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After much discussion on Monday with Combined Facilities Director Sandra Duran, the Park and Recreation Commission voted to proceed with an application for Community Preservation Act funding that would allow them to develop a comprehensive plan for the Haskell Field and Fairbank Community Center parcels. As part of the application, they voted to include early action items for adding a second lighted basketball court and a pavilion near the recently-completed outdoor multi-sport court at the Fairbank Community Center.
The comprehensive plan would largely be focused on identifying other amenities that are needed at Haskell Field and at the community center. Amenities are not being evaluated in the separate Fields Needs Assessment project.
The basketball court would revive a previously-planned second court on the property, which was cut during the value engineering process of the new community center.
Commissioners voiced frustration that they went along with painful cuts during the value engineering process under the expectation they would have the support to add them back at a later date. They felt it has instead been an uphill battle to gain support to add back some of the key features.
The pavilion would serve the summer camp run by the Park and Recreation department, while also creating new opportunities for other programs and casual resident use. The summer camp program is a major revenue generator for the department, though numbers have been down a bit in recent years.
Applications are due to the Community Preservation Committee by Friday, September 6 and will go through some vetting and refinement with the Planning Department before the committee meets to review them.