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Town of Hampden takes steps toward building its first community center

Hampden Economic Development Director Amy Ryder said creating new sports fields may take two years, and there are plans to build the town's first community center.

HAMPDEN, Maine — The town of Hampden is slated to have new recreational spaces and multi-use sports fields in the coming years.

Hampden Economic Development Director Amy Ryder said workers have started to clear nearly eight acres of land around the Lura E. Hoit Memorial Pool to make room for new multi-utility fields that will be used for softball, baseball, football, soccer, and other purposes. 

Ryder said creating the fields may be a two-year process. She said there are also plans to build the town's first community center on the land, but completion for the center may take up to seven years.

According to Ryder, the community center will house basketball and pickleball courts, the town's Kiwanis club, boy and girl scouts, utility classrooms, before and after school care programs, and more.

Town leaders have not yet decided where on the land the community center will be built, but Ryder said moving the playground and building the center across from the Lura Hoit pool is an option. She added there are also plans to build and pave a walking track that would run from the town office to the recreational space area.

When the new fields are complete, the multi-purpose fields located at the intersection of Ball Road and Old County Road that the town owns will no longer be used, Ryder said. She explained that the town plans to sell the land that the current fields are on.

Courts and resources currently available at the Skehan Recreation Center, which the town rents, will also be relocated.

According to Ryder, plans to consolidate recreational spaces have been a long, drawn-out conversation between town council leaders and community members. However, agreeing on a location for the potential community center and sports fields posed a challenge. 

"For the longevity of the recreational department and the town, it is more beneficial [as] opposed to leasing," Ryder said. "Separately, this isn't going to be a taxpayer project. This is going to be a capital campaign fundraiser project. So ultimately, the goal is to not have this lie on our citizens and our residents."

When the town leaders gathered information and input from the residents, Ryder said many community members said they would like to see a place of gathering that would place multiple resources in one central area.

"I think having it all on one campus site is important," Ryder said. "And it also is going to accommodate all ages of our residents from elderly to young children. It's a place for anybody and everybody, and I think that's really important in moving forward the longevity of our community."

She said town leaders need to finalize the engineered design of the community center and the recreational fields. There is a third draft that needs to be presented to the public and approved by the council.

"I'm excited. I've been here four years, and I know this has been discussed for 10 to 12 years prior to now," Ryder said. "It's something the community always has had a desire for, and I'm excited to finally get the ball moving and get the town a community center."  

Ryder said the current land clearing has to be completed by the end of March. 

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