Methuen parks to be improved
Sep. 10—METHUEN 一 As the summer winds down, Stephen Angelo, superintendent of Parks and Recreation, is already looking to next spring as he described two large projects that his department has on the docket.
He said $1.4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act will be used to completely replace the tennis courts at Methuen High School. In addition to new tennis courts, the project will include a proper drainage system, fencing, LED lighting and pickleball courts.
Angelo said he expects the project to begin by April 1, 2023.
"We all know the weather up here in New England can be a little iffy so we want to be realistic on when we can start that," he said during the Aug. 31 meeting of the City Council's Athletic and Recreational Enhancement Committee, adding that the project should be completed by July.
Unlike the tennis courts, a Gill Avenue Playground project would require city funding.
Angelo said the project would incorporate a dog park and refurbish the basketball courts. However, the cost of renovating the basketball courts has climbed to $130,000 compared to the original estimate of $80,000 to $90,000.
"We're going to have to be strategic in how we go forward with that project," he said, noting that it may have to be done in phases.
In addition, Angelo asked that fewer requests be made to use the athletic fields at this point in the year, specifically Veterans Memorial Park, saying the fields are "burnt out and need a rest."
In response, Central District Councilor Joel Faretra, the committee's chairman, asked Angelo if he had created a preventative field maintenance schedule.
Angelo, who has been in his position for the past 14 months, said a field maintenance schedule has yet to be created.
"If we're not going to go down there and water it and maintain it, I don't know what we would expect to happen," Faretra said of Veterans Memorial Park. "We've got to start getting into a schedule of maintaining these fields. You've got to start trying to get ahead of this."
Faretra also said the Department of Public Works has been understaffed, yet no jobs have been posted.
West District Councilor Allison Saffie said she has heard frequent complaints about the parks being laden with trash.
"I don't know if that falls on you or the DPW," she said. "I don't know if you have enough staff to actually do all these parks."
However, Angelo said he routinely visits the parks each week and that the trash barrels are emptied on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
"They get emptied three days a week, it's not something that gets neglected," he said.
