When the town of Windsor received its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, selectboard member Tera Howard acknowledged one such chance to enhance her neighborhood. Working with James Aldrich, the town’s entertainment director, and others, Howard established concepts to broaden an existing play area, improve the brand-new Paradise Bark dog park, and contribute to Kennedy’s (Mill) Pond.
“When they first gave [the ARPA money] out, you could only use it for three things: infrastructure, recreation, and one other area,” Howard remembers. “But they quickly changed the rules to say essentially that you could use it for whatever you want, just not back taxes. I was worried that recreation would get pushed to the side, so I brought up the idea about expanding the playground. The other selectboard members said that sounded good, so I was encouraged.”
Paul Woodman, a fellow selectboard member, directed Howard to Burke, a business play area equipment business based in Wisconsin. “They sent me a catalog, and in the first 20 seconds, I learned that I needed a lot of money! This stuff is crazy expensive,” Howard says. “I asked for 10% of the ARPA, which was $100,000. The selectboard was totally on board. I showed them what we could do. I showed them the pieces that we’ve got and they said, ‘Let’s do it!’”
Howard remembers that the next stage included dealing with Aldrich to determine how to establish all of the pieces that were picked. “Things like the bench swings were totally James’s idea. Now we’re actually putting it all together. It’s cool because it has taken a full year to make this happen. To get through the process of seeing it on paper, picking out the pieces, putting them together, and now seeing everything in its finished state has been amazing!”
The play area, for instance, has actually more than doubled in size from 5 to 12 pieces. There is a brand-new spinner and numerous pieces for kids to get on. However, the additions are not restricted to utilize for kids, Howard notes. “We added four tables under the pavilion (in the children’s area) so that people can have parties and get-togethers. The very first day we had everything out, I saw pictures on Facebook that people were having parties. There have been three parties already,” Howard says gladly.
Next to the play area is Paradise Bark, which was opened in 2015 in memory of long time animal well-being supporter Kerry Clifford. Currently, the space is simply a fenced grassy location about a hundred feet square, however Howard says it will look extremely various quickly. “We have a whole agility set coming that has five pieces to it. Then there is a canine castle, which is a big wooden structure that the dogs can go under and over. We’re also putting a fire hydrant in. We’re going to put a couple benches over here,” she says while gesturing around the park. This work ought to be total at some point in August, according to Aldrich.
“This [dog park] was surprisingly a lot of money, even though there’s nothing here,” Howard describes. “I talked with James, and he said we didn’t have money to put pieces here. When this money came along, I was determined that we could do the playground and the dog park,” she says of her inspiration to widen the location’s performance. “I come here pretty regularly with my dog and I have since it opened. I’ve been told that there is a morning crew and an afternoon crew, and I have been fortunate enough on the afternoons to catch that crew, and sometimes there are 20 dogs in here! The park is really getting used. I talked to a guy who came from Springfield, and he said this is one of the nicest parks that is closest to him, so he doesn’t mind the drive. Everybody that I have talked to about putting pieces in here is very excited. This is going to be awesome!”
Read more in the June 22 edition of the Vermont Standard.
