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New recreation director outlines expanded youth programs, seeks partners for historic building space
Summary
Mike Griswell, Monmouth’s new recreation director, told the board he has launched youth soccer with about 110 participants, is preparing winter programs, and is forming a recreation committee; he urged coordination on using the town’s historic building for multipurpose community uses while respecting code limits for childcare.
Mike Griswell, the town’s newly introduced recreation director, told the Select Board he started in mid‑July and has been focused on launching and stabilizing programs. “We have 110 kids in that program,” he said of the town’s youth soccer enrollment, and he said registration and online payment changes have made programs easier for families to use.
Griswell said the department — currently staffed by one person — is building capacity with seasonal and contracted partners and with a nearly formed recreation committee that will advise priorities. He described plans for winter basketball and youth cheering, and said independent contracting could allow the town to host arts, fitness and childcare‑adjacent offerings without permanently expanding staffing.
Why it matters: Griswell’s approach is aimed at making offerings predictable and sustainable while expanding access. By relying on contracted instructors and clearer rental policies, the town can broaden programming without committing long‑term operating dollars.
At the meeting, Griswell walked members through how spaces in the 1856 building might be used: the main library/meeting room, a catering kitchen, a unisex family restroom and a small closet with a shower that could function as a warming center. He cautioned, however, that code limits can constrain certain uses: an attendee pointed out that transforming an assembly space into licensed daycare would trigger stricter fire and building‑code requirements, including possibly adding sprinklers.
Griswell said he is coordinating closely with local school staff and coaches to leverage existing athletic facilities and personnel for after‑school and summer programs. He also described outreach to an art studio that may run classes in town facilities, an arrangement Griswell said could remove the need for that studio to secure its own space.
Board members and staff emphasized a pragmatic sequence: finalize safety and code questions, identify which renovations are phase‑one (sufficient to make the space useable) and which belong to a later, grant‑funded phase, and then pursue grants or donations to complete the remainder. Griswell asked members to flag grant opportunities to the town’s retired manager and grant contact, Steve Eldridge.
The meeting closed with Griswell agreeing to report back through the recreation committee as plans mature. The board discussed moving regular meetings and some program operations into the renovated building once code and occupancy issues are clarified.
