Florence Hathaway Park in Willsboro to be upgraded

WILLSBORO | Plans are now being drawn up to improve the Florence Hathaway Park. Currently, the park on Route 22 consists of two tennis courts and five pickleball courts. However, the Willsboro Parks Commission (WPC) is working with GPI/Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. in Albany to design a space that features a playground for the ages with a walking track around it. To make this possible, with the help of Essex County Office of Community Resources, the commission applied for a grant through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and they were awarded a $355,770 grant in 2023. A 50 percent matching grant, the Town of Willsboro was required to come up with $177,885. Exactly $100,000 was included in the 2025 town budget, while the remaining $77,885 was planned to come from in-kind services, such as donations, volunteers and the highway department. This one-year development cost means a 2 cents per $1,000 of assessment for the taxpayers, said town board liaison Lorilee Sheehan, but the end result would be worth it. Along with the playground and walking track, the highway department will start constructing an all-season pavilion with an ADA-compliant bathroom next month; the skating rink currently at Foley Park will be moved to the site; and two shuffleboard courts will be put in thanks to a $15,000 grant recently awarded through the AARP. "We're excited," she boasted about the project that is expected to be completed by this Labor Day. And once it's complete, the park will be "a place for the whole family to come together and have fun." The playground for the ages is planned to come with equipment that is ADA compliant, and the asphalt walking trail around it, which will either be a quarter-mile or half-mile in length, will be 5 feet wide, which is big enough to accommodate a wheelchair and other people with disabilities. "We're very aware and sensitive about ADA compliance," said WPC Chairman Lloyd "Bud" Wilson. "That's always been a top priority of the commission." The WPC was formed in January 2022 with the mission to provide healthy outdoor spaces for people of all ages. Made up of Wilson, Sheehan, Mae Santillo, Krissy Leerkes, Hannah Carson and Steve Benway, this committee oversees the town's nine parks (Florence Hathaway Park, Noblewood Park, Gateway Park, Foley Park, Higby Park, Gillilland Park, Bandstand Park and Veterans Park), making sure that they're all spaces that can be enjoyed by those both older and younger. Currently, none of the town's nine parks contains a playground. Willsboro Central School once opened its playground on weekends and throughout the summer. However, since the Willsboro-Essex Summer Program will be hosted there this summer, those not participating won't be able to access the playground. This project at Florence Hathaway Park will not only give children access to playground equipment, but also give their families something to look forward to and do while they play.

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Florence Hathaway Park in Willsboro to be upgraded

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