Selectmen decide to fully fund
tri-town rec programs
Staff Writer
MAPLETON – Children in Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman will be offered a full slate of summer activities after all, following a March 23 decision by the joint board of selectmen.
Municipal officials had initially recommended to cut the recreation department’s budget and eliminate some of the programs (tennis, T-ball, Little League, and arts and crafts) and keep the nighttime Little League and swimming lessons/open pool hours, but the public voiced their concerns and the selectmen reconsidered their position and opted to fully fund the rec program.
“The joint board voted unanimously to offer the same programs as last year,” said Town Manager Martin Puckett. “We would use the same exact budget that we used last year – $52,625 – so there’s really no increase in the budget line.
“We’ll still have a partnership with the Presque Isle Recreation & Parks Department where the town would pay the non-resident tuition fee,” he said. “The only difference from the last proposal is that we will only pay the non-resident fee for activities that we do not offer. That way there won’t be competition and we shouldn’t see our figures dwindle during our six-week program.”
Puckett said the town’s goal was not to cut the rec budget to save money, but rather increase the number of activities offered to children.
“The Presque Isle Rec offers 17 programs including an adventure camp, kayaking, mountain biking, soccer and cheerleading, which are well beyond our scope,” he said. “It was never the board’s intent to exclude any children from participating in rec activities. We didn’t want to lose kids to Presque Isle.”
The proposal proved to be a hot-button topic for the tri-town communities.
“After the town reports came out and people read about the proposed change, that’s when I started to get some reaction, but it was really during the town meetings – and the joint board of selectmen meeting – that we saw more people than usual,” said Puckett. “We saw a lot of parents and rec staff and employees come out to support keeping the full rec program here. It was great to see people actually turn out. We have more interest in rec now. It’s a positive, unintended consequence; I have more parents interested and willing to volunteer their time. We’re actually looking at starting a Pony League for kids 13 and older.”
Melanie Mowbray, who served as the recreation director last year, will return, as will Katalin Grooms, pool director.
“Now it’s just a matter of hiring the rec employees again,” said Puckett. “I’m glad that residents in the community came out to have their voices heard and the town listened.”
The summer rec program will begin the week after school releases for vacation. More information will be available at a later date.
