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Parent urges board to review summer-camp practices, cites restroom and lunch-area concerns
Summary
A Berwick parent said children in the town recreation summer camp were eating in a batting cage and that portable-restroom capacity may not meet state day-camp requirements; she asked the board to review compliance and share findings.
Jade Perrin, a Berwick resident and parent of two children who attend the town's recreation summer camp, addressed the Select Board on Aug. 4 with concerns about planning, oversight and compliance with state regulations.
Perrin said campers had been eating lunch inside batting cages and that the space is inadequate for the number of children reported to attend the program. "Those batting cages are 700 square feet, and you're putting 20 kids in there," she told the board. She also said she counted three portable toilets at the field and cited what she described as a State of Maine regulation for day camps on required toilet and lavatory ratios, asking the board to verify whether the camp's facilities meet state requirements.
Perrin asked the board to review the camp's compliance and to publish the findings. She said parents, former counselors and former staff had shared similar observations and that the town should consider returning use of the Knowlton School gym and facilities — which she said previously served camp needs and provides shade and indoor space — if scheduling and budgeting allow.
Board members acknowledged the concern and directed staff to review the matter. No formal enforcement action or findings were recorded during the meeting; Perrin said she had already contacted the state and requested a public update from the board.
