By Dave Bachiochi, Stafford Recreation Commission Chair
The Recreation Commission is seeking to establish a more comprehensive offering of recreational activities for people of all ages in Stafford. We commissioned a Recreation Department Partnership Focus Group to solicit more ideas, which has added some great suggestions. We now want to survey the town residents to understand best what obstacles and opportunities to tackle first to kick start a Recreation Department structure.
We recognize that the most effective way to run a recreation department is to hire a recreation director. The reality in Stafford is that the position is not funded in the current town budget. The strategy discussed by the commission and the focus group is two-pronged.
What Do We Want? To identify and prioritize the recreational programming activities that Stafford residents are interested in by distributing a survey and compiling the results to share with the community.
How Do We Do It? To identify specific duties of a Recreation Department and reliable sources of revenue to offset the cost of the director’s salary.
Stafford regularly relies on volunteers to operate recreational activities, especially youth sports. Other organizations, such as the senior center, the library, and the schools (Family Resource Center, STEAM), coordinate different activities. Currently, the town hall has absorbed the burden of staffing and operating the summer rec program.
The Recreation Commission has considered a strategy that assigns the duties of a recreation director to willing volunteers and various existing town hall staff. Still, logistical obstacles make it nearly impossible to operate. A certain skill set is required, and those individuals absorbing duties have a substantial workload impact. In all discussions of alternate approaches, we always return to the primary approach that concludes a focused director is the most effective solution. Survey feedback will impact how to implement either strategy.
Hiring a Recreation Director is crucial for strategically planning the future of recreation in Stafford and addressing the many opportunities and needs identified by the community. Overcrowding at Olympic Field and the underutilization of Hyde Park demonstrate the need for effective resource management. The town also lacks amenities like a skateboard park, fitness path, disc golf, pickleball courts, improved playgrounds, and a dog park, causing residents to seek these activities in nearby towns. There is a potential demand for adult education, group fitness, arts and crafts, music programs, E-sports, and more. A recreation director would be responsible for the ongoing strategic planning of not only activities desired by the community but also for managing the revenue to optimize the use of facilities here in Stafford. In other towns in the area, many of the town-wide events and “fests” are also managed by the recreation director.
The recreation director position can include grant application efforts as part of their duties while managing any revenue sources from program offerings to offset salary expenses. The group envisions a pay-as-you-play model so those participating in the programs bear much of the cost burden. The intent is that the participation fees charged for program offerings would be an affordable alternative to other programs in the region. Funding the position by creating pay-as-you-play revenue streams, organizing fundraising efforts, and seeking grant funding to keep participation fees affordable is the core strategy. Hiring a recreation director is an investment in Stafford’s community, quality of life, and recreational future.
On behalf of the focus group, the Recreation Commission, and the First Selectman’s office, thank you in advance for completing this survey.
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