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FARMINGTON – Calling the idea “impractical,” town officials applying for grant funds to make Meetinghouse Park more handicapped accessible, are dropping the proposed access ramp for the gazebo.
As town officials complete applications for two Community Development Block Grants for various safety and accessibility improvements in the downtown, the project to build a ramp up to the gazebo and replace the steps was proposed. A University of Maine at Farmington class provided plans for a circular ramp that would wind its way up along the side of the exterior wall of the gazebo.
At the Nov. 23 meeting, Selectman Nancy Porter was opposed to that proposal, saying the expenditure was unnecessary and that the gazebo, built in 1928, was an historic building which shouldn’t be tampered with.
Because Meetinghouse Park is located in Farmington’s Historic District, the Maine Historical Preservation Commission was consulted and recommended against building a ramp to the gazebo.
“The gazebo is a major character defining feature of this park and is architecturally significant to the historic district. The proposed ramp will overwhelm the simple massing of this gazebo and is not compatible with this small structure’s existing design,” wrote Kirk Mohney, deputy state historic Preservation officer.
Also part of the grant proposal is to make the park more accessible between the upper and lower sections of the park. Currently, three short sets of stairs along the perimeter and center sidewalks provide access. Mohney preferred the use of berms as being “more sensitive to the historic layout” than another proposal that includes more of a structural switchback ramp with handrails and masonry walls.
The initial estimate was $50,000, with a town match of 20 percent of the cost. That cost would be somewhat less since selectmen agreed at the Dec. 14 meeting to drop the gazebo ramp from the proposal.
A second CDBG in the works is a $150,000 Community Enterprise Project which would provide money to replace pieces of the street light poles in the downtown with the same style that appears along Cony Street. The new fixtures will contain 175 watt metal halide bulbs, as opposed to the current 150 watt standard ones. The goal of the replacement is to have the poles produce more light, as well as use less energy.
Also, proposed are new sidewalks with granite curbing along portions of Pleasant and Front Street where there aren’t sidewalks installed and paving to improve drainage concerns. The $150,000 would would require a $30,000 match in local expenditures, mostly in funds designated for paving or through the providing of labor and materials.
