Expanded Recreation
LRPC To Assist In TTCC-Kelley Park Expansion Plans
The Lakes Region Planning Commission is collaborating with the Tapply-Thompson Community Center and the town of Bristol in developing a master plan for the center’s new property at 90 Lake Street and the adjacent Kelley Park.
TTCC Director Leslie Dion told the Bristol Select Board on April 2 that including Kelley Park in the planning will benefit both the town-owned park and the new facility that tentatively will include a gymnasium, program space, and a senior center.
Dion said that Tim Andrews, who works on brownfields environmental site assessment and cleanup projects with Nobis Engineering of Concord, and Mark Westa, a senior landscape architect with Environmental Design & Research of Portsmouth, will be able to assist “through their grant money, so it won’t cost us anything for us to collaborate on it”.
While helping to develop plans to renovate buildings on property that formerly served as Prescott Lumber Company, Parkhurst & Company hardware store, and most recently as Kathleen’s Cottage Irish restaurant, Dion said they would have “more of a master plan for our property, as well as how that can benefit Kelley Park, which we would be all about anyway, because we use Kelley Park, and it’s been a good relationship back and forth.”
The group from LRPC already toured the property and discussed potential uses, and now they are looking for a joint meeting with the town in June.
“We’ll retire into one of the areas in there, and they’ll talk about, okay, what does the community want to see in a building like this? Because we want to make sure we get plenty of feedback from the community so that we’re supported,” Dion said. “So far, we’ve had incredible support towards the project, but now we want to know what does the community need the most for us to include in that building, and with Kelley Park.”
The TTCC was able to purchase the Lake Street property through a “generous donation” and Dion said they also have received $1.5 million in federal funding from Senator Jeanne Shaheen as well as receiving confirmation of another million dollars from Representative Maggie Goodlander.