Ground Broken for Mary Cummings Park Recreation Project (Images)

After decades of negotiations with the city of Boston for a license agreement, Burlington was finally able to break ground this week on the .

Town officials and residents gathered at the park on Monday to put shovels in the ground and celebrate the start of a the new project. The plans at Mary Cummings Park calls for a full-sized soccer field that can be used as two smaller fields and a walking path.

"We've had some great discussion with Mayor Menino in Boston recently and this is a win-win for both Boston and Burlington," Town Administrator Robert Mercier said. "You'll see some beautiful playing fields."

The reason the plan needed to be worked out with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is that the land was entrusted to the City of Boston by Mary B. Cummings in her 1925 will, according to the Friends of Mary Cummings Park web site. The Boston's Park Department took control of the land in 1930 with the condition, stated in the will, “To hold and keep the same forever open as a public pleasure ground, and to maintain and care for the same in a suitable manner in accordance with that purpose.”

An agreement with Boston was struck last spring. Town Meeting has also approved a total of $350,000 for the project, though Chair of the Recreation Commission Kevin Sullivan said he hoped the project would come out under budget.

Sullivan said he is happy to break ground and get the project, which will address the growing recreation needs of the town, started.

"We’re thrilled!," he said in an interview with Patch. "A huge amount of thanks to the Board of Selectmen, Bob Mercier, Rep. Charley Murphy and Sen. Kenneth Donnelly for their support in sitting down with the city of Boston and making this work. It’s a great thing for the kids."

Sullivan said that with the Memorial School fields underway flooding at the high school combined with many sports from the high school teams down to the youth programs in need of practice space, the fields currently in use are being overworked.

"The Recreation Department has been struggling to keep up with the needs for youth sports and keeping the fields in good condition because we’ve been over using them," he said. "Kids use them in gym class, then high sports use them and then youth sports use them. With that much use it's hard to keep them in good condition. Bringing on a new field will make it easier because we can spread the load."

Sullivan said that depending on the weather the new fields will be seeded either this spring or at the end of August. They should be ready for use by the fall of next year.

Recreation Commission member Jack Ferren also said he was enthusiastic about having the project begin.

"The good news is the Board of Selectmen are on board and are invested in meeting the needs of recreation in town," he said. "The Memorial School field isn't ready yet and the other fields are over-used. The present doesn't look great but the future does."