The Depot youth center was given final approval Monday to install outdoor lights so that kids can play basketball at night and expand a paved area for nearby picnic tables so that kids can play board games on them.
Depot Program Director Janice Marzano spoke briefly before the Board of Selectmen on Monday night to outline the organization’s request for approval, which was given unanimously by the board. Previously the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the proposal.
“We’ve got some nice donations” for which those involved with The Depot are very appreciative, she said.
A donor has agreed to underwrite the cost ($5,600 for two lights and $8,400 to expand the paved area near the basketball hoops — a total of $14,000). A contractor that does other work for The Depot has been tentatively hired for the job, Marzano told the board. That contractor will apply for a permit for the work from the town Building Department, she said.
According to papers The Depot filed with the town Planning & Zoning Department, the asphalt near the basketball hoop will be excavated 6 to 8 inches deep and then five feet wider on either side of the current paved area. Then asphalt 2.5 inches deep will be put in over gravel 1 to 2 inches deep over the existing base and 6 to 8 inches deep in the new area.
The area around the basketball hoop will be striped for a half court and two lamp posts, each 18 to 20 feet high will be installed. Electric wires will run underground to the posts, which will have concrete bases.
The current pavement is uneven and cracked, with weeds growing out of the cracks, according to The Depot. “Lighting the court would be a tremendous boost to outdoor Depot activities,” Marzano wrote.
Darien Police Department has been allowing the organization to use the department’s portable outdoor lights for basketball tournaments, band nights and other events, she wrote, “It would be great, though, if The Depot had its own lights.”
Marzano told selectmen that a while back attendance was down at The Depot in part because kids were using their mobile phones to talk or arrange to meet each other, although in recent years, kids have been coming to The Depot more and playing board games and cards there.
The lights would probably be shut off by 11 p.m., Marzano said. None of the neighbors have disapproved of the idea, she said.