By-Law Change Proposal

Longevity Awards - Article X sec 1.

Any football player or cheerleader participating through Mite, PeeWee and Midget programs for a period of five (5) consecutive years and at least two (2) years at the Midget level shall receive a long standing award to be decided by the Executive Board and League financial status.

Proposed change to read...for a period of six (6) consecutive years...

Head Coaches - Article VI sec. 5        

Head Coaches shall be approved by the Executive Board, therefore, no head Coach shall be allowed to serve on the Executive Board.  Proposed change to delete from therefore on which would allow head coach to serve on the board if elected.

Both above Proposals were passed at the Annual Meeting on February 11, 2010.

Town of Abington

Park and Recreation Department

To:            Abington Girls Softball               Abington Youth Lacrosse;                                Date:   January 21, 2010

    Abington Youth Football             Abington Little League Baseball

    Abington Youth Soccer              Abington School Committee       

    Abington Green Wave Boosters

From:            Abington Park and Recreation Commissioners                           

Re:       Notice of assessment of “Field Maintenance Surcharge” to all athletes

Many of you might not yet be aware that the entire budget for the Abington Park & Recreation Department was eliminated this past fall when additional town budget cuts were required.  The Park Department has been in existence in Abington for over 125 years, and since 1974, we have been responsible for the mowing, fertilizing, lining and trash removal at all of Abington’s parks, playgrounds, public lawns, traffic islands and other public areas.  These responsibilities were performed each week to provide safe and attractive recreation areas for all residents to enjoy.  We have also helped coordinated the scheduling of games and practices on our playing fields, 

 In 2010, these services will no longer be provided by taxpayers.

Instead, all children who play in any organized sports (kindergarten through high school) will be required to pay an additional “Field Maintenance Surcharge” on top of their sport’s normal registration/user fees.  This surcharge/fee will be used by the Park Department to hire seasonal laborers to perform minimum mowing and field maintenance through the spring, summer and fall of 2010.   

We are not yet certain if we will be able to hire enough laborers to line the playing fields and perform other “routine” field maintenance (rake infields, repair fences, maintain irrigation systems, etc.) – your sports programs may have to assume some of the desired additional work.  The Highway Department is being asked to mow and maintain some of the lawns in front of our public buildings (Police, Town Offices, Schools, Library, etc), but their work force was also drastically reduced during the 2009 budget cuts, so their ability to help maintain playing fields and pick up trash barrels will also be severely limited, if not impossible.

Please be clear on one point:  it was not the decision of the Park and Recreation Commissioners to eliminate our entire budget, and it was not our idea to create a policy which required the assessment of “Field Maintenance Surcharges” to the families of Abington in order to make our Park Department “self-funded”. 

 We feel that all residents of Abington benefit from clean and safe open spaces, playgrounds, parks and playing fields, and that the assessment of fees against only organized sports teams is very unfair.  Unfortunately, the assessment of the surcharge this spring, summer and fall is currently the only way for us to solve the immediate problem of raising funds to pay the costs of mowing our fields and parks.  As an elected Board, we will be lobbying the Selectmen, the Finance Committee and residents to put money back into our budget at the April 6, 2010 Town Meeting so the burden is more fairly carried by all town residents (as it has been for over a century), and not only by families with kids in organized sport activities. 

We don’t want Abington to become a town in which only those who can afford to pay higher fees will be allowed to have their children use their town’s playing fields.  We recognize that our town needs to prioritize and preserve the core services that our government provides to its residents, but we ask that you please join us and help us work to a better solution.

If you want more information or have questions, please attend our next meeting or call any of us at home.  We no longer have staff to answer a phone at the office.    Thank you!

Your Park and Recreation Commissioners 

Steve Wakelin   781-871-9253                  Paul Mollica  781-982-1039

                        Scott Tomlin      781-857-3263                  Russ Esau     781-871-9138    

The Park & Recreation Commissioners meet at the Town Offices on the 3^rd Thursday of each month;