Lennox Parks & Rec updates website, sponsorships and program plans; spring soccer at 38 sign-ups vs. 105 last year

Parks and Recreation staff reported updates on program information, sponsorships and registration numbers and sought board feedback on program design for summer and fall offerings.

The Parks and Recreation Director said the department updated the website to standardize program pages (timelines, registration deadlines, costs and age requirements) and that staff are working to confirm which programs need concussion training, photo consent and other waivers. The director said a new point-of-sale system will be ordered for each concession stand and that park staff will staff concessions as needed.

On sponsorships, the director listed current sponsors by level and urged the board to solicit more business support. Sponsors named in the meeting were listed at multiple levels (champion level: Benson Remodeling, Nielsen Construction, Aspen, Arboriculture Solutions, Billion Southtown, MVP; $250 level: Big Iron; $100 level: ChiroSport). The director said sponsors’ logos would appear on a website banner, at concession stands and on T-shirts according to sponsorship level.

Registration update: the director told the board, “As of yesterday, 38 participants, whereas last year, we had a hundred and 5 total,” referring to spring soccer. The deadline was listed as Feb. 28 on the agenda; the director said the registration window could be extended if needed to meet t‑shirt ordering deadlines. Staff said they will pull the email list from SportsEngine to reach past registrants directly.

Board discussion covered program structure and scheduling: - Summer PE program: last year’s three-week model drew low attendance in one week; board members suggested keeping two solid weeks or distributing shorter sessions across June–August so families with other commitments can attend. The director said staff would coordinate with Adra at the library to stagger age-appropriate programming and reduce scheduling conflicts. - Preschool and age cutoffs: board members discussed a minimum age. Several members and staff said filtering registrations by birthdate is feasible; discussion favored setting preschool eligibility at age 4 by program start for safety and developmental reasons. - Youth sports: board members discussed volunteer shortages for coaching older age groups and described a rotating parent-coach approach that worked last season. Flag football was proposed for late September/early October (dates discussed: Sept. 20, 27 and Oct. 4) with adjusted start times to allow families to attend both soccer and football sessions. - Adult and seasonal leagues: board members discussed shortening pickleball and sand-volleyball seasons into two shorter sessions (for example a six-week session and a late-summer six-week session) to improve participation; sand quality and maintenance were raised as a limiting factor for turnout.

Program ideas mentioned by board members included tennis, gardening workshops, archery partnerships with the fairgrounds, yard games, art-themed days, yoga/wellness, and one-off events to partner with the library. Several board members encouraged recruiting high-school volunteers and local coaches to help run camps and clinics.

Operations and outreach: staff said they will pursue a distribution list export from SportsEngine to email past registrants and that the town’s planned alerts system (due to begin in March) could push targeted notifications for specific programs.

Formal meeting business: toward the end of the session a board member moved to adjourn and another seconded; the board recorded three “aye” votes and no oppositions, and the meeting adjourned.