City plans for minimal park disruptions this summer
Both of the city of Dunkirk’s major parks are gearing up for construction, but Mayor Willie Rosas said his staff have plans to keep disruptions to a minimum.
Since the start of the year, event bookings for Point Gratiot and Wright Park have been pouring in. At the recent Common Council meeting the Christ Wesleyan Church’s Sunday Worship event on Aug. 27 was just another in a list to request the use of the large pavilion at Point Gratiot.
First Ward Councilman Don Williams Jr. warned of what to expect this spring and summer.
“There may be construction down there at the time. If they could just be aware of it and make a plan B if it gets in their way,” he suggested.
Councilman-at-Large Andy Woloszyn added to Williams’ comment.
“As many of you are aware, we will have a lot of construction going on in the Wright Park area this summer and a lot of construction going on in the Point Gratiot park area this summer. We are not pushing anyone away or asking them not to reserve spots and enjoy the park, however, we are reminding everybody and asking everybody that they are a little bit lenient in their locations possibly because we don’t know specifically where the construction is going to be taking place on a day to day basis, so it’s impossible for us to tell you exactly when or where that’s going to happen. So we’re just asking for a little bit of leniency and understanding during the summer construction season at those two parks,” he said.
Rosas said he has plans to alleviate those concerns.
“I also just wanted to advise council that part of the bidding process for the project at the point, I’ve directed our staff to make sure that the timeline for the completion of the project is by Memorial Day. We’re hoping we will have that whole project at the point completed by then. In the event that we don’t, what we’re planning to do is finish the project in phases so that the park will still be (usable). That’s the same concept we’re going to be using at Wright Park, so we don’t anticipate that the construction will disrupt the park being used this summer,” he explained.
An issue with another event — Chautauqua Striders’ inaugural Kids on the Move 5K — was also mentioned.
Fourth Ward Councilwoman Stacy Szukala said the city has a pre-approved 5K route from Wright Park to Memorial Park and back, which this race does not follow. Police Chief Dave Ortolano explained the route eliminates the need for barricades and man hours as well as disturbing residents and traffic by closing roads.
Williams pointed out the proposed route was likely set in order for the run to start and end at Striders’ headquarters at the corner of Lake Shore Drive and Pangolin Street. Ortolano said he will reach out to the organizers.
The next council meeting is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at city hall with a workshop at 5 p.m.
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