Jamestown’s Parks and Recreation director presented an overview of department staffing, seasonal programs, Fort Getty campground operations, Mackrell Cove beach management and other parks operations during the Jan. 6 meeting.

Director Ray DeFalco said the department employs five full-time staff (six including the director) and more than 50 seasonal and part-time employees for parks, lifeguarding, summer camp and event staffing. Fort Getty campground includes 26 tent sites, 75 RV sites and 26 boat sites; the Rambias Pavilion hosted about 60 private and special events in 2024. Mackrell Cove lifeguard coverage runs daily from the third week in June through Labor Day; the department also deployed a T2 MobilePay electronic pay system for beach access that director staff said functioned with minimal issues and produced useful usage reports.

DeFalco reviewed a wide slate of youth and adult programming, including summer camp, teen-center activities, instructional youth athletics, adult pickleball and fitness classes, community theater productions and community concerts. He noted ongoing storage and facility constraints at the recreation center—the community theater stores staging and large gear in an external shipping container and the center lacks full air conditioning, which has pushed some summer community-theater activity to the senior center in hot weather.

On campground finance and operations, the director said staff and the town finance department are finalizing a fiscal analysis and will present a 20-year forecast and options for necessary infrastructure investments—particularly electrical upgrades—linked to continued support of seasonal RV sites. The town indicated the campground fee schedule is under review but staff recommended holding many program and facility rates steady this year while returning with revenue and cost details for council consideration before broad rate changes.