Repairs moving along at Massena Veterans Memorial Park

Bob Beckstead, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 8—MASSENA — The village's Department of Public Works expects to have most of the repairs made to Veterans Memorial Park this year.

DPW Superintendent Marty G. Miller said they've completed the tear down of the retaining wall closest to Phillips Memorial Home and are installing its replacement.

"They've got two tiers done. They have one more tier to go on that side," he told village trustees.

One of the issues they face is removal of some trees to continue their work.

"There may be some trees that are dedicated. They're going to have to be moved," Mayor Gregory M. Paquin said.

"We'll have to remove some of those larger trees. They're not dedicated. There's no dedication to them," Miller said. "Once that's done, we'll have to do some more drainage on that side."

Paquin said, if there are trees with dedications, they would plant new trees and re-dedicate them.

Once the work is complete on the first retaining wall, "we'll probably jump out on some street work," Miller said.

Then, they'll return to the park to address the retaining wall closest to the fire station.

"The plan is get both sides of the walls done this year," he said.

However, Miller said he wasn't sure if the handicap accessibility to the park would be completed this year

"We're heading in the right direction," he said.

Paquin said he was impressed by the work done so far.

"The park looks great. I'm being dead serious. That's coming along awesome," he said.

The Andrews Street park has been in need of repair after starting to show signs of some significant failure over the past 20 years. Paquin has said that one of his concerns was that the retaining walls were failing and drainage had become a significant issue.

Engineers had determined the existing walls needed to be removed, additional draining needed to be installed and soil replaced prior to installing the new walls. The additional drainage, along with a larger precast retaining walls system, will prevent the new system from failing.

Village officials had unsuccessfully sought grant funding and began seeking donations from organizations, businesses, community members, or anyone wishing to assist in ensuring the longevity of the park. Because the village can't solicit donations, American Legion Post 79 took the lead to raise funds for the repairs.