Park and Recreation Commission members spent the bulk of their Sept. 29 meeting reviewing capital projects and setting priorities for the department’s upcoming capital-submission deadlines.

Department staff presented a multi-year list that includes a major renovation at Elliot School, renovations at Claxton Field, a skatepark, pickleball courts, a disc-golf feasibility study, an athletic-fields master plan, Carlton Pavilion removal and redesign, and a permanent shade structure at Rosemary Pool for which a state representative earmark of $50,000 was reported.

Director Stacy (Park and Recreation) summarized early cost estimates and schedule planning. She said the Elliot play-area work “feels gonna be a million and a half ish” for the playground component and that the broader project could reach “3,000,000, if not over,” while stressing those are department estimates. On timing she said staff hopes to begin construction in summer when school is out and is preparing capital requests for the next budget cycle.

Commissioners and staff repeatedly flagged the school renovation process as a key driver of timing and disruption. Because the school construction can displace fields or work areas, several commissioners recommended deferring or moving projects (pavilion work, some field upgrades and other items) until the school project clarity is secured. Staff said some projects already have design money in the five-year plan but that construction requests will need a firm dollar amount by early October to meet capital office deadlines.

On other projects, staff said:
- Claxton Field and associated tennis-court signage and site work are among the first items to be installed once signs are complete.
- A skatepark and pickleball courts are being considered for the same general area; design and feasibility would be a one- to two-year process with construction following in a later fiscal year if approved.
- A disc-golf group delivered a feasibility study and has suggested the town forest/Towne Course area as a candidate site; staff recommended public outreach and conservation review before advancing design.
- A Cloud/DeFazio bleacher ADA upgrade was presented with a placeholder budget of $200,000; staff said that figure is conservative to allow for steel/tariff uncertainty.

Staff identified procurement and design approaches: playground equipment procurement may use state bid lists or single-vendor contracts for consistency across school sites, and skatepark design will require specialized firms and an RFP for design services.

Commission members asked staff to supply clearer sequence recommendations (which projects can be advanced given the school schedule) and to provide final numbers by the capital submission due dates. Several commissioners favored moving lower-priority items out in favor of design or construction funding for projects that can be started without triggering additional school-driven displacement.

An item the commission marked as ready to proceed was a Rosemary Pool shade structure: staff said State Rep. Josh had put in an earmark request and $50,000 was approved to begin a permanent shade installation, although broader shading work would require additional funding.

The commission did not take a final formal capital-approval vote at the meeting; staff will deliver updated cost and year-by-year requests to the capital office by the submission deadline.