LYNN — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept funds to assist with $580,000 worth of planned renovations at Barry Park within the next year.
The state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs awarded the city $400,000 last summer under the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant program, which offers reimbursable grants to cities and towns to support the preservation and restoration of urban parks.
The city will cover the rest of the cost — $180,000 — through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
This money will go toward a splash pad, renovating two basketball courts for multi-use activities, landscaping including the addition of shade trees, paths and park entrances, fencing, park benches and picnic tables and eventually the removal of the park’s concrete bleachers.
Community Development Director James Marsh said the city recently completed a similar restoration project at the Lynn Commons — thanks to multiple grant programs including PARC — and Barry Park naturally seemed like the next location to focus on.
This restoration project, which was initiated by neighborhood requests and the city’s Open Space Recreation Plan, will be completed in a series of phases by priority, as fiscal resources become available.
Marsh said the landscape, splash pad, and court updates will occur first, and the removal of the bleachers will happen when the city acquires more funds for the project.
The next deadline for the PARC grant, Marsh said, is approaching soon, so the city will “most likely” pursue that grant again to support the demolition of the bleachers.
Ward 7 Councilor Jay Walsh said a lot of people are familiar with the Barry Park bleachers, which he described as a “blight,” from growing up and hanging out down there.
“The bleachers were in bad shape when I played little league, and I’m 41, so you can imagine how long they’ve been bad,” Walsh said. “I think this is a long time coming.”
Walsh said a lot of neighbors in the area want to see this project happen before someone gets hurt on the “unsafe” bleachers and outdated park area.
The removal of the bleachers, Walsh said, will also provide a clearer view of the park for police officers to monitor activity there.
The other side of the park has baseball and soccer fields, and Marsh said the city is thinking about applying for money to improve the fields later in the restoration project.
“The initial part of this (project) is the splash pad,” Marsh said. “In this day and age, it not only acts as a fun recreational option for kids, but also as a cooling station during the summer.”
Marsh said this project is going to be put out to bid next month, so at this time next summer, kids will be able to use the splash pad and the new multi-use courts.
“My intention is to spend some of the money (on improvements) like we did at Flax Pond, like we did at McManus Field (also known as Neptune Boulevard Park), and on the Commons,” Marsh said. “Now, we want to spend some time on Barry Park to improve it for the community.”