Chicopee Awarded $400,000 PARC Grant for Ray Ash Pool

Conservation Works’ environmental planner Anne Capra assisted the City of Chicopee in their successful $400,000 Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) Grant (December, 2015) for major renovations to the Ray Ash Pool facility. While working with City Planner Lee Pouliot and Parks and Recreation Superintendent Carolyn Porter on the 2015 update to the city’s Open Space and Recreation Plan, Anne identified various funding sources appropriate for several of the high priorities identified in the Seven-Year Action Plan including increasing access to water-based recreation. With the PARC grant deadline approaching fast, Anne provided grant writing services while city officials deliberated about the best location and preferred design alternatives to best serve the largest number of residents.

In the summer of 2012 there were 9,225 pool users at the City of Chicopee’s four municipal pools. The Ray Ash Pool was the most popular, hosting 2,737 guests that year, making it a critically important summer recreation destination for residents. The pool at Ray Ash Park was closed in 2014 due to age and extensive leaks. Water and sewer costs of $35,000 annually for pool water prompted the Park and Recreation Department to commission a leak detection and engineering study of the four city pools this past spring. The study conducted by AECOM identified extensive leaks in the pipes, structural issues related to cracks in the pool walls, ADA non-compliance, and high PCB levels in the paint and caulking in all four pools. The study prompted the City to close the two more pools at Szot and Fairview Parks leaving residents with only one outdoor municipal pool at Rivers Park, built in the early 1960’s. Structural repairs at the Rivers Park pool were completed and the pool re-opened late in the summer of 2015.

Pool renovations at Ray Ash will include swimming lanes for lap swimmers and a zero depth beach-style entry on one end of the pool, low spray features to create play spaces for younger children, and a permanent pool lift for safe water access for the disabled. The bath houses will be renovated and a pool deck with shaded seating will be added. Work is scheduled to begin in early 2016.

The PARC Program, formerly known as the Urban Self-Help Program, was established in 1977 to assist municipalities in the acquisition of recreation land, development of new parks, or the renovation of existing parks. All awarded grants are made as a reimbursement for work completed by the municipality. The City of Chicopee received the maximum award for municipalities with populations over 35,000. The City of Chicopee will provide matching funds for the project estimated to cost over $1 million.

For assistance applying for PARC or other grant programs for recreation or open space projects, contact Anne at anne@conservationworksllc.com or (413) 824-1148.