Town to turn to public to choose Malden Centre Park playground

What the playground at Malden Centre Park will look like will largely be decided by the community.

The parks and recreation advisory committee was told by director of parks, facilities and recreation Heidi Baillargeon at last Wednesday evening’s meeting that several potential designs for the park have been received and those will go to the public so that residents can decide which one they prefer.

“We actually got a number of designs back,” said Baillargeon. “They will go to the public for a vote.”

There were eight designs that have been submitted to the town. 

Committee member Tony Pietrangelo asked what the cost of the designs would be with Baillargeon noting that cost board during an RFP process were something she was not at liberty to disclose but administration did ask for “an all-inclusive price” that would include everything from equipment and benches to drainage and walkways. 

There was $300,000 set aside in the 2025 budget for the equipment, Baillargeon did point out.

Responding to a question from Councillor Molly Allaire about timelines, Baillargeon said she hopes to bring a report before town council April 14. 

If approved, the equipment could be ordered shortly after that and orders usually take about eight weeks to be fulfilled.

“With luck on our side, we’ll have it installed by late summer,” she said.

The vote is already underway on the town’s Talk the Burg website. The direct link is www.talktheburg.ca/malden.

Councillor Peter Courtney noted there are still park designs to be decided upon and wondered how the playground could impact that. 

Baillargeon indicated the playground location will not impact the rest of the designs of the overall park.

The next round of designs for Malden Centre Park will be shown as part of the next parks master plan open house, which is scheduled for May 5.

Town to turn to public to choose Malden Centre Park playground

By Ron Giofu