The Parks & Recreation Commission learned Tuesday night that the high school’s proposed parking agreement for EMC Park had been withdrawn.

Parks & Recreation Director Jon Lewitus reported a conversation between he and Susan Rothermich during a separate committee meeting.

In that conversation, Rothermich — the school district’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations — informed him the school would be formally withdrawing the request to utilize parking spots at EMC Park.

“The next steps were figuring out the logistics,” said Lewitus. He had planned to meet with Hopkinton High School Principal Evan Bishop prior to his conversation with Rothermich.

The use of parking at the EMC fields has been a subject of intense debate for the commission. Lewitus has advocated for the arrangement due to the proposed revenue split. 

Members like newly elected vice chair Amy O’Donnell have been critical of the solution, even with signage in place to preserve some parking for residents.

“They’re not thinking through [this],” O’Donnell said. 

While the proposal was withdrawn, the commission agreed the problem of students parking at EMC Park has not yet been resolved.

Member Kyle Smith emphasized that the commission’s discussions should remain on preserving public access to the park. 

Dan Terry, the reelected chair of the Parks & Rec Commission, agreed. He recommended going to the Select Board to establish fines associated with updated signage at the park.

Credit card fees for program signups addressed

Lewitus highlighted an ongoing financial issue related to Parks & Rec program signups.

He explained that the town has historically paid the credit card transaction fees for any signups that happen on the Parks & Rec website.

From July 2023 to May 2024, the town paid $20,000 — about 3% of total Parks & Rec revenue — to a third party vendor for processing.

“I’m bringing this to the commission for thoughts about transferring these processing fees from the town to the customer,” said Lewitus.

The commission seemed to be in agreement over the transfer. The main disagreements centered on how to build those fees into the current payment system and communicate that to residents.

“I’d rather just say we’re charging them one fee and not break it down,” said O’Donnell.

Terry reminded the commission that building in this fee wouldn’t be applicable for all transaction types. Residents who pay via ACH (automated clearing house, which is an electronic transfer) or in-person would end up being charged a processing fee that wouldn’t apply to them.

Additional questions arose over whether charging the fee would result in a dramatic increase of people paying for programs in person, which could strain resources.

Lewitus was not convinced. He indicated that the convenience of the online transaction likely would win out over visiting the Parks & Rec office to hand in a check.

The commission agreed the fee should be communicated clearly on the website and alternate payment methods like ACH be highlighted. Lewitus also recommended a public awareness campaign to communicate the change to residents.

After-hours use of Sandy Beach discussed

While the opening of Sandy Beach has gone well, according to Lewitus, some ongoing issues still need to be addressed.

“The gate guards need additional training on how to process and check IDs,” Lewitus explained to the commission. This training will take place next week.

Additionally, there are concerns about after-hours usage and parking that are unresolved.

Lewitus explained that non-residents frequently line up along Lakeshore Drive and “pile in” to the beach once operating hours are over on weekends.

Discussion centered around what capacities the department has to monitor and control the situation. 

“We don’t police the area after 5 p.m.,” said Lewitus.

Proposals to coordinate with law enforcement to ticket non-resident vehicles and closing off the parking lot after hours were considered.

Smith mentioned that families on Lakeshore Drive sometimes direct visiting guests to park at the beach. They might be unfairly ticketed as a result of such a policy.

O’Donnell also echoed sentiments that closing off the lot right at the end of operating hours could present safety concerns.

“But how do you police it?” asked O’Donnell.

“The number one thing we want to discourage is people going out there and disrespecting the property,” said Terry, adding: “But we don’t want to prevent off-hours or offseason use.”

The commission agreed that the biggest problem in this equation is jet skiers coming from out of town. It was suggested that any police monitoring of the beach focus on trailers after hours that don’t have parking passes.

Town Common well pump replaced

Lewitus briefly informed the Parks & Rec Commission that an emergency replacement of a well pump at the Town Common was completed.

“We thought it was an electrical issue,” said Lewitus. Instead, it was discovered that the well pump had “reached its shelf life.”

The well in question feeds the irrigation system and Claflin Memorial Fountain in the park. The issue was first brought to the department’s attention when the fountain stopped working.

Lewitus explained that emergency funds were appropriated for this project, and all systems now are in working order. 

Boat dock delayed until signed off by governor

Although the Sandy Beach boat dock was meant to be installed in June, it has been delayed until further notice.

Lewitus informed the commission that Gov. Maura Healey had not yet signed the license necessary to begin building the dock. 

“It has not yet gotten to her desk to be signed,” he explained.

He has communicated the delay to the firm slated to build the dock and will follow up once the license is official.

Said Lewitus: “As soon as we get the signature, we’ll be in business.”