By John Tredrea, Special Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — Plans for major improvements to often-used Cavallo Park have gotten a boost, according to Mayor David Del Vecchio.
The state’s Green Acres program has awarded the city a low-interest (2 percent) loan for work on the park, the mayor said Friday.
The city has not yet officially accepted the loan offer, but “we will soon,” the mayor said.
Acceptance would come in the form of a majority vote of the City Council.
The council voted several months ago, the mayor said, to apply for $435,000 in Green Acres assistance for Cavallo Park on Mount Hope Street near the Delaware and Raritan Canal. During the same timeframe, the council assigned the city’s Recreation Commission to produce a detailed plan on how that amount of money could be used on the park.
”Now that we’ve heard back from Green Acres, I’ve charged our Recreation Commission to come back with a scaled-back plan that would cost $300,000 to implement,” the mayor said. “The park gets a lot of use. It’s mainly used by tots — young children — and their families.”
The commission’s original plan, based on $435,000 instead of $300,000, called for a new play structure for tots with slides and climbers, plus an addition to an existing play structure. That plan also called for a new entrance to the park as well as water fountains and an kiosk with information about the park and the city. In this area, there would be a map of the town and information about places in Lambertville and upcoming special events.
Inside the park, under that original plan, would be a pavilion with a fireplace and an area, available for rent, for barbecues and picnics.
That plan also called for replacing a fence near a pond and installing a fenced “outlook” from which tots and others could safely watch waterfowl.
The mayor is confident that, even with the scaled-back plan necessitated by having $300,000 instead of $435,000, the park will be much improved and be a key asset to the city.
Kickstarting the effort to revamp Cavallo Park was a $10,000 grant from the New Hope, Pennsylvania firm, myYearbook.com. Following that, the Recreation Commission and city architect Michael Burns began working on plans for a major upgrade.
Meanwhile, the grassroots group, Friends of Cavallo Park, continues its efforts to improve the park.
