Recreation Dept. Looking to Spread Wings

            Mattapoisett’s Master Plan Committee met on June 2 to discuss all things recreation with Mike Huguenin, president of the Mattapoisett Land Trust, Greta Fox, director of the Mattapoisett Recreation Department, and Jackie Coucci, director of the Mattapoisett Council on Aging. But it didn’t take long for the discussion to once again turn to the possibility of school consolidation when Fox had her turn on the unmuted mic.

            “We only have the school buildings and grounds to use,” Fox began as she explained the limitations her department faces in providing programming to community members of all ages. “Everything is under the schools and it presents a real problem, especially for toddler programs.”

            While the summer camp program is alive and doing well with a long waiting list for the coming season, the lack of a real Recreation Department space is a major hinderance, she explained. Yet Fox believes school consolidation may prove a saving grace for recreation programming.

            “I firmly believe we need to go down to one school,” Fox stated. She thinks that outdoor facilities at Old Hammondtown Elementary School can be enhanced and that if one school is selected for municipal departments while the other consolidates students, her department would benefit from spaces formerly used for education.

            The group focused some time on the issue of school consolidation versus recreational opportunities. COA Board of Directors member Shirley Haley said that Center School actually has more square footage than OHS. She also said that Center School was designed for the very youngest of students.

            Former Mattapoisett School Committee member and retired educator Carole Clifford said that in earlier Master Plan meetings, discussions had floated the concept of a municipal campus with the Police and Fire Departments and a new Town Hall all sharing space on Route 6. Clifford added that there are pros and cons for both schools becoming the one selected for continued life as a school and that emotions around Center School run high.

            Planning Board Administrator Mike Gagne, who was moderating the meeting on this night, said that the subject of school consolidation has run as a subplot through several meetings, thus he thinks it might make sense to invite school staff as well as members of the UMass Collins Institute (the consultants selected to study all municipal buildings) to the next meeting.

            Fox said that presently the town-owned Holy Ghost grounds are not ready for use but have great potential for the use of fields for sports activities. She said the pickleball program has been a success and is thinking how to offer an indoor version moving forward. Mattapoisett’s Recreation Department uses one classroom on the first floor of Center School primarily for administrative purposes.

            Earlier in the discussion, Coucci also talked about space limitations. Currently the COA program is located on the second floor of the original section of Center School. She said that handicap parking in front of the COA is difficult to use and that the COA does not have dedicated parking space, just whatever can be found on surrounding streets or in the neighboring church lot. Haley also said that seniors need some dedicated outdoor space, possibly a pavilion.

            In discussing recreational opportunities for seniors, Coucci said that the small rooms dedicated to the COA currently are not adequate, especially for a growing demographic. She invited the committee members to the COA to see for themselves how the department is functioning and the challenges it faces.

            Before concluding her comments, Coucci said that 32 percent of Mattapoisett’s population is 60 years old or greater and that senior citizens are a growing demographic. “A vast number of baby boomers still in their 50s.” She estimated that the 2020 census will show seniors have risen to 35 percent of the town’s population.

            Huguenin spoke to the MLT goals of providing better access to trailheads and clearing of trails throughout properties that offer passive recreational opportunities. He acknowledged the difficulties of creating handicap access trails, noting that the Sippican Lands Trust invested more than $100,000 to build a raised boardwalk on one of its properties. He said he’d like to see greater use of parklands Munro, Tubb Mill, and the Dunseith, all properties that Huguenin believes lend themselves to people with mobility constraints.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, July 7, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee

By Marilou Newell

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