Parks board approves dozens of field and pavilion permits, waives many resident fees

At its Feb. 25 meeting, the City of Lowell Parks & Recreation Board approved a large batch of park and field permit requests for spring and summer events, including school field days, walkathons, community resource fairs and youth sports tryouts.

The board approved each applicant’s requested date ranges through June 30 where applicants had sought seasonal blocks and granted single-event permits for other requests. Many resident users received fee waivers; where a custodian was required or the high-school complex custodian was scheduled, applicants were charged the custodial fee.

Why it matters: The approvals allow schools and community groups to plan spring field days and fundraisers and confirm summer programming; at the same time the board continued to debate how to manage heavier demand at major sites such as the alumni/high-school complex.

Most permits were routine and passed by voice vote. Examples taken from the meeting record include: - Washington School: Jeff Haynes’s request for a walkathon on May 1, rain date May 2 — approved with no fee. - Multiple school field days: Requests from Pine Knots, Donahue Park and Saint Michael’s School for June field-day slots and rain dates — approved; custodial fees waived when the school custodian was present. - O’Donnell Field: Jose Hernandez requested regular Thursday evening use April 24–June 26 with lights; the board approved the dates and the office noted there is no separate light fee at Colley Stadium by current policy; the board approved a $500 facility fee for that item as requested. - Alumni/Colley stadium use: Several community groups requested alumni/Colley Stadium dates for tryouts and home games; some requests were approved where they did not conflict with existing high-school scheduling and where custodial or field-usage fees were covered; other requests were placed on hold or asked to revise dates (see separate article on field access conflict).

Board members and staff repeatedly told applicants that fee waivers would be given for resident youth and community benefit events, but the custodial fee (commonly $150 for Saturday custodian coverage) could not be waived for events that required staffing. Board members asked applicants to submit online payments or to follow up with staff to finalize permits once the paperwork and any custodial coverage was confirmed.

Quotes from meeting participants included applicants describing their programs and staff clarifying policy: “We do a walkathon to encourage kids to be active,” applicant Jeff Haynes said about the Washington School event. Staff member Heather (first-name only in the record) told several applicants that custodial fees could not be waived for Saturday events when no school custodian was assigned. The board routinely closed each permit item with the motion “All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries.”

Ending: Successful permit approvals let dozens of community events and school programs proceed this spring and summer. Several larger scheduling and policy issues — notably competing requests for major fields and a review of tournament fees and insurance — remain under discussion and were deferred to follow-up work by staff and the board.