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September 25. 2012 11:10PM
Downtown Wolfeboro has new, nicely landscaped and crack-free sidewalks. (LARISSA MULKERN)
Wolfeboro's Main Street gets fresher, smoother look
Downtown Wolfeboro has new, nicely landscaped and crack-free sidewalks. (LARISSA MULKERN)
WOLFEBORO — Out with the old, in with the new was this season's theme in Wolfeboro, where crews rebuilt part of the town's aging infrastructure and tore down a house to make way for future municipal use.
On Monday morning, it took public works crews all of about 35 minutes to raze an old home at 255 S. Main St., a two-story, 1,500-square-foot structure that was bought by the town for future land use. Assistant Public Works Director Scott Pike adeptly handled a giant excavator at the scene, where workers using heavy equipment filled five, 40-yard containers with construction debris. Public Works Foreman Mike Potenza said some usable materials, such as the furnace and oil tank, were removed.
Town Manager David Owen said the town offered the home to anyone who chose to move it, but had no takers. Voters approved the $160,000 warrant article to cover the cost of the property plus demolition and asbestos removal at the March 2012 town meeting. The property was purchased for “general municipal purposes,” and while there has been some discussion as to future use, Owen said nothing has been decided. The property is in an ideal location — in between the Wolfeboro Public Library and the Public Safety Building. Library supporters have formed the Wolfeboro Public Library Foundation, with the mission to create a fund for donations to help the town with the cost of constructing and equipping an expanded public library in 2016. Another idea for part of the land is to reconfigure the entrance and driveway of the Public Safety Building to make it more efficient for large fire apparatus to move in and out.
Owen said the town's Capital Improvement Plan for 2021 includes doing something with the aging Public Safety Building, which now houses the police and fire/rescue departments. But for now, the soon-to-be-empty lot can provide more parking for the public safety building.
“We're holding the land in reserve,” said Owen. “We're not going to move forward right now.”
In other infrastructure projects, new water and sewer lines, culverts and drainage improvements have been installed under Lehner Street. Repaving and reclamation was also set for Cotton Valley Road and Pleasant Valley Road, which had a tendency to flood. The town's Glendon Street parking lot has been expanded and paved, with new concrete sidewalks. Additional work includes new landscaping, retaining wall sidewalks and curbing from South Main Street to Depot Street.
Improvements to sidewalks downtown were completed earlier this summer on Main Street. Crews will work on drainage and resurfacing on Libby Street later this month.
Larissa Mulkern may be reached at LMulkern@newstote.com.
On Monday morning, it took public works crews all of about 35 minutes to raze an old home at 255 S. Main St., a two-story, 1,500-square-foot structure that was bought by the town for future land use. Assistant Public Works Director Scott Pike adeptly handled a giant excavator at the scene, where workers using heavy equipment filled five, 40-yard containers with construction debris. Public Works Foreman Mike Potenza said some usable materials, such as the furnace and oil tank, were removed.
Town Manager David Owen said the town offered the home to anyone who chose to move it, but had no takers. Voters approved the $160,000 warrant article to cover the cost of the property plus demolition and asbestos removal at the March 2012 town meeting. The property was purchased for “general municipal purposes,” and while there has been some discussion as to future use, Owen said nothing has been decided. The property is in an ideal location — in between the Wolfeboro Public Library and the Public Safety Building. Library supporters have formed the Wolfeboro Public Library Foundation, with the mission to create a fund for donations to help the town with the cost of constructing and equipping an expanded public library in 2016. Another idea for part of the land is to reconfigure the entrance and driveway of the Public Safety Building to make it more efficient for large fire apparatus to move in and out.
Owen said the town's Capital Improvement Plan for 2021 includes doing something with the aging Public Safety Building, which now houses the police and fire/rescue departments. But for now, the soon-to-be-empty lot can provide more parking for the public safety building.
“We're holding the land in reserve,” said Owen. “We're not going to move forward right now.”
In other infrastructure projects, new water and sewer lines, culverts and drainage improvements have been installed under Lehner Street. Repaving and reclamation was also set for Cotton Valley Road and Pleasant Valley Road, which had a tendency to flood. The town's Glendon Street parking lot has been expanded and paved, with new concrete sidewalks. Additional work includes new landscaping, retaining wall sidewalks and curbing from South Main Street to Depot Street.
Improvements to sidewalks downtown were completed earlier this summer on Main Street. Crews will work on drainage and resurfacing on Libby Street later this month.
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Larissa Mulkern may be reached at LMulkern@newstote.com.