2011 – New Park Coming!!
September, 2011
Hannah Williams Construction to Start Soon
The park/playground has been cleared and prepared for new play equipment, paths and fencing. Work will begin soon to install the new gear and fencing. It's expected work will begin approximately October 1 and be done by Dec. 1. Keep an eye out! Donations are still being accepted and will be used to purchase additional items for the play area over time.
Thanks again to the Village Bank and to Middlesex Savings Bank for donating to our efforts. Support from other businesses in town would be most welcome!
June, 2011
Hannah Williams Transformation Underway
It has started, as any visitor to the park can see. The playground is gone, and many yards of soil from beneath has been removed as it was found to contain various toxic and dangerous substances including old lead paint from building long ago removed!
Already work has started to prepare the site for a new playground, new fencing, water and improved parking. The DPW crews have been hard at work removing trees and preparing the site. Many thanks, of course to Eric Wood, a resident of Woodridge Road and friend of the park and playground for demolishing the old wooden play structure and clearing the site of concrete and more. His donation saved the project quite a bit in this new phase of its evolution.
Thanks also to Village Bank and Middlesex Savings Bank which both – right away – came up with cash donations for the play structure that will help us buy more than expected for the initial installation!
Thanks too to Don Ouellette, the DPW director, who is leading this effort to have a much nicer and safer park and playground in Cochituate Village.
The list goes on and will go on... so thanks to all... and stay tuned for a reopening in the fall.
March-April, 2011
Letter to the Editor, for March 31, 2011
Redo Hannah Williams Park & Playground
But For All The Right Reasons
Dear Editor:
I sincerely hope voters will approve funds at Town Meeting to replace the wooden play structure at Hannah Williams Park and Playground – but for the right reasons, not out of greatly over-stated concerns put forth by a fear-mongerer who bloviates about remote dangers.
Sorry, am I overstating? Well… let’s see. The declaration printed in last week’s guest column called the situation at Hannah Williams “the most important item on next month’s Town Meeting agenda,” and said “it is literally a matter of life and death.” So, who’s over the top here?
Since the first moment DPW Director Don Ouellette announced plans to seek funds to rebuild the Hannah Williams Park and Playground, Tom Sciacca has been whipping around the inflammatory phrase that the playground is “arsenic laced.” He has repeated this scary but imprecise charge over and over every chance he gets. He makes it sound ominous, important and scientific. To me, it sounds like a child who wants attention. I think the voters of Wayland are smarter than to fall for that!
The smallest grain of truth in Sciacca’s indictment of the playground is that it was constructed with wood (in 1986 or so, some 25 years ago) that likely, although not known for sure, was infused with a preservative containing arsenic. Wood treated in this manner was voluntarily phased out of use – at least for playgrounds – in 2003 by all manufacturers. Existing wood products were never recalled or ordered removed from public spaces.
Keys to any potential danger are the amount of contact and amount of ingestion. A child would have to have significant (lengthy and frequent) contact with fresh, treated wood, then would have to ingest anything rubbed off on the skin – aka lick their fingers – to be in any danger. Significant absorption through the skin is very unlikely in any case. The danger from contact, transfer and ingestion from the surface of 25 year old, weathered wood is, well, very remote.
Considering the years, virtually all preservative has long ago leeched out of the surface. And further, EPA tests have shown regular wood sealant treatments (which have been done at Hannah Williams) are effective in preventing contact.
And finally, the work of the Friends of Hannah Williams Playground to repair and reopen the play structure in 2000 minimized if not nearly eliminated contact with the arsenic-treated wood by replacing or covering handrails, seats and more with post-consumer recycled plastic board and railings.
None of this, of course, was considered in the accusatory comments made by Mr. Sciacca who seems intent on peddling fear.
Let’s talk about the real reasons to engage in replacing the play structure and improving the park! This awesome gift of open space in the heart of a commercial district is precious, and the aim is to make the entire experience of visiting the park and playground safer and more enjoyable.
The current proposal is to make it safer, easier to maintain, and better integrated with the rest of the park and the surrounding community. Right now, the park area suffers from poor, unsafe access to limited parking which is huddled up against the fence for the play area. The current plan calls for moving the cars away from the play structure – which means less exhaust and less danger of kids running off into a parking area.
Moving the parking means people will have to walk across the parkland to reach the play area… better integrating and using the full scope of the space.
Redoing the entire park in one effort will better unite the spaces, provide walkways through and around, and eliminate the swale or mound or ridge between the park and playground.
And, the plan calls for a variety of additional activities at the park – from adult exercise equipment to better benches and play areas, gardens, water fountain – all with the aim of making it attractive to a number of age ranges!
Let’s replace the Hannah Williams playground and redo the park for the right reasons, not out of unfounded fears.
Cliff Kolovson
26 Garden Path, Wayland
First Look at Possible Layouts
Design Options Shown at first of two meetings before Town Meeting...
WAYLAND – March7, 2011 – DPW Director Don Ouellette presented two possible layouts for the site at Monday's short meeting. These showed different areas of parking – both of which would double the current parking space. The plan is to replace the current play structure with a very modern system that provides much the same large motor skill challenge without the dangers and much easier to maintain.
The plans also showed sweeping paths around the perimeter to facilitate strolling, and wide open areas for play or picnicing. In any of these areas various exercise apparatus or other items could be located over time.
Ouellette said he'd like to bring water into the site for a bubbler and for watering gardens and such. He allowed that electricity might be possible at some point for various uses. We proposed ideas for a passive maze, a run-through water fountain and an area for music, among other things.
Keep tuned, and plan to come to Town Meeting to support the plan... it most likely will come up during the first night as part of the overall town budget.
The next meeting to discuss the project is Thursday, March 17. At that meeting a representative from O’Brien and Sons, a playground equipment supplier who has a current contract with the state of Massachusetts, will be at the meeting to discuss specific equipment.
Initial Meeting Sets Scope
Further Input Needed for Plan
WAYLAND – February 11, 2011 – DPW Director Don Ouellette presented his initial ideas for the next chapter in the history of Hannah Williams Park and Playground to a handful of people last night. The purpose of the meeting was to solicit input on what should be built there in place of the existing wooden play structure. Members of the Recreation Board attended, some parents of young children, yours truly, an Eagle Scout who has been eyeing the site for his big project and some of the closest residential (vs. business) neighbors to the park.
Ouellette reported that his initial ideas received enthusiastic support from the Selectmen and Finance Committee, but he also expects to have his ideas challenged at Town Meeting.
Ouellette's idea is to reconfigure the entire property to make better use of the land spaces and provide for better access, parking and safety for kids who tend to drift toward the roadway. It is clear that the 25+ year old wooden play structure needs to be removed – as it's a maintenance headache and has begun to seriously deteriorate and splinter. His plan centers around replacement with a modern play structure that presents similar climbing and adventure challenges to kids.
He also suggests providing a wider range of activites for other age populations... including some gardening, adult exercise stations, a small perimeter trail/path and such.
Ideas tossed out by myself and others included a passive, in-ground maze, a fountain, a permanent composting toilet facilitiy, more of a park/picnic area, a clear parking area off the street, effective fencing along the sidewalk and roadway, and more.
It was strongly suggested that Ouellette better understand the limitations of the property and what can be done regards access and parking as soon as possible, as that could define the available space for other activities. The specifics of what to build and where likely will be the result of an analysis by a consultant in park and play structure engineering later this spring or summer... with construction at earliest next fall or the following spring.
Please send ideas, comments to me (cliff@pointed.com) or to Don Ouellette (douellette@wayland.ma.us) asap!
Town Proposing New Plan
for Beloved Park and Playground
Meeting is Thursday night, Feb. 10, 7pm Town Building -- Selectmen's Meeting Room
WAYLAND – February 2011 – Attention all friends of Hannah Williams Park and Playground! The time has come.... our HUGE wooden playground is at the end of its useful life and is bordering on being unsafe.
The good news, however, is our new DPW Director Don Ouellette – and his recreation committee – is on top of it, and has a plan. This plan involves requesting some serious money from Town Meeting this spring. He sees a public-private cooperative effort to raze and replace the playground structure and create other new spaces of value to a wider age range... plus better parking.
He's already received backing for his plan from the Finance Committee in preparation for Town Meeting, and he's holding the first public effort to rally support.
Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 pm in the Selectmen's Meeting Room ... that in just a few days... he's calling an "Open Discussion" to hear the plans and give input... PLEASE come and lend your support and ideas.
Call me if any questions... Cliff Kolovson 508-655-2957 or email me cliff@pointed.com.
Can you believe... this is how it began in September of 2000?
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