Representatives from the Recreation Department & Commission appeared in front of the Select Board last night to present two Recreation Department Warrant Articles for the Board to consider ahead of May Town Meeting. One, a response to a common refrain around town, was a request for $200,000 for field maintenance. The state of Burlington’s athletic fields is a frequent topic of conversation at Town Meeting and other town venues, as many community members judge Burlington’s as inferior to those of surrounding towns. This article would allow the Recreation Department to more proactively maintain the fields we have, according to Parks & Recreation Director Brendan Egan, rather than having to replace them every 5-10 years.
Egan mentioned many projects that could be undertaken with this money and, he hopes, future funding that is approved by Town Meeting, including installation of new backstops and other features to protect spectators and players from live balls, as well as sanding that, over time, can keep the fields level.
The major question about this article came from Select Board Member Nick Priest, who wondered why this amount wasn’t factored into the operating budget—a conversation that might be revisited at a later date. This question, however, didn’t prevent the Board from voting 5-0 in favor of recommending the article to Town Meeting.
The other article was proposed by the Recreation Department in hopeful anticipation of receiving a Land & Water Conservation Fund Grant to offset the cost of a $2.3-million project to make improvements to Overlook Park and the Little Brook Conservation Area to improve accessibility for those who wish to use the area. The Recreation Department expects to hear next week whether or not they’ve been awarded the grant, and they’ll meet prior to Town Meeting to determine whether or not to advance the article in the case of the grant not being awarded. This article was also approved 5-0 for recommendation to Town Meeting.
Also at Select Board:
- Samuel Arsenault was appointed to the Department of Public Works as an equipment operator.
- Representatives from People Helping People, the nonprofit organization that runs Burlington’s food pantry, appeared to raise awareness about some upcoming events:
- Walk to End Hunger, the three-mile walk around the BHS track to support Project Bread and People Helping People. Register or donate here.
- Stamp Out Hunger food drive to occur on May 11; Your letter carrier (if participating) will put bags in your mailbox, which you can fill with non-perishable foods and return.
- Family Feud fundraising event in September, in which the Select Board has agreed (on record!) to participate!
- The Burlington Baseball and Softball Association Parade is scheduled to march this Saturday morning from the Recreation Department building at 61 Center Street to Simonds Park. The BBSA also just launched a new website, which they hope will be easier to navigate than the old one. (However, we can’t reach it at the moment. We’ll share it when it’s live!)
- The Department of Public Works presented some proposed articles, including one for replacement of the medium used in the PFAS filters that were recently installed at Mill Pond. The DPW is still looking into (a) the best medium and (b) the best replacement interval, but they want to be sure the funding is there in case the filter medium needs to be replaced between now and next May.
- The Select Board began a conversation about increasing licensing fees; Town Administrator, Paul Sagarino, submitted a comparison of Burlington’s fees with other towns and some proposed increases to keep the town competitive, but some of the increases were too high for Chair and local small business owner Joe Morandi to feel comfortable. The Board agreed to continue this conversation to the next Select Board meeting to have more time to compare and have a thoughtful discussion.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for May 6.
