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Council hears park staffing and parking-lot complaints; attorney flags enforcement limits
Summary
Council members raised concerns about underallocated park staffing charges, requests for more equipment at Frisco Park, high customer bills after pipe leaks and unsafe business parking lots; the city attorney said parking-lot regulation is possible but enforcement may be difficult.
Council Member Beckett told the Malden City Council on May 18 that he believes employees charged 30% to the park budget are not spending a proportionate amount of time maintaining parks and ballfields. He suggested either hiring a dedicated parks worker or adjusting payroll allocations. Administrator Jeff Mitchell said he would examine the issue for the upcoming budget.
Council Member White asked about adding equipment at Frisco Park; Mitchell said the city can consider it after higher-priority projects are completed. Council Member Jenkins raised two resident concerns: the practice of applying leak-related billing adjustments only to the next bill rather than the current one, and business parking lots that are unsafe or make the city appear neglected. City Attorney Jonce Chidister said the city could adopt parking-lot regulations but warned enforcement is complicated where property owners are remote or lessees are responsible, and that citations may not compel repairs.
Councilors asked staff to review the park budget allocation and billing practices as part of budget and policy review. No formal actions were taken at the meeting; the mayor said staff would follow up on the Nutrition Center funding concerns raised separately.
