Historic view of Rockwell Park. By the time school ends next June, most of the Rockwell Park renovation will be done, officials said Wednesday.
The city’s Park Board unanimously backed the hiring of the Schulz Corp. for $2.3 million to carry on the second phase of the park’s overhaul. It got $1.6 million for doing the initial part of the massive project.
By next summer, Park Director Ed Swicklas said, the city should be ready to embark on the last part of the $6.5 million reconstruction of the historic West End park, including restoring a section of the long-drained lagoon.
The City Council is likely to give its blessing to the contractor at a special meeting next week, which would allow the company to plow right into the next round of work.
Among the items included in the second phase are a new playground, a volleyball court, lights for one of the existing ball fields, landscaping of the skatepark and a host of other improvements aimed at making the park safer and busier.
Swicklas said the timing is working out perfectly.
Because the new contract will be in place as the contractor is finishing up the first phase, he said, Schulz can continue to work seamlessly, making it possible to get a substantial amount of the project done before winter.
During the cold months, Swicklas said, the contractor can do some work inside, then finish everything up in the spring.
The skatepark’s construction, which is being done by a California company, is expected to begin at month’s end and take less than 90 days.
At the moment, the new parking lots are largely finished, new sidewalks are taking shape and a new entrance to the park is rising to the east of the old Spanish-American War statue on Park Street.
Swicklas said that a substantial amount of topsoil has been made ready for plantings, too.
He said the first phase of the work “should be substantially complete” by the second week of August.
The renovation of Rockwell Park reached the city’s agenda during the brief administration of former Mayor Gerard Couture, who pushed a far-reaching plan to pump life into most of the city’s parks.
Though plans for Page Park fell by the wayside, the commitment of the city to the Rockwell Park project has never faltered, not even when $4 million in anticipated state aid never materialized.
City officials said the park needed the work anyhow and if the state wouldn’t contribute, it would still get done. But officials are also still lobbying for the cash from Hartford.
Rockwell Park, which is on the National Historic Register, was created almost a century ago to provide a place for working people to get out and enjoy nature in a rustic setting. For decades, it was one of the most thriving spots in town.
But during the past twenty years, it has become increasingly forgotten and neglected. Its much-loved lagoon was drained a decade ago after swimmers came down with a mysterious rash and health officials recommended the end to swimming there.
Here's an earlier blog entry with more details about the project.
Here's a brief history of Rockwell Park by Gail Leach.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
18 comments:
You're right Steve, 30 years ago it was still a great place to spend a summer day. Today it's a little scary due to the fact that disrespectful people engage in intimidating and sometimes illegal activities there. Many of these people come from the more run-down areas of the west end of Bristol. Get them out of there and the park improves without spending millions. Too bad liberal politicians in Hartford and race-baiters from organizations like the the NAACP are too busy protecting criminals and the so-called victim-groups than they are protecting the tax payers.
Great news, but who is watching this project to guide it and prevent cost overruns? The Park Revitalization Commission hasn't met in months....
Could you please put the curtains back up in the girls changing room at Page Park?? While concentrating on one park don't neglet the others.
Thank you Ellen Zoppo for getting this project underway!
Many citizens attended meetings on the revitlization of this park, are any of thier suggestions in this plan? It seems that we are going to put a vote out to the voters on every project that happens in Bristol. We the citizens of Bristol count.
Ellen's committee wasted most of its time on the roberts property and didn't do much to make rockwell happen. That is the sad truth of it.
I like the park better this way.
Art certainly hasn't done anything to move it along!
...appears it's moving along now. Good job Art!
Basic rule for maintaining cleanliness and maintaining aquatic life is that a lagoon like any pond or lake needs a fresh supply of incoming water as well as an outlet.
The original lagoon cleansed itself and maintained fish because the lagoon was spring fed.
Unless they remove the stupid soccer field and reestablish the full lagoon with water flowing in and out there will never be a fish population and the pond will once grow plenty of bacteria and algae.
Hope they are consulting with the local watershed folks who understand these basic principles.
Ms. Zoppo ran two committees - Park Revitalization and Roberts and they weren't connected. The Rockwell plan, which is what is being built now, is the result of her committee's work, no one else's. It was a solid group of volunteers and they worked well with her. Please do not continue to fault her for the many good deeds she did.
At least the mayor hasn't killed this project - let's give him that credit.
Is this second part of the project going out to bid? How can they just hand it to the existing contractor? Is that legal?
It did go out to bid. The low bidder made some mistakes in its calculations so the city let it slide. Second lowest was Schulz, the contractor for the first phase. There was one other bidder.
6:33
Yet!
6:34 - DUH
Schultz Corp.? And you want it done on schedule? And on budget?
Are you Republican whiners gonna watch it ? I doubt if your worth anyting.
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