Park and Recreation 04/07/2026

(Episode Description is AI generated and may be errors in accuracy)

Childcare pressure, muddy fields, and a surprise question about hunting on public land all land on the table in this fast-moving town recreation meeting. We start with the practical stuff that keeps services running: updates to a town rental property, small repairs that prevent bigger problems, and the quiet importance of staying ahead of maintenance.

Then we dig into the headline for many families: the daycare expansion is approved, bringing a net gain of 18 slots and pushing capacity up to 96. We talk through what that really means, including how three-day versus five-day options affect fairness, affordability, and whether it feels like families are being forced to pay for care they do not use. We also unpack why “drop-in daycare” is complicated under state regulations, and how a pre-registered waitlist for specific days could help fill openings while staying compliant.

From there, it is all about seasonal operations and public space management: reopening sports fields carefully after snowmelt, protecting turf, and keeping kids safe; scheduling a playground slide replacement during school vacation; coordinating cleanup in the state forest after winter damage; and approving a stack of spring and summer field permits for local leagues, camps, and community events. We close with a real public safety concern, as a reported tree stand raises questions about posting land, enforcement, and what a clear bylaw could change, plus a quick win as community garden sign-ups climb thanks to better outreach.

If you care about parks and recreation, municipal planning, youth sports field scheduling, daycare capacity, and how local government decisions get made, hit subscribe, share this with a neighbor, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Pre-Meeting Chatter

SPEAKER_03 0:05

Is that the meeting at 13 p.m.?

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

I also included a Sandy's town report in the video. She did an excellent job. Very detailed as all this.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Cracky. Well, okay, so I'd think that would take me four hours for me. Well, in case my wife read her book in two days, I'd still not finish with mine.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

I yeah. I'd be too busy uh just doing other things on the eight.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

I spent most of the time in the shade.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

I still got rid of it. It's amazing. It's a different sun down there. I got cooked. How about when the sun drops out of the sky at night? Beautiful sunspots.

Minutes Approved And Agenda Set

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Yeah. Oh. Motion to accept the minutes.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

I will second that March meeting. I will second that motion. All in favor?

unknown 1:26

Aye. Aye. So organization representative town officials, committee members.

Rental Property Repairs Update

SPEAKER_03 1:32

It looks like we don't have anybody. On to old business, micro property.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

I just want to give you an update of what we've done to the rental property over the past month. We did put a new front door on. I'm not sure if you guys have noticed as we drove by. But there was some uh a couple of rodd boards on the porch. So uh we had those replaced as well. And with that, uh I had to put up a new gutter in the front part of the house just to uh get that water away from draining on down. And also we replaced a uh a vent cover that broke off during the lovely winter we had. So we got that all taken care of. So everything's going well over there. Nice tenants and uh so far so good. Yep. Yep. Alrighty.

SPEAKER_03 2:14

Daycare expansion.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Great news, we were finally approved. It took uh quite a while, but we netted 18 slots. Uh the new space gave us 20, but we lost two due to what the state called this measurements from years ago. So we went from uh we're gonna go from 78 to 96. So, in that doing the best we can to use whatever space we have. So we're gonna really be focused on that getting that for the fall because we have such a long wait list of people trying to get in, like with new families, especially the younger kids, we'll get everything going officially in the fall.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Yeah. And I think we're gonna need to continue to work for space. Yes, I agree with that. I just think that we're gonna be able to, I actually I shouldn't say that. I think we would be providing uh more of a service to more members of our community if we continue to work for space, yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

And I think with that being said, we all we've always had the option of, you know, in the afternoons a three-day option or a five-day option. Talking to Bethany, are we better off going to a five-day option so we're maximizing all our slots every single day? Because if we do have the three-day option, some days we could have 96, while other days it could come down to 70 or something. If are we better off going with that option or keep what we have now? What would you guys think? I think going with a five-day option to maximize would be better, but some people only need after three days a week. We have we have to have at least that minimum.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

How many what's the percentage, would you say roughly that have their kids do three day versus five day?

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I'd say 80% five day, 20% three day. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

That that's yeah, okay. I think probably we have to do five days so we can get everything built. But that's just my opinion on it.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Just because we're telling a family to that they're going to need to pay for five days doesn't mean that the kids are actually gonna beat it in five days.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

You know what I mean? So it'd be just to me that to me that feels like we're we're we're gouging.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Oh yeah, that's a good I guess. Yeah. That's fine. We can just we'll keep those options the way they are. Yeah, I mean we'd like, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

Best thing is to maximize the amount of spaces that the state gives us. Um and then uh how do you argue to just offer those slots to people who need them full time?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Yeah, I don't think it yeah. I think what we're doing is fine.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

Yep. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

I mean, if it was different, if it was 50-50 split or the opposite, we might have to come up with something else, but maybe 20, I think, would be.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yes, we'll see. We keep mornings at five days because that just for a couple hours.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

We have do we allow, do we offer drop-ins?

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Like we don't because of uh the state. We have to know who's coming when they're coming, so we never go over. If we have like space on a half day and they're like in morning care or don't come on that Wednesday and we have spots, we will let that kind of drop in happen. We're already having a roster, but if for example, if my son was living in town and he'd come for a day, like you know, this Monday and then again next Tuesday, we can't allow that to happen because if the state walked in and says, Well, who's this child? You don't have him on your list, we'll get, you know.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

How many C have 91?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

We're gonna have uh 96 now.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Okay, so let's say on, let's say we know next Tuesday, a week from today, we're only gonna have 90 kids. Yeah. Do we advertise? Hey, we have we don't.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

We don't.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

You've already answered that, but is it something that we could look into and offer? Hey, we have, you know, posted socially on our webpage, we have four slots available for next Tuesday. First come first run.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

That would be difficult because if if they're just it would have to be a consistent basis because we have paperwork from the state that has to be there, so you know, who can pick up, who can't medical paperwork with with EEC.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Yeah, but if let's say let's say a family at the beginning of the season in August came to you and it came and said, hey, came to us and said, hey, I I I didn't get a spot in your your daycare program. However, if something opens up on a Tuesday, I would be interested in just that one day. Okay, we'll put you on the list for Tuesday availability, fill out these forms. Doesn't mean you're getting them, but we need this information in order for you to be here and enroll your kid for that particular day. We needed a heading.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Something like we can definitely look into. You know, something we can possibly do. If there's a need or demand for Yeah, no, that's something we definitely look into. You know what I mean? Yep, no, I got what you're saying. No, I can uh I'll talk to Bethany how we can advertise that once we figure out who's coming back.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Yeah, it doesn't it it it's it's gonna be a little bit more work on our we have to set something up like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Yeah, so we can definitely look at and we you know I'll run past uh once we've I've talked to Bethany, we come up with a plan, I'd let you know what we what we see. Absolutely. Not a bad idea.

Fields Reopen With Caution

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Alright, moving on. Field status.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

The fields are open today.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Yeah, it looks like it. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

The leagues, I want to thank them. They were great. They understood why we kept them closed. You know, we did have some pushback. Nothing I wasn't really surprised to hear, but because people want to get out there, but we also have to make sure we do our due diligence as a department for protecting the fields. Like I'm very grateful to BP today. They had a baseball game with McKenney, their field guys were out there to line it. It's still very soft. They called me and says, Tim, I'm can't we're canceling the game today because the field is not ready. That is fantastic. That was one I was very appreciative of Mark Lovita, the athletic director. You know, great. And you know, I I know Saturday was nice, but leading up to last Saturday, we had rain Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

The fields were we had three feet of snow that just melted two weeks ago. Yes. My my my guard is still saturated.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

I can't even walk on my backgad.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Yeah, mine's the same, and you know, I'm it was not out to make anybody mad. I know all leagues want to get out there, people want to get, but we're there to protect the fields and also make sure they're safe for the kids to be out there, and we're also not damaging these fields to go and have to repair them. So, you guys made the right call. I like to think I made the right call as well. And uh but everything's open, and I told all the leagues this morning when I sent out the email again, just use caution. You know, if you don't think a field's ready, keep it closed. I know field four tonight at Merrill they kept it closed because it was too wet, especially on the infield with that native infield mix. It just pure mud. Simple as that. Excellent.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

Alrighty, Merrill School Playground.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Uh, we are having the slide replaced during April vacation. Awesome. When that broke, it's in. I set up the time with the uh installer, so we're gonna come April 21st. We said the playground should be closed for two or three days because he has to put the footings for the new site.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

That's alright, though, with school vacation.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, so I'll let the leak baseball know just in case when they're out there when they do get back to practicing that they're gonna be uh that'll be closed and I'll have all caution caked off. Okay. Stuff like that.

State Forest Winter Damage Cleanup

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Alrighty. Um on to new business, radium state forest. First, your favorite thing.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Your favorite thing, I have one in there for you too, sir. Uh it took an absolute beating this winter. That's just an example of uh one going across one of the trails there. Yeah. So I have spoken to the state. Uh their workers were coming back uh around April 1st. They are gonna get out there and clean it up for us. So they should be up there by the end of the month at the least. So get everybody out there. I know Jim will be happy.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Well, I offered to bring them to the meeting tonight and he declined. So he'll have to read about this in the uh local red. Yes. So let them know tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Yeah, but that'll be uh that'll be good for them and get everything all cleaned up and good to go.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

So we're still going to correspondence like that.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

I uh put a letter, copy letter in there for you guys. We just got a nice uh thank you letter from the superintendent of BP again for allowing them to use our fields again this year as they finalize everything at BP. And I guess the school opens up in the fall.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

Yeah, I think it's actually just spoke down to that and it's not moving to step over slowly.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

And then I'd only need possibly another year to get the fields ready, so at most we have one more year BP. But they said there's a possibility next spring they can have at least their spring fields ready to go. But how many years have they been most now? We started with them back in 2021.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

I was gonna say since I've been on the accolade data. Yeah, yeah.

Summer Program Dates And Registration

SPEAKER_01 11:51

And they've been good. They've been nice to have them out there and uh using the fields, and it helps us out because they take care of lining the Aruda field for us all across, and so it's a big help. Alright. Ummer update. Summer update. Uh just wanted to let you know we are good to go for summer. We finally got the school schedule for next year when and also when school is gonna end this year. So we are gonna start our summer program on June 29th. Okay. And one for seven weeks uh goes till August 14th, and that gives us two weeks before the start of school. Ringham schools are starting before Labor Day next year. Oh, they are? They are. Yep. They're gonna start uh they're gonna go Wednesday and Thursday before Labor Day. Okay, and then have a four-day weekend. And I know the the Tuesday is the state of the primary day for the national election, so maybe that's why they're not starting that day. Probably, yeah. That's my guess. So, but they will be getting a couple of days in, so they're not going as late, hopefully, as they are this year. When is it when is Labor Day early? Labor Day is very late this year. It's like September 7th. Oh, okay. I heard that maybe sense then. Yeah. So yeah, no, that's uh, but we'll be good to go. We have everything's going out next week. Uh, we're gonna start registrations, and I like to tell people to like Hunger Games. It's first come, first serve. You know, yeah. You gotta go in, sign up, and take care of it.

Permits For Leagues And Events

SPEAKER_03 13:20

All right. Um spring field use permit applications.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

All right. Uh the first one I have is for the Colonial Roadrunners. They're looking for their annual summer permit uh for Sundays starting uh July 12th through August 9th for three hours uh each week at the track at the RMS football field. Okay. Uh we have not charged in the past, and the only thing we would need is a copy of their insurance policy.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

I have no issues with it with it out of that. Second, all in favor? Uh aye. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Uh the next one is actually two permits in one uh for the Rainham police. Yeah. Uh the first one they're looking for is to do their annual speed camp uh starting the 29th of June through July 10th. Yeah. Uh in the mornings at the RMS track uh from 8 to 11:30. Uh no conflicts, and they do it every year. The police always do a wonderful job, and Jenny's running it now that we're retired. And then what's the second thing? Uh the second one is for their jock's camp, uh, which would be August 10th through the 14th.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Uh baseball season at that point is over, and they're looking for the outfield of the Burke baseball field as they always do. Okay. And uh it's from 4 to 8 Monday through Friday in that week. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

I have no idea. So they put it on, they put them both on one?

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Yes. Okay. Yep. They put the uh jocks camps on the top part and speed camps on the bottom part. Okay. Motion to approve. I have a second dead motion. All in favor? Alright. Alright. So we're good. And we also have the next one is the mass drifters. They finally got me the paperwork, but they uh do need the fields again this year as they always have on uh at Reed Field, uh, Mondays and Thursdays, uh 5 to 8, and Saturdays 9 to 12. Um we don't have a conflict. They want to start, you know, they wanted to start last week, but I had the fields closed. Uh so we'll start this week once it's approved. And no conflicts. Baseball has the other remaining times or R Y BSA, excuse me. So it's uh gonna be a packed field at lead field this year. And it's a two uh two-season permit.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

When you say, can you just repeat what you said about our packed read field? What's going on now?

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Uh it's gonna be a packed refield like all from there, they're gonna have Drifter's gonna be there four nights a week, and one Saturday morning, RYBSA has the rest of the weekends. So we're gonna have at Reed. First time. Yeah. Uh RYBSA is their their softball program must have exploded because they have all their fields at the Merrill Complex, they're doing three nights at RMS and weekends at Reed and weekends over here at uh the Board of Colony Softball. Wow, they really numbers are really good. So wonderful though is I as I told other organizations, town leagues have top priority. Everybody comes in after them. And what we have left, we will spread it out. Yeah, it's two seasons? Yes. So that cost should be uh we charge them last year twelve hundred dollars. Motion approve drifters permit dual uh season for 1200.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

And we'll set the debt motion. All in favor? Uh aye.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

So and the next one we have is for uh Rangan Flag Football. Uh they're looking for the annual permit of uh one area that soccer's not using during a Sunday morning to afternoon, uh starting April 19th through uh June 21st. Uh I did speak to Soccer. They requested 11 to 4, but soccer can give them 10 to 3 on the multi-purpose field. They didn't have a problem with it. So uh the only thing we need from them is their insurance policy, and we did not charge last year.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Have we talked to them about whether they allow non-residents to participate in this?

SPEAKER_01 17:42

This is only a Rainham resident leave. They told me that in the last okay, yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Motion to approve, no cost.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

I will segment that motion. All in favor? Alright.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Alright, so the last one we have just came in this uh last night is for the uh RAVE uh parade in a couple of well, about a month and a half, excuse me, uh, to use the gazebo field and the gazebo for their you know annual presentation after the parade. We're looking for 8 to 1 on Saturday, May 23rd. Uh that's a day that we I always let the horse uh organization know that we have it set aside for the town, so there is there's no conflicts.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

That's a Saturday anyway. So usually they about Fridays or on Sundays, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:29

They've increased their amount of Saturdays. They're doing like a lot of their shows now are like weekend shows where they're coming in.

SPEAKER_02 18:35

So they got they're pretty loaded. I talked to actually a woman today that I work with who owns horses, and she said in in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island there's only three facilities that uh that host horse events. There's uh in I believe there's one in Middleborough, one in Lakeville, and this one in Rainier. Really? We do they do barrel over here, then they do roping in Middleborough, and then in Lakeville, that another paddock they they do a uh where they have to they put a bunch of cows up there and then the the horses have to corral the cows. Oh, jeez. But she told me, she said that oh Rainham, she says they have one of only three places in this area that you can even get together and do that. Oh that's I thought that was interesting. I didn't know.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

No, neither I'm glad we can help them.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Yeah. That's great. No, I'm glad that we saved it. Yeah. So we gotta vote on that. Yeah, just gotta vote on that. Oh, shut down. Ready? Yeah. Motion to accept zero. I will accept it.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

And that is good for new boards online. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

Um we talked about this in years past, specifically when we had a uh pumpkin farming here. We wanted to hunt for land because crops were getting destroyed by beer. Um, and it was eventually denied by the board, uh select board back then, um saying there shouldn't be any hunting on wooden colony land. I got a message from uh a resident that stated they were out in the fields, uh specifically behind the Lions Club, and there's a tree stand in one of the trees. So he he inquired as to whether hunting was allowed on the property, and I said, Well, we could publicly discourage it, but I don't think we have our property posted right now correctly.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Correct, yes, because I have spoken to the uh the police because I know they're looking at possibly trying to get a town bylaw that they can't be hunting out here. Right now, that is it's it's out there. I mean, we can we can discourage it, but if people want to go out there, we have to we sh I can work on a way to get more signage out there, you know, where they can go, where they can't go. Because I always get nervous, especially like in the fall when BP's running out there in the woods and want to make sure nobody gets mistakenly, but that's something we can I can definitely look at.

SPEAKER_03 21:37

Yeah, I think so. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Um I uh in in but I mean and like I I can't remember exactly the legal distances, but it's gotta be posted like every hundred feet in order for you to keep somebody off of public land.

SPEAKER_04 21:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

So even if we were to post and One area. They'll just move somewhere else. Exactly. So why bother? And if you know, unless we're gonna unless we didn't have a town bylaw passed, I mean, then then we would have to post it directly. But for the meantime, I don't think there's much we can do about it.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

No, I don't think so either, because it I can go out there and say, you know, come on, you know, and to your point, let us move somewhere else. Right. I think it has to be 500 feet, you know, like from like wreck areas, but I'll have to look more deep.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Well, it's you can't discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a of a of a building. Yes. So that's that was that part. But I mean there's so much the property we have out there. Yeah, 500 feet is not that far at all. It's from here to maybe the concession stay.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

You know?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

You know, it's like when you had the laws when you know it was easier to enforce when they had the airplane field was out there, and people about to fly over the fields during the game. So there's only so much you can do. Right. So, but yeah, no, it's uh if the town is looking into it, because I have spoken to a couple of police officers that are trying to create that bylaw, when that can get passed, that'll make our lives a little bit easier when it comes to enforcing that.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Yeah, I'd be interested and curious as to whoever's working on that bylaw to at least include us in the conversation. Yeah. Not telling us that they're doing it, but including us in the conversation. Yeah. No, it's the we're we're the chaperones for lack of a better term on this property, and we need to be informed of what people want to do here. Yeah. We don't own it, but we're the keepers of the land. Thank you. The keepers of the light, the keepers of the land. Yeah. So that's my report. That was it. I I don't really have anything to report. I actually I do not have anything to report this time.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Nothing to report? No, last time we didn't have any report, so I had to report something. Now I guess we're just pushing it all. Alright. So I'll have to do the report something next time. You're off the hook. Um, when's Ed gonna We were just talking about where he's expected to come home this month? Is he? Yes, yeah. Is he done with his deployment? You know?

SPEAKER_01 24:21

I thought it was April and before he left, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

Yeah, things have changed. Yeah, yeah. I don't want to reach out to his wife just yet, though. You know.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

No, I believe it will. Yeah. I was just curious.

unknown 24:36

Um button.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

You text him and ask him. It's not like a 1991 where you had to stand in line for four hours and so you could talk for 10 minutes cost of$12 a minute. Oh god. Oh my god. The phone company brought this bad though. That's the same.

Community Garden Demand And Logistics

SPEAKER_03 24:57

Um on to staff reports.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Uh I just wanted to let you guys know that um dropping the feet for the community garden and um putting it up on the sign outside to advertise it has actually brought in more people already than last year. Yeah, so we have eight people, um, ten and nine. I'm just hoping to hear back from one of our regulars who required about the same plot that usually try to get every year. Um it's still open, but not for long. Um they're filling up pretty quickly. I just had to go make more keys to talk to Ulsen's today to make sure that the water is turned on on in time because the past couple years we've just ran into the problem of it not being on the day that the gardeners start gardening. So he's on top of that. Um and then lastly, while we mentioned the colonial road runners, it just popped in my head that the two trash cans that we have outside that we removed from the highway. Yeah, um, if we can maybe have them put one out, we don't need the one by the door, do we?

SPEAKER_01 25:59

No, we just need one really by the telephone pole out there. That's out there. That's where they have that's like where their uh start-finish line is.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

Yeah, so when I mean we have plenty of time, but when the time comes, maybe just let Ryan know we just need that one back out there uh for the season, but that's all I've got. Oh, and we'll start opening um outside residency plots on April 20th, which is a Monday, um, if all the plots are close on that.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Are you gonna take a plot?

SPEAKER_00 26:28

I'm thinking about it. Yeah, if the foreman will teach me or the superintendent will teach me how to plant. I can't grow grass, so.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Another project for uh for the superintendent.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

He's got some time to add to his list.

Town Meeting Reminder And Adjourn

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Uh that's good. Well, not much for me. Just want to remind you guys that we have town meeting on Monday the 18th. I did give a copy of the budget that I submitted to you guys so you have to take a look at. Uh so far I've never been back. So no news is good news. And uh I just want to wish uh all the leagues uh good luck this spring. You know, we get ready for another rock. Yes. And that's it for me.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Alrighty. I have one more motion to uh adjourn.

SPEAKER_04 27:17

I will second that motion. All in favor? I'll vote it.