Lenox Parks & Recreation board recommends 2026 budget package to city council

Lenox Parks & Recreation on Tuesday reviewed proposed 2026 budgets for recreation programming, the recreation general fund, the parks general fund and the municipal pool and voted to recommend the package to the Lenox City Council.

Christie, Lenox Parks & Recreation director, presented four budget packets and walked the board through highlights for each. "I just thought it would be easier in the eyes to look at it that way," Christie said when introducing the separate program- and fund-level budget sheets. She told the board she will continue to refine line items and consult with Nate and other staff on outstanding questions.

The recreation program budget is organized so program fees are intended to cover program-specific costs; Christie noted expenses such as umpires, SportsEngine credit-card fees and some repair work are allocated across line items rather than to single activities. Flag football and soccer registrations are off to an early start this fall with about 135 participants in flag football and about 100 in soccer, Christie said.

The recreation general fund includes staffing and utilities, plus a placeholder of $8,000 for a netting system the board discussed at an earlier meeting. The parks general fund proposes $20,000 for improvements, broken down in the packet to include roughly $1,000 for a playground safety net at the softball field, $2,000 for benches and trash cans at West Evergreen Park, $1,500 to redo the horseshoe area, $750 for artwork and $3,000 for campground gravel. Christie said resurfacing the basketball court and campground bathroom overhauls were discussed but not included in the $20,000 estimate because costs are still being estimated.

For the pool budget Christie said staff obtained a quote to add a second video camera (to improve visibility in the deep end) and included spare-circulation and play-feature pumps to reduce the risk of multi-day closures; she cited a $6,300 quote for those spare pumps.

Christie told the board the budgets, as recommended by Parks & Recreation, will go to Lenox City Council for review and approval. A board member moved to recommend the 2026 budgets to council; the board then voted in favor of referring the package to council for final action.

Board members asked staff to continue refining estimates for major items and to check grant opportunities and second-penny capital funds for larger purchases. Christie said larger capital needs such as mowers, a vehicle or pool pumps could be considered for the second-penny capital fund.

The board approved recommending the budgets to council but noted any numbers could change after council review. Christie said staff will follow up on outstanding estimates and suggested items that may be better funded through grants or second-penny capital allocations.

Ending: The board’s recommendation will be transmitted to Lenox City Council for formal consideration; staff said they will return with updated estimates and additional detail if council requests it.