Dublin has officially reformed its Recreation Committee, opening a window for a mix of old favorites and new recreational opportunities in town.
“We are going to reach out and see what people in town want to happen,” said committee member Bridget McFall, in an interview Monday. “If the town wants Dublin Days, we will work to bring it back. It’s all about finding what the community wants [us to do for programs and events].”
The town has been without a recreation committee for more than a year, with the previous members resigning in 2015.
“If I’m being truthful, it didn’t feel like there was a lot of support [from the Select Board and town] in the last few years,” said former committee member Jennifer Bergeron, who said she left the committee because she felt “burnt out.”
The lack of a committee led to a budget reduction for parks and recreation and the cancellation of one of the town’s largest events – Dublin Days – in 2016, as there wasn’t the money or manpower to organize the event.
The parks and recreation budget was $9,400 in 2014, which included $6,000 for Dublin Days, but was dropped to $2,552 the following year. This year’s proposed budget also includes $2,552 for parks and rec.
Select Board chair Walter Snitko said Wednesday that while the committee will likely have to work with a smaller budget in 2017, there will be opportunities for the committee to recommend a larger budget in subsequent budget processes.
“The committee was formed so late [in this year’s budget process] that it’s difficult to get input or a recommendation,” said Snitko. “Next year, there will be an opportunity to recommend and work with a more appropriate budget.”
With a smaller budget for its first year, McFall said she doesn’t think the committee will “jump in with anything huge,” but she and the other committee members have yet to hold their first meeting at this time, so no future plans have been discussed.
McFall said she wants to create recreational opportunities in town that would cater to a number of different demographic groups, most notably programs and events for all age groups.
“I’m really excited to work with some new people to create family friendly activities,” said McFall, who also serves as the director of the Dublin Community Center.
Snitko said that having recreation committee members that are affiliated with the Community Center and other organizations in town could be a good thing moving forward.
“All of these organizations have useful facilities that the recreation committee could make use of,” said Snitko. Other noteworthy partnerships in town could include Dublin School and Dublin Consolidated School.
While there are clear partnership opportunities that could happen due to McFall and other members’ affiliation with the Community Center, McFall said the two entities are separate, especially because they each have their own budgets to adhere to.
Five members were appointed to the recreation committee by the Selectmen on Feb. 13: McFall, Rosemary Wolpe, Carla DrakeUnderkoffler, Thomas Warren, and Neil Cotoni.
Snitko said that while five members is a good base, he would like to see a couple more people on the committee, saying “seven is a nice number.”
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.