By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – There will be music, refreshments and a special rededication ceremony Tuesday, July 22, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the courtyard behind Liberty Hill Apartments, 240 Main St., as residents, families and friends, city and state officials celebrate the completion of the project by S.I. Services, Inc. Total cost of construction on the site, along with benches, and a gazebo, is about $185,000, according to Marlborough Housing Director Douglas Bushman.
Bushman expressed his gratitude to a team of workers from the Marlborough Home Depot, who helped get the program under way several months ago. They prepared the walkway from Windsor Street to the Senior Center door, removing asphalt and bushes and pouring cement in the sidewalk area. The team also power-washed and repaired the brick wall and edged the area for raised beds to make it ready for spring planting. In addition, they donated new patio tables and chairs to provide comfort for housing residents, their families and others who visit the Senior Center, Bushman said.
He also thanked Valerie Wilkinson, local housing coordinator, who also works for Home Depot, for making it all happen.
“We are encouraging residents to choose a piece of land in the courtyard to plant vegetables or flowers and to maintain it, making it fun and productive,” Wilson said.
Originally dedicated in 1981 to the first executive director of Marlborough Public Housing, Ernest R. Holt, the Marlborough Community Development Authority (CDA) Housing Division is honoring Holt once again. A plaque dedicates the courtyard to Holt, stating “whose great enthusiasm and steadfast dedication created the Pleasant, Bolton and Liberty Hill Apartments.”
The Housing Division maintains a total of 230 units throughout the city at 240 Main St., 29 Pleasant St., 397 Bolton St., and 10 Front St.
State officials invited to the event are Governor Deval Patrick and Department of Housing and CDA Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein. Mayor Arthur Vigeant, also chair of the CDA, will attend with other members of the CDA – Lynn Faust, Eric Asman, Steve LeDuc, Sally Swartz and Joyce Torelli; Commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW) John Ghiloni; Maintenance Supervisor Frank Hinckley; and Barbara MGuire, president of the CDA Tenant Association.
Wilkinson is seeking financial donations to help with the event. Any individuals or businesses who would like to make a donation, send a check to Marlborough Housing, 255 Main St., Suite 207, Marlborough, MA 01752, Attention: Valerie Wilkinson.
For further information, call Wilkinson at 508-460-3797.