Courtesy aerial photo of Centennial Park shows the artful brickwork.

MILFORD -- Milford Rotary has initiated a project to raise funds to support Centennial Park, at the corner of Elm and Union streets.

According to Rotary President Allise M. deSmet, the club is selling engraved bricks that will be embedded in the walkways of the park.

The park, built in 2005 and dedicated in June 2006, includes a series of walkways surrounding a central feature, the Rotary symbol. Trees, shrubs and flowering plants have been planted in the park. Benches have been installed, together with lampposts.

According to deSmet, tennis courts used to occupy the corner lot. The Rotary joined with the Livermore Trust, a private nonprofit that owns the land, and came up with a plan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rotary International in 2005 by creating the park. "There used to be tennis courts there, but they were pretty much falling apart, in disrepair, so the Milford Rotary came up with a plan to beautify the area," deSmet said. "The Livermore Trust came on board and together we transformed the corner

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lot to celebrate Rotary's 100th anniversary and remove what had become an eyesore."

The project cost roughly $250,000, a combination of Rotary fundraising and community donations.

Originally, engraved bricks were sold during construction of the park. This year, deSmet said, in response to inquiries from many in the Milford community asking if they could purchase bricks, Rotary decided to reopen the sales initiative. Anyone interested in purchasing an engraved brick can do so for $50.

Colleen Moynihan, past president of the club, said the goal two years ago was to sell 1,000 bricks. About 900 were eventually purchased, with the proceeds going into an account dedicated to maintaining the park.

This year while doing routine maintenance, club members found one brick that had broken. Since they would have to replace that brick, the club decided to reopen the brick sale, since there was interest in the community in purchasing more bricks.

Proceeds from the new brick sale will go into a fund dedicated to maintaining the park. Moynihan said maintenance costs the club about $6,000 annually. That includes lighting, mowing the grass, annual cleanup costs and pruning trees and bushes.

The bricks can be engraved with up to three lines, with 14 characters per line. The bricks went on sale April 15, and will be available until June 30. Anyone interested in purchasing a brick can contact the Rotary at Rotary.Bricks@verison.net or contact the Rotary at PO Box 618, Milford 03055. The bricks will be placed in the park in the fall.

Rotary, established in Milford in 1950, meets weekly at the Community House on Union Street. The club includes about 82 members currently.