Politics & Government
Mansfield South Common Pole Project Moves Ahead
Repair is part of the South Common project/
The replacement of the elderly and peeling flagpole on the South Common, a project that will end up costing about $30,000, has received a jump-start by healthcare product giant Covidien on Hampshire Street. The company has donated about a quarter of the cost, according to selectman Jess Aptowitz, who announced the official beginning of fundraising last week.
Aptowitz said the $7,500 donation is only the beginning, and board members expressed their thanks at the generosity of the company.
Aptowitz brought the concern to the board in December, saying a number of residents had offered to donate money for the renewal and repainting of the old 120-foot pole or for replacement if refurbishment proved too difficult.
Town Manager Bill Ross had looked into the possibility of stripping the old pole with the same technique used on ships' masts, but the board of health, health agent Scott Leite and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection agreed the shedding of lead paint chips and dust that would have resulted made the repainting option unworkable.
The popular common is a gathering place for many children, community fairs, dog walkers and summer picnics. The possibility of lead contamination brought a halt to any further thinking about using the old pole.
Both Ross and Aptowitz said the new aluminum pole that will be used in its place will cost a lot more, but in the end will be worth the effort and the price tag. It will also be significantly shorter, more fitting for its space.
With the pole installation will be new landscaping and replaced brickwork. The old pole and its underpinnings will have to be pried and dug out of the central bricked walkway.
Veteran's agent John Hogan was due to send out a first round of appeal letters to local businesses last week. Aptowitz had said he hoped for donations of money, but also of labor and materials. The new pole will be a final step in a long process of beautifying the South Common, but Ross said work on the North Common is also sorely needed as part of a downtown renewal.