The city is looking to spruce up the athletic facilities and make the area more usable for all ages, such as adding parking, a walking track, a community garden and picnic tables.
A draft plan of what the park would look like.
The basketball court could also be joined by a tennis court.
The playground at Brayton will also be replaced with newer equipment.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — With new playgrounds in at Kemp Park and Windsor Lake, and the next phase of work set for Noel Field, the city is now looking to improve Braytonville Park.
Director of Community Development Larysa Bernstein this week said the city has applied for a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant to overhaul the park and athletic field below Brayton Elementary School and, hopefully, add a tennis court and multi-use track wide enough to accommodate both bikers and walkers.
"We want to make it as inclusive of a park as possible to have something for everyone," she said. "It could use a facelift."
Most recently the city has utilized PARC grants to build the skatepark at Noel Field and PARC funds will also be used toward installing the splash park and other amenities at the downtown complex. Both grants came in at $400,000.
"We have recently received two large grants and they are very competitive grants, but I am hopeful," she said, of receiving a third. "I think we put together a strong application."
The City Council approved the application on June 26.
Bernstein said the basketball court will be redone as well as the softball field, which will also be shifted to accommodate a multi-use field.
"The plan is to shift the softball field that is there and redo it to make it a better practice field," she said. "So when the baseball-softball field is not in use they can have football, lacrosse soccer or whatever else."
The project also includes a parking lot for the field, also commonly referred to has Brayton Park or Brayton Hill Park. Currently, there is no parking and cars often line up along the road that leads to the Northern Berkshire Family YMCA and Brayton Hill Apartments.
The project in its entirety is slated to cost $455,000 and the city is requesting $318,500, or 70 percent of the project, from PARC. The remaining 30 percent ($136,500) will come for the next round of Community Development Block Grant funds. The Noel Field work was done the same way with the city providing the matching funds to the state grant through its CDBG mini-entitlement grant.
The city has also secured CDBG funding to update the playground equipment at the park.
Bernstein said the playground should be complete next year and if all goes well with the PARC and CDBG applications, the entire project would be complete by July 2020.
"It will be a good project for the community and that area," she said. "Especially with the school, YMCA and the housing."
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Colegrove Park Recognized as Top 10 School Statewide in Attendance
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Superintendent Barbara Malkas, left, Colegrove Principal Amy Meehan, Mayor Jennifer Macksey and Dean of Students Jonathan Slocum pose with the Celtics basketball award on Friday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year.
Tim Connor, assistant director for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's west and central district, arrived with a gold basketball signed by the champion team to reward the students for their achievement.
"An award like this doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of work from all of you, the students, the parents, and especially Ms. Meehan and her wonderful staff, so a big round of applause," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey, after leading the assembly in the gym to chants of "Colegrove rocks!" "I am so proud of this school and the community that all of you have built. So everyone should be really excited about today, and this is an excellent way to start your school."
Superintendent Barbara Malkas asked last year's fifth-graders at Colegrove to join her at the front of the gym for a special applause.
"When we track attendance of all the students in the whole district, these students have the highest attendance rate, the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the entire district," Malkas said. "While all Colegrove students have been recognized as attendance all-stars, these students led the way in being attendance all-stars, so let's give them one more round of applause."
Colegrove switched this year to house Grades 3 to 6, so some of the younger students who helped earn the award are now at Brayton Elementary. However, all three elementary schools open last year saw improvement in attendance.
Schools statewide have been working to reduce chronic absenteeism — the percentage of students missing 10 percent of the school year, or 18 days — which peaked during the pandemic.
Last week, the nonprofit held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 900-square-foot wooden structure with a full foundation and a composting toilet. The excavation process began this week, and completion is expected in 2026.
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The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year. click for more