Plans to build a town park – envisioned as a place to define the “center” of Bedford – have been going on since the 1980s.

The proposed Bedford Village Common, which would be located on town-owned land between Route 101 and Bell Hill Road, has been listed as a high priority in the 1980, 1990 and 2000 master plans, according to a 2007 Planning Department document.

Donations have been raised and town money had been set aside. Next year, the current committee planning the common will ask the town to pay $110,000, half the cost of the first phase, while it raises the rest from donors and grants. The town already has set aside $102,000. Most of that has been spent on permits, engineering, building a fence and buying a sign.

Park advocates say the proposed park should not be delayed any further, while others believe it’s a want rather than a need. At the Nov. 5, Town Council meeting, resident Susan Tufts- Moore said the town common committee, which was formed in 2003, has had to explain its plans in detail to one Town Council after another.

“If I were on this committee, I would have been very discouraged by now at the numerous roadblocks and countless hours that they have spent discussing, planning and presenting their ideas,” Tufts-Moore said.

But some committee members appear to concede that asking for taxpayer money at this point is not reasonable. Instead, member Jayne Spaulding asked the council if it could dip into a fund for new parks and recreation facilities that is filled by impact fees levied on residential developers.

Bill Foote, chairman of the Parks and Recreational Commission, said the fund now has about $140,000. The commission is counting on $40,000 of that for a new recreational field. He indicated that the rest was not spoken for.

Several residents are open to tapping the recreation fund, but were firmly against any taxpayer dollars going toward the park. Yet others said the town should freeze any unnecessary spending and save the recreation fund for the future.

“They should keep it in the budget,” said John Van Uden. “These are hard times.” Estimates for the total cost of the town have varied from $247,000 in 2006 to $360,000 this year.

Joleen Worden said the expense, in the context of the economy, was “absolutely frivolous,” especially since she believes 95 percent of the town will not use it.

“I see this as a want not a need and it absolutely should be privately funded,” she said. “The town has already spent enough of the taxpayer’s money on this.”

Earlier this year, the Town Council approved the plan for the park, which would have a skating pond, fence, walking and biking trails, benches and birdhouses that would be miniature replicas of iconic town buildings.

“We believe that this little town center can become a little jewel,” said Robert Cruess, whose firm, TFMoran, has donated $40,000 in staff time on the design and planning of the park. “This has to be a jewel where people feel this is really something special.”

During the hearing, Councilor Bill Dermody asked what would happen if the town gave the committee its requested $110,000, but donations and grants came up short. Dermody said he did not want the park to look like a “gravel pit” because work was half done.

Committee member Jeanene Procopis said the park could be done in multiple phases.

After the hearing, Town Council Chairman Mike Izbicki said the Parks and Recreation Commission would have to meet and make a recommendation to the council on whether the money in the recreation fund should be spent on the park. After that the council would make its final decision.

Economic development
In other business, the council appointed the following residents to the Bedford Economic Development Commission: Henry Bechard, Alice DeSouza, Mark Prestipino, Joseph Reilly, Michael Sandhu, Jack Sullivan and Pam Brown. The first six appointees represent the business community; Brown is an at-large citizen member. Other commission members will be Town Manager Russ Marcoux, Town Planner Rick Sawyer, one town councilor and one School Board member.

Sewer rates
Sewer rates will be going up 6 percent for residential and commercial users, following a Town Council vote at its Nov. 5 meeting.

Starting January 2009, commercial users will be paying $4.38 per 100 cubic feet of water, up from $4.13. Residential customers will owe $1.88 for the same volume of water, over the current $1.777 rate. The rates will continue to go up by 6 percent each year for a fiveyear period.

The council said the rate changes are necessary to fund expansions to the system’s capacity, make improvements and contribute the town’s share to the cost of upgrading the treatment plant in Manchester, according to Chairman Mike Izbicki and Vice Chairman Bob Young.