Politics & Government

Children's Park Slated for Bridgehampton

Town to spend $35,000 to establish children's park near Nathaniel Rogers House.

Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski garnered support on Friday to spend just more than $35,000 from the Bridgehampton Park Reserve Fund for playground equipment at a children's park to be constructed in Bridgehampton.

The "Bridgehampton Community Park" will be located near the , on the north-easterly side of the 5.6-acre parcel, which was originally preserved in 2003. Town leaders said they expect to break ground on the park in the spring, after the ground becomes more suitable for placing the equipment.

"This has been my dream for a long time," said Graboski, R-Bridgehampton, who is leaving the town board after her term expires this year. "I wanted to make sure this becomes a reality before I move on into the sunset."

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In total, the town has reserved $96,000 for the park as part of the 2011-2016 Capital Program. Graboski said between installation of the equipment, fencing, and clearing the ground of the area, she hopes the project total will come below the $96,000 threshold.

The Bridgehampton Park Reserve Fund is a dedicated fund for parks projects, created with fees from site plan subvidisions, to offset density resulting from subdivisions.

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Mary Wilson, the town's CPF manager, determined that a children's park was not inappropriate with open space characteristics for which the CPF money is used and land on which CPF uses are reserved.

Graboski said that in planning a park for Bridgehampton — which has been in "idea stages for the past four years" — most importantly was that the park be walkable from the center of Bridgehampton. After Wilson determined that a park was allowable at the land behind the Nathaniel Rogers House, the parcel jumped to the front of the line.

"You see there are some fun things in government," Graboski said.

Correction, Nov. 1: A previous version of this article stated that the funding for this project is coming from Community Preservation Funds. CPF money cannot be used to purchase playground equipment, though the installation of playground equipment was determined an allowable use on the CPF-purchased land.


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