By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
Veterans Memorial Park could undergo its most significant transformation in decades under a proposed $264,000 revitalization plan that would add permanent restrooms, relocate the gazebo and potentially create a new home for several of the town’s military memorials.
The plan, which has been in development for several years, received unanimous support from the Veterans Advisory Board during a May 18 presentation by Assistant Town Manager Antonio Morabito.
“This started about three years ago,” Morabito told board members. “We started seeing an uptick in use, especially with the farmers market, Pride Festival and the block party. The first thing we noticed is we weren’t really set up for it.”
Morabito said the town began evaluating how the park could better accommodate larger crowds and more frequent events while improving accessibility and functionality.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How can we make the park work a little better for what we’re trying to do with it?’” he said.
The proposal calls for replacing the existing rock embankment along Bank Street and South Washington Street with a stone retaining wall that would provide seating for parades, concerts and community events. Officials also hope to redesign the park’s pathways to better match how visitors naturally move through the space.
Another key element would relocate the park’s gazebo to a more central location and replace the aging wooden structure with a lower-maintenance composite version at an estimated cost of $55,000.
Morabito said the move would improve sight-lines and create a more functional gathering space.
“Right now you have about a 90-degree area for people to watch,” he said. “You could expand that to 180 degrees.”
The redesign would also create a designated food truck area to improve vendor access during events such as the farmers market, along with landscaping upgrades that include $4,000 for new fir trees.
The largest expense is a proposed $125,000 for permanent restrooms, which would replace the portable toilets used during events.
“Porta-johns are not the look we want, but they’re also extremely expensive,” Morabito said.
The facility would connect directly to municipal utilities and be available to permitted park users. Officials are also hoping to restore the park’s inactive fountain.
Morabito said the project would be funded largely through two measures approved in 2022 and 2023. The Muriel R. Jones Trust and Philip R. Jones Trust together provided roughly $292,825 for improvements to public buildings, commons and parks, exceeding the project’s current estimated cost of about $264,000.
The plan also includes relocating some of the town’s military memorials across the street to Barrows Memorial Park.
Morabito said several monuments are in locations where they receive little public visibility, including the Spanish-American War memorial.
“I’m particularly interested in that conflict, and I had to look for it when I first got here. I drove past it three times,” he said.
Under the proposal, the Great War memorial at Veterans Memorial Park would be moved to Barrows Memorial Park, where officials are also exploring the addition of a bronze “Spirit of the American Doughboy” statue to complement the existing plaque.
“It’s a pretty impactful monument,” he said while showing board members a rendering.
The statue is not included in the current budget and is expected to cost about $70,000. Potential funding sources include fundraising, remaining project funds and proceeds from the annual Turkey Trot — if the Friends of the Monuments nonprofit agrees to serve as a fiscal agent.
Advisory board members voiced support for both the park improvements and memorial relocation concept before unanimously endorsing the proposal in a 3-0 vote.
Morabito noted the project has also received support from the Town Council, town manager, Parks and Recreation Commission and North Attleborough Small Business Collaborative.
“Ultimately, we’d like to bring Veterans Memorial Park up to modern times,” he said.