Two citizens petitions hope to divert funding for Grafton Super Park

A backlash to the $2.6 million Super Park is already mounting, with two separate petitions filed to reallocate funds meant for the cost.

The Community Preservation Committee last Thursday approved two warrant articles for the park, which has evolved from an accessible replacement for a park torn down to build Grafton High School in 2010 to a three phase project. The first, at a cost of nearly $1 million, would construct a playground with sensory elements and lighted paths beside the expanded Grafton Public Library. The second and third would build a zip line, sports field, a nature trail with boardwalks, dog park, and splash pad.

Finance Committee member Colleen Roy, a candidate for Select Board in the May 19 Town Election, filed a citizens petition asking that May 11’s Town Meeting rescind the 2015 decision to appropriate Overlay Surplus money to create a playground next to the Grafton Public Library and return the remaining $241,000 to fund a portion of the 2021 Capital Budget.

At the same time, resident Lydia Bogar filed a second petition requesting that the same funds should be used to enhance existing neighborhood parks.

Roy’s Petition

To see if the Town will vote to rescind the vote taken under Article 5 of the October 19, 2015 Town Meeting that appropriated funds from Overlay Surplus for the creation of a play structure and surrounding park facility at the Perrault Property (4-6 Upton Street) and transfer the remaining funds ($241,000) to the Capital Stabilization Fund for re-appropriation by the Town Meeting to fund a portion of the Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget as proposed by the Town Administrator, or to take any other action relative thereto.

“I started considering this as an option when we first began discussing the FY21 override,” Roy said in an email interview. “I went back and watched the 2015 Fall Town Meeting when the town voted in favor of a $500,000 playground and surrounding park facility. The vote appropriated $290,000 towards the project. The Super Park Committee then spent $15,000 on plans they brought to the Planning Board in Spring 2016. 

“I then watched all of the Planning Board meetings where they discussed those plans. The Planning Board had some minor concerns and asked the Super Park committee to address them before approving,” she added. “Months go by with no updates or changes from the committee before the Super Park Committee ultimately pulled their plans. The project then goes dormant for several years. It appears they cannot build the $500,000 park which was voted on in 2015. 

“This week a new $2.6 million dollar playground was unveiled at a CPC meeting. This is not the same project presented in 2015. I believe voters should have the option to return those original funds, of which $241,000 is remaining, to put towards our ever growing $18 million capital back log.”

Roy said she has two small children who would welcome the park, but it isn’t a necessity at this time.

“We’ve gone 10 years without the nostalgic super park, we will survive another 10 years if need be,” Roy wrote. “Grafton has several financial issues it’s currently facing. The optics of voting on a million-dollar, phase 1, for a playground in the same year we desperately need a $4 million dollar override seems counterproductive. CPC funds can not be used to help our operating needs. But it may be able to help with our $18 million dollar capital back log. I would like to see if those CPC funds could be used to fund any of our needs before it goes to funding our wants.”

Bogar’s Petition

To see if the Town will vote to direct the Recreation Commission to abandon their plan for the so-called Superpark proposed for the site to the rear of the Center Library, and expend these funds to expend and improve the parks known as Nelson Park, Norcross Park and Ferry Street.

“Having watched most of the CPC meeting before nausea set in, I would like to share some good news with my friends and neighbors,” Bogar wrote in an email to Grafton Common.  “A group of seniors filed a petition last week to use the existing SuperPark monies to enhance and maintain our existing parks.”  

Bogar questioned why the town was pushing ahead with an expensive project at a time when the economy itself is in question.

“It is not only the numbers being tossed around that really annoy me but phrases like ‘change course as necessary’ and ‘kind of missed the mark a little bit’ make me wonder if some members of the CPC, including Mrs. Thomas and TA McInerney, live in the same orbit that we do,” Bogar wrote.”Then I ponder the legality of this meeting – three agendas were posted, were they all posted in a timely fashion? Who is watching these people? To pull this kind of a stunt during a crisis – not a local crisis, or a state crisis but the real deal World War Three escapes my comprehension. We cannot and should allow this line item to even get to the floor of Town Meeting. It is a disgrace.”

While a citizen petition requires only 10 certified signatures, collecting them during a time of social distancing made it a bit of a challenge. Bogar said she was able to obtain signatures from her senior friends.

“One of the ways I was able to collect signatures was to email the petition to people,” Roy said. “They printed it out and signed it in the safety of their home then dropped it off at the box outside the municipal center. Another way was driving to houses, leaving it at their door, waiting in my car while they signed, then picking it up when they finished. Safety was a top priority when it came to collecting signatures.”

Both petitions have been certified by the Town Clerk’s office and will be forwarded to the Select Board for the Town Meeting warrant.

The above photo of Select Board Chairperson Jennifer Thomas discussing the Super Park at the 2015 Town Meeting was submitted by Colleen Roy.