Parks & Recreation

[From my August 26 article in the Colchester Bulletin]

Last week I got to do one of my favorite things with regards to my role as Director of Parks & Recreation: I simply got to watch people enjoying our parks and programs. You might think that this is something I get to do quite often. However, unfortunately, the vast amount of daily work that it takes our department to develop and maintain our facilities and services rarely allows for time to reap the rewards of our efforts.

Last Thursday afternoon, though, I had some free time between the end of the day and the Board of Selectmen meeting that evening (where they approved the installation of an Automated External Defibrillator, “AED”, at the Recreation Complex – watch for more information this Fall!) As the weather was beautiful, I grabbed my dinner and took it to the Recplex, where I found a nice place to enjoy my sandwich and people-watch.

With fall just around the corner, the park was already buzzing with soccer teams gearing up for the season. From young children just learning the sport to teens fine tuning their skills, volunteer coaches were leading them in games and drills. As the kids scampered up and down the fields, numerous parents, younger siblings, and others took advantage of the one-third-mile walking path around the park – a healthy way to pass the time.

In the center of the park, the playgrounds and spray park were alive with children laughing and playing. Still others were enjoying the basketball and tennis courts on the other side of the park.

Energized by all of this wonderful activity, I headed off to visit some of our other sites around town.

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[From my August 19 article in the Colchester Bulletin]

Since long before I came to Town, the members of the Colchester Garden Club have been the guardians of the grounds at Cragin Memorial Library. Throughout the year they plant, weed, mulch and preen, complementing the work of our Parks Maintenance Crew to ensure that the grounds of the library match the stately visage of this historic building. Not surprisingly, their fantastic work has set an example for others to follow.

At a recent meeting of the Colchester Rotary Club, they voted to take on similar responsibilities at the Colchester Town Hall. After getting a taste of what the work might entail by taking on the Town Hall grounds during this year’s “Spring Clean-Up”, the group felt they were up to the task. They have already gotten started, spending an evening weeding some of the beds that surround the building.

It is hard to express the level of appreciation that our department has for these, and other, contributions of service. With budgets constricting and staff sizes dwindling, departments across the country are becoming more reliant upon local non-profits, businesses and even families to help maintain parks and other public spaces, which are critical to our sense of place and quality of life.

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[From my August 12 article in the Colchester Bulletin]

Last week the Federal government took another major leap forward in the national fight against youth obesity. Led by a passionate plea from First Lady Michelle Obama, who has made the epidemic her top issue, the Senate passed a bill that would both improve the quality of school lunches as well as make it easier for more students to qualify for free and reduced meals.

In part, the bill increases the amount that schools are reimbursed for each meal they sell. While contributing an additional six cents per meal may sound like a paltry sum, cumulatively it can have a significant effect. Anyone who has ever been to a grocery store knows all to well that the healthier foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, whole grain bread and lean meats, are more expensive than the bevy of processed “Franken-foods” that line the shelves. As schools purchase their lunch supplies and ingredients in bulk through national suppliers, they can make the increased subsidies go a long way.

Here in Connecticut, when combined with the additional funds that schools can receive by meeting even more rigorous state guidelines and improving the nutritional quality of their student meals, the reimbursements really begin to add up.

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[From my August 5 article in the Colchester Bulletin]

Balancing quality and quantity is probably one of the most difficult things in life. And yet, it is a factor in nearly every part of life. It seems to be universally accepted that quality is more important than quantity, though I’m sure there are plenty of situations where that axiom does not hold true. Yet, I would be surprised if anyone said that quantity was completely irrelevant. Eating high quality food is certainly a pleasure and good for your health. However, even the greatest meal in the world can’t offset not eating for an entire month.

So in every situation, we must strive to find that crucial balance. What is the best level of quality we can both achieve in the short term and sustain in the long term? With our resources at hand, how often can we reach the pinnacle of quality without sacrificing the number of times we can reach that goal?

Seasonally and annually, Colchester Parks & Recreation struggles with this balance. While we could throw all of our time and energy into just a handful of programs and events, there is no way those limited opportunities would meet the ongoing recreational needs of the entire community. Likewise, our parks maintenance crew could spend entire seasons and the bulk of our budget focused on just one or two fields, creating conditions that rival those of professional sports leagues. However, the poor conditions of the remaining fields would not serve the needs of the burgeoning use they all receive.

The challenge is avoiding mediocrity. It’s too easy to settle for average when you realize you can’t afford the time or money to reach the gold standard. The standard of acceptability can tend to sink lower and lower. Processes and procedures become routines that degrade over time.

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