At its Thursday, July 24 meeting, the Barre Park Planning Committee agreed to set a September date for the new park’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The exact day is to be determined at an August meeting and will be contingent on work done at the park in the next several weeks.

Committee members learned that a fence has been removed and that Fred Schomberg came in to disc the area and remove weeds. The next step is to put in a silt fence. After that, excavation, grading and planting of grass will be done.

“Our consultants tell us that September is the best time to put grass in if you want it to take hold,” said Cathy Brott, committee chair.

In other news, Parkfest 2008 will be held Nov. 1. As with last year’s Parkfest, there will be grilled pork, an auction, a bake sale and a dinner.

Brott also reported that the DNR had informed her that the Barre Park was unsuccessful in its second developmental grant application.

“They told us that there were lots of applications this year and that we were in the middle of the pack,” Brott said.