A plan to build a new street hockey rink at Arnold Park could cross its first procedural hurdle Monday night.
The Select Board has included a discussion about the project and a possible vote on the agenda for its Jan. 13 meeting.
Abington currently doesn’t have any street hockey rinks. The popular Abington Street Hockey League currently uses the two fenced-in basketball courts in front of the police station on Central Avenue. However, those courts will soon be demolished as part of the fire station/DPW complex project.
The Community Preservation Committee has been working with street hockey league president and Green Wave hockey head coach Bryan Woodford the past couple years to draft a proposal that would use Community Preservation Act dollars to pay for the courts as well as make other needed upgrades to the park.
“There’s a clear demand for a formal street hockey rink in town as well as a need for improvements at Arnold Park overall,” said Rachel Collins, who chairs both the Community Preservation Committee and Parks & Recreation Commission. “We are continuing to work with Coach Woodford and others to finalize a plan that will maximize the investment we can make in the park and upgrade our town’s recreational facilities.”
Despite being one of the town’s flagship recreational spaces, Arnold Park hasn’t undergone a major upgrade in years. It currently features a Little League field, an asphalt basketball court, and an often vandalized playground.
The draft plan is to rehab the basketball court and put a fence around it, and build a street hockey rink with boards. By fencing in the basketball court, the youth street hockey league will again have two adjacent spaces to use for games.
Part of the cost of building the street hockey rink may be covered through a grant by the Boston Bruins Foundation.
Selectmen Chairman Kevin Donovan said the topic of a street hockey rink at Arnold Park came up during a recent hearing for an upcoming streetscape grant program.
“[And] in the natural order of progression the Town Manager is bringing it to the Selectmen for a report and possible vote, if necessary,” he said.
Members of the public will be allowed to speak on the issue during the meeting, Donovan said.
The Community Preservation Committee is still evaluating a slate or proposed funding requests for FY 26, which starts July 1.
Collins said a public hearing will be scheduled soon for all Community Preservation Act projects under consideration.
The committee will take final votes in the coming weeks and submit an article for the Annual Town Meeting warrant. Town Meeting must approve funding for projects using Community Preservation funds.
[DISCLOSURE; The author of this article is married to the chair of the Community Preservation Committee.]