By Madison Shann
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the Gardiner Town Board approved the resolution for the Ulster County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to be used for renovations of Majestic Park, located at 40 Murphy Lane.
While the renovations of Majestic Park cost approximately $225,000, only $96,615 of the project cost is eligible for County ARPA funding. Work is scheduled to commence as soon as possible.
“Give or take, $75,000 will come from the Town of Gardiner and its resources, $25,000 will come from in-kind services from the highway department and $25,000 will come from in kind services from the company that is going to do the work, called Hudson Valley Trailworks,” said Marybeth Majestic, Town of Gardiner Supervisor.
The renovations include a pump track, which is a purpose- built track for any wheeled vehicle, such as a skateboard, rollerblade, wheelchair or bicycle, that includes banked turns designed for riders generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing.
“We already have a skateboard park there so this would be in addition to our skateboard park. Other than this new pump track, the closest pump track that exists is in Port Jervis,” said Majestic.
The renovations also include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility improvements for the park. Paths in the park would be replaced with ADA compliant walkways, which would be wide enough for wheelchairs. Another portion of the grant will go towards fencing around the skateboard park.
“It’s a little hidden treasure in Gardiner and has great potential and I’m sure that there would be more good things to come in the future,” said Majestic, “People are really looking forward to this.”