There are 30 parks and playgrounds covering 212 acres in the city.
People gather in Szot Park for one of the outdoor movie nights held in the summer. It is one of the many uses of the parks.
CHICOPEE – City officials kicked off what they hope to be a six-month process to develop a master plan for the future of the parks.
About 25 people attended the first meeting Thursday, including school employees and School Committee members, city councilors, the athletic director of Holyoke Catholic High School, members of adult youth leagues and Parks and Recreation commissioners and employees.
“I hope to have a series of meetings to set up a master plan for the parks,” Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.
A number of issues sparked the move but it started with complaints about basketball hoops removed at several parks and constant littering and vandalism. Issues faced about the 30 parks included how to deal with overuse, a better-organized maintenance plan from all the city departments and a discussion on how to increase funding for the parks.
“It is time for the city to look towards the future,” Bissonnette said. “How do we put the best package together.”
The never-ending call for use of the parks was discussed. Currently playing fields are used by about 45 adult leagues, the two public high schools and Holyoke Catholic High School, which has no playing fields of its own, youth leagues and even Elms College has occasionally asked for use of a field, Stanley Walczak, superintendent of Parks and Recreation, said.
“How about the amount of athletic fields?” asked School Committee member Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello. “Our programs have expanded, schools have expanded and I don't know how much our facilities have expanded.”
Several residents also attended. One aired concerns about the condition of the playground at Sarah Jane Sherman park, saying the slide and the see-saw are damaged and only a few swings are usable.
Another said she is worried about the Wisnowski Park, off School Street, saying it is one of the few places children in the downtown neighborhood can play and it is plagued by litter, including broken beer bottles.
Walczak said playgrounds are evaluated for safety every spring and promised to have an employee check on Sherman Park. He said Wisnowski Park is a difficult problem because there is drinking in the park at night and, although parks employees go frequently to pick up trash, they only find it as bad a few days later.
With 18 employees total in the parks department, it is difficult to monitor and maintain all about 212 acres of land the department is responsible for, he said.
The city has received recent grants to improve parks but is constantly seeking other sources of revenue and volunteers, including students from Westover Job Corps and Comprehensive High School, to assist especially in making improvements to the 21 park buildings, he said.
Police Capt. Muise also attended the meeting and discussed the department's plan to increase security in the parks. Patrol officers have been told to drive through the parks more often during their shifts. Since many do paperwork now on laptops in their cruisers, they are encouraged to do so in the parks so there is at least more police presence.
Wisnowski Park will be the first one to get cameras which will transmit to a dispatcher's console. The dispatcher can then see immediately if there is a problem in the park and alert police officers, he said.