time and making a new investment and then finding that the court surface doesn’t perform as long. The town does know that there’s contamination in the general vicinity of the courts. We found that when we put the sewer system in.”
Former Selectwoman Ruth Pereen said she has heard concerns about the tennis courts for several years.
“I appreciate that the Board of Selectmen moved forward with using the funds raised for the design and permitting fees of the project,” she said. “But I caution you that with each conversation, it seems that we’re not understanding the depth of which this liability could be to the taxpayers.
“I’m begging the board to take that serious concern under consideration when you’re making these decisions and that we don’t put the taxpayers in jeopardy of potentially millions of dollars of cleanup fees.”
Test borings may need to be conducted to determine what contamination might exist at the site, Zubricki said.
“The issue with that is that if you do core down and you do encounter contamination, there’s a cost just to dispose of the contaminated soil that comes up in the soil cores,” he said. “We don’t have funding for it yet.”
Selectman Peter Phippen suggested the input of the town’s Department of Public Works is warranted, while Selectman Ann Cameron suggested creating a group to study the project.
“I’m wondering if we could consider a sub-committee that goes and figures this thing out and then brings a proposal to us,” she said.
Cost estimates for the project are essential, Select Board Chair Alva Ingaharro said.
“If we have a price range of these different things, then it makes it easier to sell,” she said.
The projected costs have risen since the plan was first introduced — running between $150,000 to more than $1 million, Ingaharro said last month.
Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or shagan@gloucestertimes.com.