ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Pictured is one of the new lights on the Lynn Common.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — The small Common near City Hall is getting a lot brighter.
This week, contractors from Siemens Corp. will put the finishing touches on nine, 20-foot light fixtures that will cast light in and outside the park.
“We installed one light last summer to see if these new decorative poles would fit on the old National Grid bases,” said John Moberger, the city’s community facilities manager who has worked in the Department of Community Development for nearly four decades. “It worked out well, so we came up with the additional money to complete the job.”
The lighting project represents the latest stage of a more than $2 million renovation of the Lynn Common that includes a restored grandstand, wrought iron benches, a raised walkway to combat flooding, new curbs, landscaping, trash receptacles and a renovated historical fence, according to James Marsh, community development director.
“The lights are very important because we want to make sure the Common is safe,” he said.
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The project is the latest effort by the city to upgrade its parks. Fraser Field, Flax Pond Park, Neptune Boulevard Park and Keaney Park are among the open spaces already rehabilitated. The improvements complement the $1 million restoration of the Lynn Common Bandstand.
“Our mission is to restore or rehab the entire Common,” Moberger said. “The bandstand was completed a few years ago, and this is a second phase and the third phase will be done at the other end of the large Common.”
The work is being completed with an $800,000 grant from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) through the Massachusetts Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities Program. EEA also contributed $150,000 for the antique-style lighting. An additional $180,000 came from federal Community Development grant money.
In 2018, the city will seek more money for the large Common, which is three to four times the size of the small Common, Marsh said.
“If we had all the money in the world, we would do new lights all the way around, a new pathway with tree plantings, landscape and new benches,” he said. “But that would cost nearly $4 million. We have another million to spend which will go towards the pathway, benches and new trees.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
