LYNNFIELD — The plans to build a gazebo on the Town Common is on track.
“With the septic system installed and completed, the next step is to integrate the proposed gazebo into the common,” said Town Engineer Charlie Richter. “We believe that this will help attract people to the common, as the common is the focal point of the community. The best thing is being able to have a permanent, more polished bandstand than the temporary one we have been using, which really was an eyesore. Also, the gazebo will be a perfect bookend with the Meeting House and will be a great opportunity for the town.”
Richter, along with Lynnfield Historical Commission Board member Kirk Mansfield, appeared in front of the Board of Selectmen at a recent meeting to update the board.
Richter said the plans include brick walkways with Americans with Disabilities Act access compliance, crosswalks that will provide improved access to the Common, along with hidden electricity and a speaker system and a possible irrigation system. The gazebo will be centered on the eastern side of the common toward Town Hall, just west of the bell facing the Meeting House side of the Common.
“If you drive by the Common at night, it is pitch black and that is such a shame as the Common is a focal point for the town,” Richter said. “It would be great to integrate lighting there.”
Mansfield said that the commission has gone through many different plans attempting to find a plan that is the best fit for the town.
“It’s important for us to find something that will fit in with the architecture of the town,” he said.
Mansfield shared the latest architectural drawings submitted by Cummings Architects.
“The drawing makes the focus of the gazebo the roof as the pitch will be higher,” he said. “And the electricity and speaker system will all be hidden to keep the historical component. We don’t yet have the final drawings, but would like to farm it out to contractors as soon as possible.”
Board of Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford asked what the timeline will be.
“We hope to start pricing it out this winter and select a contractor and begin work on the actual gazebo in the spring,” said Richter. “We will be asking for a separate article at Town Meeting to fund it, then price it out.”
Richter said that the while the Lynnfield Historical Society will fund the construction of the building, the town will incur the costs of all other improvements, including the brick walkways, irrigation and lighting, that are expected to be incurred.
“Hopefully we can start with a couple of weeks of the Town Meeting,” he said.
After Selectman Richard Dalton noted it would be great to have the gazebo in place for Memorial Day, Richter said that the project “has a very tight time frame.”
“Right now, we are tweaking the current plans and are shooting to have final plans in place by the end of February/early March,” said Richter, adding, “The goal is to have the final numbers and costs finalized and ready for Town Meeting so we begin work as soon as possible.”
