Bonfanti Honored at Trail Groundbreaking

State and local officials were on hand on Tuesday afternoon to help dedicate the new Sydney’s Pond Conservation Area Trail in honor of former Mayor Michael Bonfanti.

The trail will help connect up to 300 acres of conservation land and trails in South Peabody and is part of the larger South Peabody Trail Project.

The project has been in the works for almost a decade, as the city purchased the Sydney’s Pond conservation land in 2006 under the guidance of Bonfanti.

The project is being paid for with a combination of state, local, and Community Preservation Act funds.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt said the groundbreaking for the new conservation trail is a milestone in Peabody’s efforts to increase open space and recreation areas for its residents.

Bonfanti thanked Bettencourt and a number of local and state officials for keeping the ball rolling on the conservation project.

“It takes a Herculean effort to complete this type of project,” Bonfanti said. “We want to build something that the people of Peabody can come to enjoy and use.”

Special praise was directed toward City Community Development Director Karen Sawyer Conard, Assistant Director of Planning Brendan Callahan, Kurt Gaertner of the state’s Gateway City Parks Program, and former mayoral chief of staff Sean Fitzgerald, as well as Bonfanti’s family.

Photo courtesy City of Peabody