Oxford trims recreation capital, approves extra hours for assistant after low camp enrollment

Recreation staff told the Board of Selectmen that registrations for the town’s summer camp had dropped sharply — the department typically sees 40–50 children at this point but reported only nine enrolled — and that competing camps were advertising substantially lower rates.

Recreation Director Kayla said she and her staff had secured roughly $10,000 in sponsorships in recent weeks and proposed lowering resident camp rates to $135 per week (from a higher rate) and nonresident rates to $175 per week to attract more families. ‘‘It's just not realistic for a lot of these families,’’ Kayla said, citing the new sponsorships and cuts to planned trip costs to keep the program solvent.

The board voted in favor of moving the rec assistant from part‑time to a 30‑hour weekly schedule (estimated additional cost about $10,000 annually), with one member noting the increase could be funded by trimming capital requests. The board later amended the recreation capital ask and approved reducing it from $30,000 to $15,000 after discussion about what fundraising had already covered (scoreboard, snack shack, kitchen hood and dugout upgrades were cited as likely to be funded from rec reserves and donations).

The recreation operating budget was approved with the amended hours change and the revised capital request; board members emphasized the need for clearer departmental revenue breakdowns and recommended staff supply detailed revenue and fundraising balances at a future meeting.

What’s next: Recreation staff will provide more detailed revenue breakdowns and purchase quotes for capital items exceeding $3,000 before moving forward.