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2011 Parks and Recreation Capital Improvements and Projects
Fire Protection System at Pop Whalen Arena. Construction started August 2011. 8' wet well for pumphouse pictured at right. The pumphouse will pump water from Abenaki Pond to the Arena and the Ski Area for Fire Suppression and Snowmaking.
Abenaki Snowmaking system. Completed as of 12/20/11. Pictured are volunteers Ted Newman and Peter Cole, as well as Town Garage Manager Ed Wilder unloading the pipe. |
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Reconstruct Tennis and Basketball Courts. Tennis Courts of NH (Alton) chosen as vendor 4/20/11. Construction started May 2011, completed by June 17, 2011. Progress pictures below. |
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Foss Hut Removal--complete as of 6/1/11. We demolished this deteriorated building due to age, flooding, sewage issues and structural instability. |
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Abenaki/Pop Whalen Site Plan Complete Fall 2011. |
2011-1012_Siteplan(2).pdf |
Foss Field Irrigation. Planned for 2012 |
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Brewster Dock Installation. Completed Summer 2011. |
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Abenaki Lighting Upgrade. Complete 4/1/11. Upgraded from incandescent to more efficient metal halide lighting. These new lights are much brighter and the hill will literally be glowing thiis year. |
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Community Center Flooring replacement and mold abatement. In progress. |
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Albee Beach Septic System. Started work September 2011 on foundation and septic system. Warrant Article to be presented to voters in 2012 to build a bath house. |
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Middleton Rd Cemetery plannning and wetland permit application. Wetland application complete. Site survey complete. Existing Middleton Rd. Cemetery shown in picture to the right--new cemetery will be across the road. |
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Clark Park and Pop Whalen Parking Lot paving. Clark Park paving completed Fall 2011. |
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2011 Warrant Article: Install Fire Protection System at Pop Whalen Arena
 Artilce 13 will pay for a Fire Suppression System in the Pop Whalen Arena. Read on for more information about why we need to do this--but the bottom line is that if we don't complete this project in 2011, the RINK WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN IN OCTOBER OF 2011. A little background info before you blindly put your support behind this:
The Pop Whalen Arena is home to Kingswood Hockey, 4 Brewster Hockey Teams, Back Bay Youth Hockey, She Wolves Womens Hockey, 2 Mens Leagues, A Co-Ed League and public skating throughout the week. Our estimated 58,000 annual visitors to games and tournaments patronize our local businesses as they spend the night at local hotels, eat out, go out for dirnks or shop in our stores. The Arena and it's various leagues are not only an invaluable recreational resource, but they drive the local economy as well.
 We're required by our local and state fire and code authorities to install fire suppression in the rink. We've been grandfathered in for many years, but those days are over. We have taken every available step to come up with alternatives, but the Town is under orders to install this system by October 2011. In fact, we are only open this current season (2010-2011) because we obtained a 1 year exemption from the State Fire Marshall.
Putting a sprinkler system in the building is the easy part--the hard part is getting enough water to the sprinkler system, as our well won't provide enough. So to prepare for this project, we've hired a Fire Engineer to look at the various alternatives. We looked at putting tanks up the hill and gravity feeding the system and also getting town water out here, but both of those options were prohibitively expensive. So we settled on the easiest and most obvious solution, which is to pull water from Abenaki Pond. But this does require constructing a pump house, excavation, laying pipe--as well as all of the inside work to sprinkler the rink itself, the lobby, locker rooms, restrooms, offices and utility areas.
 Our total cost for the project is $226,248. The Friends of Abenaki will be pitching in an additional $35,000 since they will be sharing the pumphouse and electrical service for the planned snowmaking system--so their private fundraising will help reduce the Town's overall cost. The $226,248 will be bonded and the bond payments will be incorporated into our Enterprise Fund rates--this project will have no impact on the tax rate. Once we have a sprinkler system in place, we will be able to
legally run programs, host events, and shows in the rink during the off-season (Spring, Summer and Fall) and have that revenue help keep our ice rates down.
ARTICLE 13: Install Fire Protection System at Pop Whalen Arena
To see whether the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of two hundred twenty-six thousand two hundred forty-eight dollars ($226,248) from the Pop Whalen Fund for the purpose of installing state-required fire protection system at the Pop Whalen Ice Arena. Further, to authorize the issuance of not more than two hundred twenty-six thousand two hundred forty-eight dollars ($226,248) of bonds or notes for these purposes in accordance with RSA Chapter 33, Municipal Finance Act, said sum to be reduced by any federal, state, or private funds that may also be made available for this purpose, to authorize the Board of Selectmen to issue, negotiate, sell and deliver such bonds or notes and to determine the rate of interest, maturity and other terms for this purpose and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to take any other action or
to pass any other vote relative thereto. Without impairing the status of such bonds or notes as general obligations of the Town, it is intended that payment of all principal and interest on said bonds or notes shall be paid from the Pop Whalen Enterprise Fund, and that this project will not cause any increase in tax rates. Completion of this project is necessary in order for the Pop Whalen Ice Arena to receive a required occupancy permit for October of 2011.
2011 Warrant Article: Reconstruct and Resurface Basketball and Tennis Courts at Foss Field
 The Tennis Courts and Basketball courts at Foss Field are over 30 years old and are in urgent need of replacement. They have been regularly maintained over the years with regular crack sealing and repair work, but they have simply outlived their life expectancy and are becoming unsafe for use.
The proposed project would pay to completely grind away the existing surface to the gravel bed beneath (no excavation required), adding up to 6" of bank run gravel, and then covering that with 1 1/2" of 3/4" binder and 1" of 3/8" hot plant mix (asphalt). Then the entire surface will be prime-coated, painted, and lined. New tennis nets, basketball hoops and fencing are also included. We will be left with a sparkling new recreational facility in the heart of our downtown core that is used by hundreds of residents and visitors on a daily basis. It is important to note that after consulting with potential contractors and NH Department of Environmental Services, we have concluded that no  environmental review (due to excavation) will be necessary.
The Tennis Courts are home to Kingswood Tennis practices, Parks and Recreation Tennis Program with over 100 participants, adults morning and evening doubles clubs and open tennis available from dawn to 10pm, April through December. The Basketball courts are used by the 170+ participants of our ever popular Day Camp program throughout the summer, as well as hundreds of weekly indivudual users and pickup teams.
We hope that this project gains voter approval so that Wolfeboro can maintain its reputation as a first class "resort" community that provides recreational facilities for its residents and leverages these facilities to draw visitors to drive our local economy.
 ARTICLE 23: Reconstruct and Resurface Basketball and Tennis Courts at Foss FieldTo see whether the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of two hundred and ten thousand dollars ($210,000) for the purpose of reconstructing and resurfacing the basketball and tennis courts at Foss Field and replacing the fence around them, said sum to be in addition to any federal, state, or private funds that may also be made available for this purpose.
Thanks for your support of parks and recreation in Wolfeboro! If you have any questions about these projects, please contact Director Ethan Hipple at wolferecdirector@metrocast.net or 603-569-5639.
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