Former Wildwood Elementary School to be Wildwood Park

Construction began Nov. 18 to change the former Willdwood Elementary School propertly into a new park for sports and other activities. Fourteen companies bid for the construction job, and the contract was given to Quirk Construction Corporation of Georgetown, the lowest bidder at $758,501.

Wildwood Park will have a soccer field (200 feet by 290 feet), a general field (155 feet by 215 feet), a softball field (60 feet by 60 feet), a baseball field (90 feet by 90 feet), a playground with two play structures (96 feet by 96 feet), a picnic area with tables and benches, dual basketball courts and a paved walkways around the perimeter. The site will also have more than 75 parking spaces.

One year has passed since Parks and Recreation Director Don Lorinovich received a grant from the State Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to reimburse the parks department for 56 percent of the total cost of the project – roughly $470,000. The costs will be refunded over a two-year period through the state's Parkland Acquisitions and Renovation for Communities program. Special thanks have been given to Ernest Zabalotny, who was a continually positive factor in securing the grant through his advocacy for the park during town meetings.

Zabalotny was quoted as saying, "My effort was to demonstrate that there is a well defined process that has been established for applying tax monies to local municipal needs. Too few people understand that it is necessary to compete for those funds, and only a little focused effort is required in that competition."

Speaking with Lorinovich, he detailed the project by stating, "We knew that part of town was ripe for a park because of the great area it's in, so when we had the chance to turn the former school into the park, we jumped at the chance ... It passed through town meeting and here we are. It's going to be a great place for families and people to come and spend a sunny afternoon. It's going to be great for the neighborhood and will add to what we consider a shortage of fields in Burlington. "

Landscape architects have commented that it is a perfect location for a neighborhood park that's within walking distance of homes and nestled inside a beautiful, tree-filled grassland. However, some residents living adjacent to the property have raised concerns about water runoff.

The town says it is trying to address these concerns. Lorinovich said, "We're creating a bio-fluid management system made up of bio-retention basins ... The series of drainage ditches will build up the access water, hold it, then drain it out incrementally ... We are also planting real grass, and what the grass does is retain a lot of excess ground water, so that we can combat the runoff by having the grass store the water so it doesn't flow into the street or people's land."

The park is tentatively scheduled to be ready in June , although only the basketball courts, playground and walking areas will be accessible at that time. The Department of Parks and Recreation is planning to wait a full year for the grass fields to take form before they are used heavily for games and activites.