HADLEY — Ongoing improvements to a park situated in a residential neighborhood are on hold, delaying a project that supporters had hoped would be complete by Memorial Day.
Work at Zatyrka Park, a 6-acre site at the intersection of Huntington and Breckenridge roads, had been scheduled to resume after the winter break when the Select Board in April awarded a $193,201 contract to Omasta Landscaping Inc. of Hadley. Omasta was hired to complete the third phase of a project that started in 2017.
But Town Administrator David Nixon told the Select Board last week that the contractor needs to wait for improved weather that will “provide better conditions for the excavation that needs to happen.”
In a memo to the board, Nixon wrote that a drought is preventing the work from getting underway at the site, which remains closed to the public.
The project, which will cost a total of $320,398, began with the removal of a fence surrounding a former baseball diamond and demolition of old tennis courts. Prior to winter, the property was reseeded and a hill at the rear of the property was stabilized, and signs were installed warning people against trespassing.
When complete, the site is expected to have a new parking lot off Huntington Road, with a portion of this serving as a half-court basketball, a rain garden and an accessible, looped path.
There will be several spots along this path with benches, and possibly picnic tables, leading to a playground. Most of the land will remain open for passive recreation.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
