Recreation

There's been a lot of talk about Newmarket's Recreation Department over the last several months and most recently at last week's Town Council meeting. Mostly, that it should be a mainly self-funded department--with the Town subsidizing part of the operational costs associated with the Rec. Department, but then making the programs pay for themselves. 

I'm not sure exactly what this would mean for programming for the kids in our Town. 

Should the Rec. Department offer more/different types of activities? I'm not sure if enrollment is the main problem, but it is one factor that needs to be examined. Full time summer camp is a need for many parents in town, but not for all. Offering more 1-2 week specialty camps throughout the summer might be an option that works to draw in other families. 

Last year, the Rec. Department offered a one week Lego camp over the summer, but it was canceled due to low enrollment. Looking at that from a strict cost perspective, it can be argued that canceling the program was the right thing to do. But I also wonder if some programs need a year or two to build a little momentum. I hope the new Drama camp scheduled for this year is given a chance to grow.

There has also been some concern that the school and Rec departments are overlapping, competing with each other. As someone who has been an advocate for after school programming at the Elementary school, I can speak from experience that it has been challenging to start new programs and find people interested in facilitating those programs even when the PTA has made the funds available. So, this sounds to me like the perfect opportunity for the Rec. Department and the School to team up and combine resources. Maybe the Rec. Department could offer a program at the school with a combination of free and paid programs and teaming with the PTA to offer scholarships to those unable to pay. 

I would also hope that the School and Rec. Departments can piggy back on each others' programs. For instance, the School started a drama program last year. The Rec. Department should be at Drama club pickup passing out flyers and should have a table at the this year's School performance promoting their own program. The Rec is also offering a new Lego workshop in May--advertising through the Lego club at the Elementary school seems like a good way to spread the word to kids who are already interested in Legos.

Programs that I know parents would like to see in the future--Destination Imagination, Coyote Club, Lego Robotics. Maybe by teaming up, the School and the Rec. Department can expand their programs and their audience. 

The other question that needs to be considered is what do we expect from our Rec Department? The Halloween Haunt and the Easter Egg Hunt are 2 activities that come immediately to mind. It takes a lot of work (and resources) to make these events run so smoothly--and they're so much more than just an activity for kids. It's about building community--seeing friends and neighbors, engaging local businesses and yes, providing a fun, safe activity for Newmarket's kids. 

I think we need to factor that into the bottom line.