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The Tuesday, October 15 meeting of the Sudbury Park and Recreation Commission featured a lengthy administrative update from the Park and Recreation department. The department is facing a few challenges, but also appears to be making massive strides in programming.
For context — the commission was recently told by the Town Manager that the department will likely need to self-fund itself with revenue from programs and memberships in the years to come. It currently receives a small amount of funding from the Town’s general fund. In addition to that, the department has been navigating disruptions and future closures associated with the ongoing construction of the Fairbank Community Center, and the planned renovation of the Atkinson Pool.
All of those obstacles, as well as some staff turnover, led to some delays in launching programming in the new community center. But on Tuesday, the department walked through a litany of new and re-launched programs, events and memberships, some of which now have waiting lists.
Here’s a running summary:
- Trunk or Treat is this Saturday
- Shaw’s made a donation for treats and there are already a bunch of vehicles registered.
- Puzzle Palooza continues to be popular and typically fields eight teams per session.
- Middle School Ski Club “went off like wildfire” according to staff, and sold out within about 20 minutes. Registrants voiced a strong preference for Wachusett Mountain over Nashoba, so that’s where they will be going.
- They have seen good enrollment in the elementary-level Lego club program, which is an early release day program. Based on the success, they will be doing it again in 2025. Some of the projects will be on display in the community center as soon as this week!
- Challenge Island, another elementary level program, gathered some strong interest as well, so that program might be expanded in the New Year.
- Enrollment in the Wild Wednesday middle school early release program far exceeded historic levels, to the point that they have more interest than seats on the Park and Recreation bus. They might consider a membership model for this program in the future, which could be piloted as early as January 2025.
- Pickleball membership is full in December. While they sold out December already, there are still spots in January and February. They think those are starting to fill up quickly. Staff referenced strong revenue from this program.
- The Reverse Engineering STEM program is coming back. They have seen early interest already and expect it to fill up based on prior popularity with kids.
- The new preschool room membership pilot, which they call the Toddler Action Zone, has gained more and more interest from parents as the department has promoted it. They’re gathering information from that pilot and may evolve the program based on what works best.
- Pickup basketball hasn’t gotten as much interest from the high schoolers as it has from middle school students, but it has been well-attended by the middle school crowd according to staff. They expect interest to pick up as we get into the winter sports season, and they recently adjusted the hours based on resident feedback.
Readers can review all programs offered by the Park and Recreation department HERE.
There is also a Fall programs brochure available HERE.
Readers can review all memberships offered by the Park and Recreation department HERE.
Registration is done on the Park and Recreation website HERE. Once you create an account, you’ll also get email updates from the department. Another easy way to keep up with the department is to follow their Facebook page HERE.
