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The Town of Sudbury will pursue Community Preservation Act funding to complete a playground renovation project at Haskell Field. The development came after public uproar over the execution on the initial project.
At the Monday, September 8 meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission, Sudbury’s Finance Director and Assistant Town Manager, Victor Garofalo, presented an analysis of the initial SMILE Playground renovation project, followed by a series of five potential concepts to pursue via the Community Preservation Act process in Sudbury. Jump to the 57 minute mark in the video below to watch the full presentation.
Garofalo presented a variety of playground equipment options and renderings, along with cost estimates. The Park and Recreation Commission will provide input on the final selections, though the preferences voiced in the meeting leaned towards two higher-priced options that could run north of $300,000.
In order to fund the additional work at the playground, the Town will have to submit an application to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) by their deadline on September 21. From there, they will have time to further develop the project and eventually present to the CPC close to the end of the calendar year. If the CPC chooses to recommend the project to Town Meeting, it will get a vote in May of 2026. Garofalo indicated that they hoped to complete the work by the end of summer in 2026.
Garofalo provided a detailed breakdown of the use of funds on the first phase of the project, including an explanation of the causes for delays on the initial project. The larger concepts put forward during the meeting would complete the work that was scoped (but not completed) in the initial project, and then exceed the original scope with major equipment installations.
The Park and Recreation Commission members were enthusiastic about the path forward, but voiced frustration with the execution of the initial project and the lack of commissioner involvement along the way. The future of the playground will ultimately be decided by the members of the CPC and voters at Annual Town Meeting; assuming the CPC supports the second phase of the project.