The Salem Board of Selectmen has endorsed a plan unveiled by Recreation Department Director Chris Dillon to significantly expand the beach front at Hedgehog Pond and the park facilities.

 “I’m originally from the Midwest and town parks are a big part of town culture. It looks like you’re trying very hard to make (Hedgehog Park) something of a destination,” he said.

At the Monday, July 14 selectmen’s meeting, Dillon presented his master plan for the future of the approximately 28-acre park, which includes expanding the existing beachfront, thinning the tree population, renovating the warming shack – built as a changing room in the summer and a warming area during the winter – with the construction of a pavilion on the site as well as additional parking and a new skate park.

He also outlined a plan to construct additional recreational facilities in the park, including tennis courts, the renovation of a volleyball court and horseshoe pit, and the enlargement of the existing walking trail around the lake.

“The Salem Recreation Department is turning (Hedgehog Park) into a destination location by developing recreation facilities for citizens of all ages,” he told the board. “We are focusing back on establishing a place and destination that people want to go to and a place that attracts people to go to. We want to provide facilities that address needs and wants of people of all ages.”

Dillon said he had already been approached by several Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts to make some renovations within the park – like leveling and expanding the walking trail -– and expressed hopes that some of the other projects would be also undertaken by local Scouts. Offers of additional assistance or services from area residents have already begun coming into the recreation department, according to Dillon.

Town funding for the construction of new tennis courts could be matched by grants from the United States Tennis Association, Dillon said, which is trying to stop a nationwide decline in the sport. He expected additional funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Having already taken a tour of the site with the director of the Department of Public Works to assess the location, Dillon plans to have the park’s tree cover thinned out by the end of the summer. The town has not yet marked which trees will be removed.

With actual work on the project not yet started, Selectman Patrick Hargreaves criticized what he called an already month-long delay in implementing the plan and urged both Dillon and town manager Jonathan Sistare to keep moving ahead with the project.

“This town is known for bureaucracy,” he told the board. “We’ve been working on this plan since February or March. We have $30,000 worth of equipment sitting in a field. We have donations coming in. (Selectman Michael Lyons) wanted a master plan, bingo, we have a master plan. We just need to get this moving. From our plans and my plans, we’re about a month behind schedule because nobody wants to cut a tree down.”

“We don’t want to get so far ahead of ourselves that we regret making an action,” Jonathan Sistare said, after thanking Dillon for taking his time and being deliberative with the project. “We can’t just steamroll ahead on this.”

Selectman Chairman Beth Roth praised Dillon for his plan to expand the park and construct facilities that would make the location an attraction for all residents of Salem.

“I think you’re doing a great job, you and your committee,” said Roth. “I really like your vision for the future. I think that the park has been underutilized by the families of Salem. I think we’re all on the same track in support of that.”