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Park and Rec raises concerns about MOU language and field-authority limits
Summary
Park and Rec commissioners urged clearer language in a proposed interdepartmental agreement to avoid giving a single official unilateral authority over improvements and to clarify who controls maintenance, scheduling and field improvements in the municipal building and Memorial Park.
Park and Recreation commissioners joined the Select Board on Feb. 25 to review a draft interdepartmental memorandum of understanding intended to clarify responsibilities in the town’s shared municipal building and for outdoor athletic fields. Commissioners pressed the board to change the draft’s phrasing around approvals and authorization, arguing the current wording could be read to give the town facilities director final authority over improvements.
“One of my concerns is the word ‘authorization’ — it makes it sound like he has the final say,” a Park & Rec commissioner said, urging a collaborative approach. Board members replied that large improvements could instead be routed to the Select Board and that the goal of the MOU was coordination rather than micromanagement. The Select Board noted state-designated parkland (Memorial Park) is under the park commission’s authority when zoning and DEP rules are met, while municipal-purpose land may be subject to broader oversight.
Commissioners also asked for firmer definitions for “outdoor athletic field improvements” (is reskinning or regrading an improvement or maintenance?), and raised operational questions — who rents lifts, who changes lights, and who shovels after events. The board said priorities, scheduling and a shared calendar would govern routine operations and that Mark (highway) and Herb (facilities) would coordinate maintenance tasks.
The board directed staff to revise the MOU language (including adding 48-hour notice and a joint discussion provision for proposed amendments) and circulate the updated draft to the commission for further review.
