WILTON – Selectboard members approved a new gazebo for Bass Park to be purchased from Fifthroom, an outdoor accessories manufacturer located in Pennsylvania. Though efforts were made to source the project locally, Fifthroom’s estimate came in at almost $5,000 lower than anyone else’s, including delivery and set up.
The purchase price for the basic 20-foot by 20-foot gazebo kit is $19,520 with a total of $26,000 raised for the project. Recreation Director Frank Donald said they may want to add a bench or two and railing to the basic kit package. A concrete pad will be needed for it to sit on and electrical service hooked up. Money for the project has been raised over the last few years through private donations. Some additional funding, if needed, will come out of the Recreation department’s special projects account which is money raised through various benefit events.
Installation is expected in early November. Meanwhile, the existing 11-foot by 11-foot octagon-shaped gazebo at the park was moved on Friday to Bishop Memorial Park in East Wilton.
“We’ve gotten a ton of compliments,”Donald said, after putting the smaller gazebo there. “Not only will the people using Bass Park benefit, but the people at Bishop Park are as well,” he said.
Located on Lake Road and Gilbert Street, Bass Park overlooks Wilson Lake, providing the perfect backdrop for a summer concert series, weddings, birthday parties, or other events, Donald said.
Plans are in the works to schedule events for the spring when the larger, gazebo will be able to accommodate these events.
In other matters, Town Manager Rhonda Irish reported that the Downtown Revitalization project is going well.
In August, the selectboard accepted a bid to improve the downtown through a $400,000 Downtown Revitalization Grant. The board awarded the Pratt & Son, Inc. bid of $365,922, which encompasses the improvement of sidewalks, particularly around the monument near the intersection of Main with High Street, as well as the installation of streetlights, expansion elements to provide more space for pedestrians and improvements to the High Street parking lot.
On Tuesday night, $60,000 was approved by the board for improvements to the High Street parking lot, which include repairs to the stairs and the wall in order to bring them up to safety standards.
Long ago there use to be a gazebo in East Wilton. Now it’s back in almost the same spot. Thanks Frank Donald.