Parma's Town Park pond The pond at Parma Town Park is a little more pedestrian friendly thanks to a newly installed 30-foot long, 7-foot wide bridge that crosses the southern banks of this fishing haven. Troop 125 scout, Eric Gooding, took on the responsibility of coordinating the bridge construction as part of his Eagle Scout project after conferring with Eagle Advisor, Rick Alexander, who knew of the town's need to span the pond with a footbridge. "The town focused on building this bridge to allow our pond to be more user friendly to park patrons, and to make easier the frequent travel from the Burritt pavilion to the more active recreation opportunities at the front of Town Hall Park," Town Supervisor Rick Lemcke said. "This bridge is part of the overall Town Hall Park Expansion Project made possible from a $252,250 EPF funding grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation," Lemcke said. Eric Gooding's responsibilities associated with his Eagle project were that of soliciting the volunteer labor and coordinating the construction process. Gooding said two problems encountered with this project were squaring off the bridge foundation poles installed by a volunteer work crew this past fall and working in windy conditions with the temperatures in the low twenties. A positive aspect of building this bridge in December was the ability to work off the ice-covered pond throughout the construction process. Gooding coordinated a total of 22 volunteers to assist with building the bridge, and worked closely with the Parma Parks Department in developing a materials list and creating construction dates. Gooding's project now goes before the Board of Review sometime in February. |
