Fuller Brook Park Overhaul Outreach Begins

Wellesley's Natural Resources Commission (NRC), has sent a letter to about 550 neighbors of Fuller Brook Park informing them of an initiative to improve the public recreation area and asking for their comments.

The effort is now in the design phase, and work isn't expected to begin until next year. A final report is due to the Community Preservation Commission and the Advisory Committee by January of 2011, according to the RFP. Then, voters will need to sign off on the plan (which will be paid for partly from Community Preservation Commission funds), at the spring Town Meeting.

The cost estimate for the project, which will last five years (including this calendar year), will cost between $2.5 million and $3 million. Some of the construction work, said Neal Seaborn, NRC chairman and Fuller Brook Park Coordinating Committee chairman, may come from multiple, yet-to-be-determined sources, which may include debt exclusion, borrowing, commercial contributions and CPC funding. 

Before the report can be finished, officials are seeking public input about how best to proceed.

During the design phase, officials will decide on how to make improvements to the park, including drainage, a fix for the path's surface and removal of about 100 trees and invasive species weeds.

The NRC, which is working with the FBPCC to organize the planning as well as inform and engage the public, has also established a website residents can consult to review progress and to register for e-mail updates about the plan and meetings concerning it. 

The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, Wellesley Town Hall.  The topic will be a presentation of the plan and public feedback on issues, opportunities and goals.

A copy of the NRC letter is attached to this article.