The Recreation Commission is a board comprised of 3 elected members and 2 appointed – one from the School Committee and one from the Planning Board.
Whereas the Recreation Department is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the various recreation programs around town (which are wonderful and have been used as a model across the country!), the Commission takes a more big-picture view of the town and its recreational needs.
They approve the Department’s ten-year plan, and they tweak it from year to year depending on priorities and needs. They go to meetings with the capital budget and ways & means committees and ultimately propose the budget that gets voted on by Town Meeting.
The Commission also gives input into new programs and projects, and creates Warrant articles for larger capital projects to present at Town Meeting, where they speak in support of the funds they’re requesting. Some recent warrant articles have been for a new maintenance shed for the Recreation Department as well as for the proposed sun shade at Wildwood Park.
When this profile was originally published, the Commission was considering rehabilitating the Simonds Park basketball courts. That project has since begun and will hopefully be completed for the spring of 2023.
The Recreation Commission serves as a liaison between the community and the Department, supporting and encouraging recreation in the community as well as bringing input from residents regarding programming they’d like to see or issues they’d like to have addressed. Meetings are held monthly, and the public is welcomed to attend and participate.
Super huge thanks to Kevin Sullivan for helping me paint this picture of our Recreation Commission!
