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Board endorses park policy updates covering alcohol permits, pavilion fees, geocaching and lights
Summary
The Recreation and Parks Board endorsed a set of updates to the park policies and procedures including designated alcohol permit locations, new pavilion fee structure, attendant staffing fee, geocaching registration and tennis-court lighting controls; the board also approved four museum alcohol-permit requests.
The Recreation and Parks Board voted to endorse a package of updates to the department's park policies and procedures and approved four alcohol-consumption permit requests for museum events.
Phil summarized the primary policy changes and staff recommendations. On alcohol, the manual now makes explicit that "consumption of alcohol in county parks is prohibited except by permit at designated areas," and lists specific picnic pavilions where staff may approve alcohol permits. Phil corrected an oversight during discussion to say Elm's Beach and Lancaster Park are alcohol-free areas and will not be eligible for permits.
On pavilion fees, staff recommended simplifying fees by charging a flat $150 for the county's identified large pavilions (Dorsey Park, Cecil Park, Elms Beach, 5th District Park) and $100 for small pavilions (Chancellor's Run, John Baggett, Nicolette, Lancaster locations). For very large groups (over 200 people), staff recommended requiring the group to pay for a park attendant to be on site; staff said that attendant cost would be charged at direct cost and that a "mandatory parking attendant staffing fee for groups, $210 an hour per event" would cover the cost of providing the attendant.
Staff also updated a vendor/merchandise permit policy: private vendors must provide a St. Mary's County Health Department license and liability insurance on file for Recreation and Parks, and staff said the department will differentiate concession-fee levels for volunteer-run league stands versus commercial vendor trucks. Geocaching guidance that the department has piloted will be added to the manual with a registration form and tracking process for caches placed on county property.
On lighting, Phil explained the new ControlLink system used to operate athletic field lights remotely and described the planned Dorsey Park tennis-court system, which will require users to push a button to activate lights for one hour and which will give a five-minute warning before lights turn off. "They only come on between certain hours, but you've gotta be there to, you know, a person or a group's gotta come push push the button for them to come on," he said. He added the county can adjust field lights remotely if schedules change.
The board approved four alcohol-consumption permit requests from the Friends of the St. Clement's Island and Piney Point Museums for events on Feb. 21, July 10, July 28 and Dec. 14; staff said the museum group has successfully used similar permits previously and that any event selling alcohol must also obtain an alcohol-beverage board license. A board motion to endorse the policy changes passed with the board asking staff to bring back two outstanding additions — an explicit lightning/weather cancellation policy and a written policy prohibiting individual ownership of league equipment — for inclusion at a later date.
Votes recorded at the meeting included board approval of the four museum alcohol permits and passage of the policy-endorsement motion. Staff will update the manual, correct minor text errors and post the revised policies for the spring season.
