It seems like you’re trying to place some blame on the Rec director with these questions which seem to be a moot point now anyway. Our rec department does an amazing job of programming all year long for residents of all ages, and with very minimal resources. Expecting the rec dept to oversee the town beach when they haven’t been appropriated the proper time or resources to prepare, especially in a job market like ours where every business struggles to find decent help, is unrealistic. Perhaps she expected the town beach wouldn’t open because of the issue with the new homeowners who’ve decided they’re going to control access to it for the first time in 50 years and that issue still hasn’t truly been resolved from what I’ve heard.
If people truly are using the town beach during open hours inappropriately and not following posted rules, it’s not safe to have a teenager or even two down there with the expectation that they will be able to control adults choosing to behave badly. Maybe that’s another reason the director is reluctant to have the beach open. Who wants that job?!?! (Maybe some local ICE agents, Proud Boys or Oathkeepers would volunteer.)
Has anyone asked how other towns run their town beaches? Strafford? Northwood?
How is it that these questions are about moot points?
It has been many years since the beach was staffed with teenage lifeguards. Until last month, there had been no proposal for an on-site paid attendant during the hours of operation.
The purpose of investigating the police records is to provide factual information regarding the controversy of whether there are or are not a lot of problems at Town Beach during the hours that the beach is open. Different parties make different claims.
I understand the purpose of reviewing the police reports. I don’t see the point in wondering why Kortney made her recommendation when she did. I haven’t talked with anyone from the rec department about this but a guess would be she didn’t propose a line item for attendants because from my perspective the rec dept does their level best to keep expenses to a bare minimum and in the 30 years we’ve lived here, the attitude seems to be it’s a very under-appreciated department. Which is funny because they actually generate revenue. Other than the tax collector, I can’t think of another town department that does that.
We practically lives at the town beach when my kids were growing up and I signed the petition to keep it open. (We don’t use it anymore as a beach but we used to enjoy walking down there and on the Fernald trail through the forest before access was denied.). That doesn’t necessarily mean that the rec dept needs to be the ones to oversee it. And maybe it’s time as a summer beach has passed, I don’t know how many families and individuals want access to it now. But if enough people do want to keep it available there might be more creative ways to make it happen than give the Rec another thing to worry about. Are we going to have to contend with a yearly negotiating process with the owners of the road? Because that won’t be pleasant for anyone to deal with.
The town has a formal budgeting process. This process is overseen by an elected committee - the Budget Committee. In her April 4 recommendation to the BOS, the Parks & Rec Director bypassed the budgeting process. Do you think that this should not be questioned?
A recommendation to close a recreation area that the town has had for over half a century would seem to be something that would warrant considerable deliberation. Is it in the public's interest for a recommendation for closure to be made just seven weeks before the usual opening date? Especially given that nothing had changed?
And what are the moot points you referred to?
The Recreation Department is hardly alone in generating revenue. The police issue fines. The Zoning Board has fees. The Building Inspector charges fees. Animal control is funded via dog licensing. The Recycling Center charges to take some items.
It's a debatable point about how much the town beach is being used. We have no good data. The Parks & Rec Director says she doesn't think the beach is being used much. Two Selectmen did spot checks last summer and found little use. However, I did a spot check, too. I have a photo of the beach being used by several families on a day of the week and the time of day expected to be low utilization.
Effective last year, the BOS agreed to enter into a yearly negotiation for access to Town Beach.
You make an interesting point about whether the Parks & Recreation Department should be responsible for Town Beach. Perhaps the responsibility for parks should be moved to the Highway Department, making it an infrastructure department.
In the course of the investigation, were the employees of the rec department interviewed? How many members of the BOS interviewed? The Town Administrator? Members of the Police Department? Fire and Rescue? I’m inclined to wonder why the BOS minutes of the May meeting which I referenced were excluded from the investigation.
Also, who exactly did the investigating? My first thought (probably erroneous) was Charla Stevens. Was the investigation requested by the BOS, and, therefore, an “official” investigation, or was it conducted by a concerned individual or group of individuals?
WMUR reported yesterday that, at this time, the city of Concord was “short” several lifeguards for the coming season. Apparently Nottingham is not the only municipality having difficulty securing summer “beach” help. Should a public, municipal beach be opened if there be no lifeguard/attendant on duty?
Last year, Nottingham was working with the default budget by decision of the voters. What impact might this have had on available re$ource$ last summer?
Is it safe to assume that the town beach will not be open this summer or, if it is, it will be open for very limited hours?
Finally, does it not make sense to identify problems and issues that have arisen in the past in order to deal with them more effectively in the days ahead?
It seems like you’re trying to place some blame on the Rec director with these questions which seem to be a moot point now anyway. Our rec department does an amazing job of programming all year long for residents of all ages, and with very minimal resources. Expecting the rec dept to oversee the town beach when they haven’t been appropriated the proper time or resources to prepare, especially in a job market like ours where every business struggles to find decent help, is unrealistic. Perhaps she expected the town beach wouldn’t open because of the issue with the new homeowners who’ve decided they’re going to control access to it for the first time in 50 years and that issue still hasn’t truly been resolved from what I’ve heard.
If people truly are using the town beach during open hours inappropriately and not following posted rules, it’s not safe to have a teenager or even two down there with the expectation that they will be able to control adults choosing to behave badly. Maybe that’s another reason the director is reluctant to have the beach open. Who wants that job?!?! (Maybe some local ICE agents, Proud Boys or Oathkeepers would volunteer.)
Has anyone asked how other towns run their town beaches? Strafford? Northwood?
How is it that these questions are about moot points?
It has been many years since the beach was staffed with teenage lifeguards. Until last month, there had been no proposal for an on-site paid attendant during the hours of operation.
The purpose of investigating the police records is to provide factual information regarding the controversy of whether there are or are not a lot of problems at Town Beach during the hours that the beach is open. Different parties make different claims.
I understand the purpose of reviewing the police reports. I don’t see the point in wondering why Kortney made her recommendation when she did. I haven’t talked with anyone from the rec department about this but a guess would be she didn’t propose a line item for attendants because from my perspective the rec dept does their level best to keep expenses to a bare minimum and in the 30 years we’ve lived here, the attitude seems to be it’s a very under-appreciated department. Which is funny because they actually generate revenue. Other than the tax collector, I can’t think of another town department that does that.
We practically lives at the town beach when my kids were growing up and I signed the petition to keep it open. (We don’t use it anymore as a beach but we used to enjoy walking down there and on the Fernald trail through the forest before access was denied.). That doesn’t necessarily mean that the rec dept needs to be the ones to oversee it. And maybe it’s time as a summer beach has passed, I don’t know how many families and individuals want access to it now. But if enough people do want to keep it available there might be more creative ways to make it happen than give the Rec another thing to worry about. Are we going to have to contend with a yearly negotiating process with the owners of the road? Because that won’t be pleasant for anyone to deal with.
The town has a formal budgeting process. This process is overseen by an elected committee - the Budget Committee. In her April 4 recommendation to the BOS, the Parks & Rec Director bypassed the budgeting process. Do you think that this should not be questioned?
A recommendation to close a recreation area that the town has had for over half a century would seem to be something that would warrant considerable deliberation. Is it in the public's interest for a recommendation for closure to be made just seven weeks before the usual opening date? Especially given that nothing had changed?
And what are the moot points you referred to?
The Recreation Department is hardly alone in generating revenue. The police issue fines. The Zoning Board has fees. The Building Inspector charges fees. Animal control is funded via dog licensing. The Recycling Center charges to take some items.
It's a debatable point about how much the town beach is being used. We have no good data. The Parks & Rec Director says she doesn't think the beach is being used much. Two Selectmen did spot checks last summer and found little use. However, I did a spot check, too. I have a photo of the beach being used by several families on a day of the week and the time of day expected to be low utilization.
Effective last year, the BOS agreed to enter into a yearly negotiation for access to Town Beach.
You make an interesting point about whether the Parks & Recreation Department should be responsible for Town Beach. Perhaps the responsibility for parks should be moved to the Highway Department, making it an infrastructure department.
In the course of the investigation, were the employees of the rec department interviewed? How many members of the BOS interviewed? The Town Administrator? Members of the Police Department? Fire and Rescue? I’m inclined to wonder why the BOS minutes of the May meeting which I referenced were excluded from the investigation.
Also, who exactly did the investigating? My first thought (probably erroneous) was Charla Stevens. Was the investigation requested by the BOS, and, therefore, an “official” investigation, or was it conducted by a concerned individual or group of individuals?
WMUR reported yesterday that, at this time, the city of Concord was “short” several lifeguards for the coming season. Apparently Nottingham is not the only municipality having difficulty securing summer “beach” help. Should a public, municipal beach be opened if there be no lifeguard/attendant on duty?
Last year, Nottingham was working with the default budget by decision of the voters. What impact might this have had on available re$ource$ last summer?
Is it safe to assume that the town beach will not be open this summer or, if it is, it will be open for very limited hours?
Finally, does it not make sense to identify problems and issues that have arisen in the past in order to deal with them more effectively in the days ahead?