The Recreation & Parks Committee met at the Community Center Tuesday, Aug. 4, to discuss and vote on proposals involving recreational activities, park improvements, permit approvals and fee changes.
Concerning the highly anticipated $3.3 million project for Reynolds Field, which will finally bring Marblehead an ice rink of its own, Recreation & Parks Commissioner Karin Ernst said the department is “still working on the design — we are about 60% of the way there.”
Recreation & Parks has committed $35,000 to renovations at Seaside Baseball Field and the remaining approximately $15,000 will be donated by the Marblehead Boosters, Marblehead Baseball and other contributors. The project, which will be carried out by R.A.D. Sports, is scheduled to begin in September, but it is not yet known when it will be completed.
Renovations at Glabicky Field and Gatchell Green are also scheduled to begin in mid-September. The work will include removing dangerous, overhanging tree limbs at Glabicky and beautifying the area around the “Welcome to Marblehead” sign between the two parks.
The committee increased the fee for storing floats during the offseason from $2.75 per square foot to $3 per square foot. The fee had previously undergone a phased increase from $1.25 to $2.75, but as Superintendent of Recreation & Parks Jaime Bloch explained, the additional $0.25 increase is needed to balance Marblehead’s operating costs while avoiding the sudden, massive jump in price that comes from leaving a fee unchanged for too many years.
The department is committing to the increase for one year, after which officials will revisit the fee and decide whether to increase it again or leave it unchanged.
Other priorities for Recreation & Parks include determining the future of the dog park, beautifying selected areas around town with native plantings, improving Fountain Park and making Chandler Hovey Park more accessible for people with disabilities. An ADA grant application has already been submitted by Brendan Callahan of the Community Development and Planning Department, and more will be known in the fall.
One issue discussed by the committee, but not yet ready for a vote, was the possibility of a communal toy box at Devereux Beach, where parents could leave beach toys for other families’ children to use. It would work somewhat like a lending library and would have the added benefit of helping keep beachgoers’ cars free of sand.
The meeting concluded with a review of the unanimous approval of several permits, including two wedding ceremonies at Chandler Hovey Park on Aug. 27 and Sept. 5; one at Castle Rock on July 17, 2027; a Clifton Lutheran Church worship service at Chandler Hovey on Aug. 9; the annual Breast Friends Walk at Devereux Beach on Aug. 27; a 5K race for mental health organized by the Rotary Club of Marblehead, starting at Crocker Park on Nov. 1; and the filming of a feature film at Devereux on Aug. 19. Details of the last event are still under wraps.
