During a brief special meeting Friday morning, the Parks & Recreation Commission voted to accept a memorandum of understanding with the town regarding procurement and cash handling.

“The one agenda item we have is to review, discuss and potentially agree to sign the MOU that was put together that was addressing the attorney general’s comments,” Parks & Rec chair Dan Terry explained as the proceedings began. The meeting lasted less than 10 minutes.

Town Manager Elaine Lazarus attended the meeting and provided an overview of what the town was asking from the commission. She explained that the Office of the Inspector General recommended that Parks & Rec sign the MOU to acknowledge it is subject to the town’s policies for cash handling and procurement.

“That’s what the ask is,” said Lazarus, “that you vote to sign the MOU, if it’s acceptable to you.”

Friday’s special meeting and the MOU were the result of a recent investigation by the OIG into former Parks & Rec Director Jay Guelfi. The OIG concluded that Guelfi, who served as director from 2015 until his retirement in 2023, intentionally circumvented the state’s procurement laws.

Guelfi is alleged to have engaged in a “handshake agreement” with a local food truck vendor who operated concessions at the Fruit Street athletic fields. That agreement, which violated laws regarding solicitation of services valued between $10,000-$50,000, began around 2019. The vendor ceased operations at Fruit Street in 2022. 

The OIG’s investigation also determined Guelfi did not turn over the proceeds from the concession stand to the town treasurer as required by law. Instead, he allegedly kept the cash in his desk and used at least a portion of it to reimburse employees for department purchases.

“A full accounting of all money received by Guelfi and where it went could never be reconstructed due to insufficient records,” the OIG stated in a press release.

After hearing from Lazarus, the commission quickly voted to approve signing the MOU. Terry agreed to go sign the document in person on Friday and encouraged the other commissioners to complete their signatures within the next week.

Current Parks & Rec Director Jon Lewitus also took time to establish how his department has handled such issues since he started in September 2023. He said policies and procedures were rewritten and voted on by the commission within his first six months as his department found areas where change was necessary.

“Two facilities I identified immediately that we needed to make procedural changes [were] Sandy Beach and Fruit Street concessions,” Lewitus said. “We implemented those changes, and continue to do that in our department.”

He added that a request for proposal for Fruit Street yielded no bidders, though Parks & Rec did enter into a contract with a local business to put vending machines at the fields.

Lazarus and Terry commended Lewitus for his work. Terry also stressed the importance of maintaining compliance with town and state regulations.

“Anything short of compliant … it can certainly raise questions and a lack of trust within the community,” said Terry.