Site Walk Minutes
Saturday – May 15, 2021
Redding Community Center – 37 Lonetown Road
Present: Toby Welles, Chairman; Regina O’Brien, Secretary; Commissioner Dan Barrett; Alternate Phyllis Rhodes.
Also
Present: Aimee Pardee, Land Use Director; Angela Caes.
The Chairman commenced the site walk at 8:35 a.m.
Ms. Pardee explained that the purpose of the site walk was to observe several areas of the Community Center property in order to make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen regarding their suitability for the siting of a pre-school playground.
The Commission first looked at the area adjacent and to the east of the Senior Center wing of the Community Center. The Commission noted several advantages to the location including access to parking behind the building, access to facilities inside the building when it is open, and a relatively level site. They also noted that seating could potentially be added next to the building, and outside of the play area, for adults to congregate.
The Commission then looked at the island of land between the entrance and the exit to the Community Center parking lot. They noted that this area is larger than the area nearer the building, but members raised concerns regarding the proximity of traffic and also the slope of the area, the leveling of which could add considerable cost to the project.
The Commission then walked to the far north end of the parking lot, then up the slope to the east, approximately behind the existing tennis courts. The Commission was joined by Angela Caes of the playground committee. The Commission noted that the proximity of this site to the playing fields could be advantageous to parents with children of multiple ages, but also noted that the access to the site is steep and could require the construction of stairs or ramps adding cost to construction; even with such access, they expressed concern that there could be ADA accessibility challenges.
At the conclusion of the walk, the general consensus of those present was that the first area observed, adjacent to the Senior Center wind of the Community Center, would be the best location for a playground or the three areas observed.
The site walk was concluded at 9:00 a.m.
Submitted by:
Aimee Pardee