HOWELL – Issues related to the maintenance of Howell’s parks were a topic of discussion when a member of the public spoke up during a recent hearing on the municipality’s master plan.
A discussion took place at the Oct. 5 meeting of the Howell Planning Board when the master plan – the document which guides the development and growth of the township – was on the agenda.
Resident Cathy Novak said she uses Howell’s parks and recreation areas on a regular basis. She asked board members, “Who is in charge of maintaining those areas?”
The board’s planner, Malvika Apte, said the Department of Public Works (DPW) maintains those areas, but the board attorney’s, Ronald Cucchiaro, said that is not entirely true. He said Planning Board member Nicholas Huszar often mows a baseball field on which his (Huszar’s) children play.
“(Parents) do the field maintenance, the DPW takes care of the (lighting) and the garbage cans, etc.” Huszar said.
Novak said DPW employees do an excellent job maintaining Echo Lake as far as mowing and removing weeds, but asked, “Who takes the plastic out of the lake?”
She said there are no bins for recyclable materials at Echo Lake or Alfred Sauer Park.
Board members said Novak’s comments were useful as far as the master plan hearing was concerned, but they said any action regarding the issues she mentioned would have to be addressed by the Township Council.
Board member Thomas Boyle thanked Novak for raising the issue of park maintenance.
“When (another appointed official) and I went out and visited the parks, not only did we drive up to them, we walked every square inch of the parks and they were deplorable, the condition of the parks, the grass, we went into some parks (and) we could see where vehicles had driven through the grass areas,” he said.
Boyle said some parks had no sign in front of them.
“One of the things I spoke with (the police chief) about was that there are no signs informing visitors about the rules and regulations of the parks, like no drinking and no drugs. That does not help our police department … some of the parks do not even have the name of the park in front of them,” Boyle said.
Boyle said he would like Mayor Theresa Berger to get behind the idea of establishing a recreation department with an individual in charge of parks.
“We have a (street) hockey arena and grass was growing in it. We have a tennis court (where) the fences were torn down … it was disgusting. We had one park (where the distance from) the bottom of the (children’s) slide to the ground was almost 3 feet. All of the mulch that had been put in place to keep it safe for the kids was gone,” Boyle said.
He turned to Berger and said, “Mrs. Mayor, we have to do something about the parks.”
Berger suggested the establishment of a recreation department is something the members of the Township Council may want to explore in the future.
Huszar said, “It is kind of bizarre to me that a township of this size does not have a recreation department … I would second Mr. Boyle on putting together some type of recreation department.”
Planning Board Chairman Paul Schneider said he does not believe there is a town near Howell that does not have a recreation department.
“I have seen when we have had a recreation department, a fully functional recreation department, and when we were totally lacking any kind of guidance in that field and I have always been of the opinion that a recreation department is needed,” Schneider said.
Howell had a recreation department for years, but it was disbanded in August 2011, according to an email sent to staff in 2011 by then Township Manager Helene Schlegel.
“Due to a staffing shortage at this time, the recreation facility will be closed effective August 22, 2011 until further notice. … The township is currently reviewing shared service agreements with other agencies with recreation experience to administer township recreation programs. The possibility of a shared services agreement vs. a continuing active role in recreation by the township will be closely examined during the upcoming budget process. It is anticipated that special events will be conducted by the township,” Schlegel said in the email.