MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) Committee on Community Improvement recommended ten proposals on Tuesday night, including approval to pursue a grant that would extensively renovate Sheehan-Basquil Park.
That grant, an Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Grant through the National Park Service, would pay for $4 million of a proposed $8 million renovation of the park envisioned by the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Division (PRC) of the city’s Department of Public Works.
PRC Director Mark Gomez said that if the city does not receive the ORLP Grant, renovations at the park would occur, but they would consist of $6.6 million in renovations borne entirely by the city. The larger project would include a full-sized soccer field, a green space with shade structures, a renovated concession area and two new baseball fields. The smaller project replaces the full-sized soccer field with a smaller one for younger children and fewer renovations to the concessions area. Both proposals a new swimming pool and bath house in the vicinity of the current splash pad at the park.
If the ORLP Grant is approved, Gomez said that the capital improvement plan funding for the cost of design in the renovations would be withdrawn and reallocated at the BMA’s discretion, with other funding going toward the city’s match of the ORLP funding.
Committee Chairman and Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart strongly supported the proposal given the area’s history as one of the city’s most marginalized neighborhoods.
Alderman At-Large June Trisciani also felt that support of the proposal would help the city leverage public/private partnerships that could help provide funding to renovations at the park.
Ward 7 Alderman Mary Sullivan-Heath also spoke in favor of the recommendation.
“Growing up in that area, a new pool there is so needed,” she said. “That entire area needs a face lift.”
The other recommendations were supposed without discussion outside of a renewed three-year Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a request to pursue a $3 million Congestional Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT).
Manchester Fire Department Chief Ryan Cashin said that additional information would be required from the federal government regarding the SAFER Grant.
Manchester Department of Public Works Traffic Engineer Kristen Clark said that the CMAQ grant would procure 80 percent of $3 million from NHDOT following a 20 percent match from the city to investigate plans on reducing traffic congestion on Mammoth Road from Huse Road/Cilley Road to Bridge Street.
