Community Corner

Group Plans Legal Challenge Against Ward Park Senior Center

Neighbors' fight for Ward Park continues.

A legal challenge is being planned for the Senior Center at Ward Park, that is if enough money for legal action can be raised. 

Neighbors around Ward Park have started a fundraising site as they seek to keep a proposed 13,000 square foot senior center out of the park. At the core of neighbors' arguments is that the land should remain park land and other suitable space should be found. The group has also questioned the legality of using the city land designated for recreation towards another purpose.

"The mayor would like residents and city council to believe the legal question of building on pubic use park land is 'put to rest' but it is far from it," said Michael Nickolas who helped organize the fundraiser that has raised over $900 towards legal fees.

Mayor Arthur Vigeant's Executive Aide Michael Berry told Marlborough Patch that the legality of the matter has been vetted by a number of different agencies and experts.

“We have worked with an outside firm to review the city’s legal standing .... we have worked with state agencies to forward it to them," he said. "At every turn we have been given the green light.”

The city has moved forward with engineering surveys of the park towards work on the senior center.

“We feel very comfortable in our legal standing,” said Berry.

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Neighbors continue to maintain that losing this land to a city development weakens the protection on all recreational land in the city.

"Land that has been used by children for recreation for 88 years should not be taken away for construction of a city building. Leave the park for today’s kids and all the future generations to enjoy," said Nickolas. "Is saving money by developing city owned land really more important than our children?"

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