Town officials and residents spent a segment of the Oct. 28 town hall discussing plans for a proposed historic village park and pavilion and a matching-grant application to pay for construction and related amenities.

City staff said the grant decision is expected in August of next year and that the town’s portion of a match would include a land appraisal (described by staff as approximately $600,000), tree-bank funds for landscaping and private donor contributions. Officials said the grant program requires an application with documentation and that the group helping the city on the grant has experience winning similar awards, but staff warned details and final funding commitments remain subject to the grant process.

Residents asked a series of operational questions about how the pavilion would be managed if the grant is awarded, including whether electrical outlets at vendor booths would be controlled so power is available only to paid vendors, whether vendors without refrigeration could be charged a different rental rate, whether benches or picnic seating would be provided for casual public use, and whether residents could reserve the pavilion for private events such as birthday parties.

Officials said those questions are more granular than the current planning phase allows; however, they confirmed the pavilion is intended to be reservable by the public in the same manner as other town pavilions and that staff previously discussed providing electrical capacity sufficient for vendor refrigeration. No final pricing, key-card or metering arrangements, or rental schedules were presented at the meeting.

No formal action was taken. Officials encouraged residents with questions to follow future planning updates as the grant application is completed and submitted.