Within the next few weeks, work crews will begin landscaping work at a new park at the entrance to downtown Farmington, after the town accepted a $74,000 donation for the project.
The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday night to accept the donation from Farmington resident Richard Bjorn, president of Kyes Insurance, and to commit to the future maintenance of the park, said Town Manager Richard Davis.
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Voters were presented in March with the option of selling the property at the corner of High Street and Farmington Falls Road, but decided to keep the property.
A sketch of the park, by Robert Zundel of Treeline Landscape, shows a mix of trees and bushes, a small parking area attached to High Street and a circular walking path in the center of the triangular lot.
The lot was once the site of the town garage. Farmington contractor E.L. Vining & Son has been hired for $55,990 to strip the site to ready the site for landscaping and to also build a seven car parking lot.
Selectmen had previously considered giving the shed to an outside party for the labor of hauling it away, but Davis said town officials later had concerns about liability and if the interested person would properly dismantly the structure.
The project also includes $14,470 for the landscaping work, $1,944 for four concrete benches and $993 for a granite center island area.
The selectmen also agreed that the town would assume water and electrical costs associated with ongoing maintenance of the site.
“By my very rough estimate, it will cost maybe $1,000 a year,” he said.
Mowing was not included in the additional costs of a new park, because the town already mows the property and might save by having less grass after the landscaping.
The town is still shopping for a new location for the banner poles used to hold community event signs that were at the front of the lot, Davis said. If the town is unable to find a place to relocate them, he said they will be eliminated.
Davis said he met with Bjorn Wednesday morning following the vote and the project should be underway in two or three weeks.
Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252
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