The Rochester Board of Selectmen met with a member of the Park Commission on Monday, June 18 to raise a multitude of concerns the board has over the commission’s operations. Kenneth Ross was the representative for the Park Commission.
The first issue raised by Town Administrator Rich LaCamera was the misuse of the bathroom facilities at the parks located on Dexter Lane. According to LaCamera, the bathrooms are left open all night and there have been a variety of complaints regarding vandalism and trash in the facilities.
“This has been happening for a while,” said LaCamera. “Some of it’s pretty disgusting quite frankly. It’s causing a lot of problems and complaints.”
LaCamera suggested either having the facilities cleaned on a more regular basis or lock the bathrooms like they do with the bathrooms at other fields in town.
Ross was concerned with the amount of money available to the Park Commission from the town, but LaCamera assured that there was $25,000 available to the board; $15,000 of the money is appropriated by the town and the additional $10,000 is taken from the Beach Sticker Revolving Fund to provide extra revenue. LaCamera said the majority of these funds have not been used and are available if requested.
The Selectmen also addressed their concerns of the process by which the Park Commission goes about updating their fields and having different systems installed. LaCamera cited the issue of a tank that is supposed to be installed at one of the fields by June 30. However, the paperwork the Park Commission submitted for this project is not sufficient for a variety of reasons.
First, the initial proposal was not dated. Since there was no date on the proposal, the selectmen worry that the project will be audited. Secondly, the Park Commission only pursued one bid on the job, when the board said they should have consulted at least three different contractors.
“We cannot give out contracts to people we know,” said LaCamera. “That’s the worst thing that we could do.”
The last issue the board raised was that of private entities using the town’s fields as a way to make money for their own businesses. Rock Buddies, a fitness company that has been utilizing the facilities on Dexter Lane, has been writing checks to the Park Commission for use of the field, and they have not deposited them into an account, leaving the Selectmen wondering what happened to the money. Furthermore, none of the private entities using the fields have submitted insurance waivers to the town.
“I have an issue with this,” said LaCamera. “This is a huge liability for the town.”
Ross, although newly elected to the Park Commission, said that he would address the Board’s concerns with the Commission to make sure they get resolved.
In other news, LaCamera gave an update on the proposed solar project that was approved at Town Meeting. LaCamera said the pilot plans have been executed, however they are still 2-3 weeks behind on the process as they await the final designs to be pitched to the Planning Board. He anticipates the designs to be ready in mid-July.
The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint both Robert Francis as Chairman of the Adult Day Care Project and Diana Knapp as Assistant Treasurer.
The Rochester Board of Selectmen will meet again on Monday, July 2 at 7:00 pm in Town Hall.
By Katy Fitzpatrick