County officials debate park improvements

NORWICH - It’s time to “get off the dime,” City of Norwich Supervisor Linda E. Natoli told her fellow lawmakers this week during a discussion of a project that would make renovations to East and West Park in downtown Norwich.

“There are some things that I like and some I don’t, but we at least need to see the revised plan,” said the Ward 4, 5 and 6 supervisor.

Natoli’s comments followed a lengthy debate between Chenango County Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee members who were for and against the now five-year old project that was initiated by a group of community volunteers. The primary discussion revolved around either approving the revised plan before committing to funding or in-kind services, or vice versa.

The full Board of Supervisors unanimously backed the Friends of the Park’s conceptual plan in 2005 and, the following year, gave the go-ahead to the City of Norwich to apply for a grant that helped afford the design phase of the originally estimated $1 million project.

Plans include a performance staging area, new sidewalk configurations, updated electrical and sound systems, benches and garbage cans. About 30 countywide organizations were consulted in the design process.

The project has been backed by in-kind commitments from the City of Norwich, local contractors and a letter of commitment from NBT Bank. Friends of the Park volunteers Eric Larsen and Pegi LoPresti, director of the Norwich Business Improvement District, were on hand at the meeting Tuesday to find out how next to proceed.

“We are here to find out the order of things in order to get final approval of the plan. We would like to know what you need to see to improve the project and if there is any possibility for funding or in-kind services from the county, whether it would be county crews or prisoners working on projects,” Larsen asked.