F-T Recreation Chief Still Wanted
The Parks and Recreation Commission decides to create a survey asking Barrington residents what types of new programs are missing and desired to help make a case for a full-time director.
The Barrington recreation board is continuing a push for a full-time recreation director -- with your help.
The Parks and Recreation Commission decided last week to create a survey to determine what types of new programs Barrington users would like the recreation department to offer.
“It will create a value base for a full-time person,” said Michael Seward, chairman of the recreation commission. “Once we do that, we’ll know what people want."
Seward said the survey will focus on various categories of potential users of recreation and leisure services.
“It will be very specific,” said Seward. “We’ll provide a list of programs, new things we think people might like.”
After the recreation commission knows what people want, he said, “We can make a better case for a full-time director to the town council.”
Seward said the recreation board already has a job description for a full-time director.
“We finished that,” he said.
The next step is to find out what people might want or see as missing in Barrington so we can make a case, he said.
Barrington has a part-time recreation and leisure services director right now. Michele Geremia took over on Oct. 22 after former recreation director John Taylor retired at the end of the summer season.
Geremia herself is asking for feedback from Barrington residents. She is running a separate survey to determine what programs are working and which are not; what you like the most, and what you feel is missing from the programs currently being offered.
Click here for that survey: Barrington Recreation Department Survey
The recreation commission survey probably won’t be ready until January, Seward said.
Gary Morse
1:01 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Along with these feel good initiatives, it would be nice to have some future tax impact projections from our town officials.
At the moment, there are no long range projections on the taxation/service cost impact to residents from all these initiatives in town. We are currently running blind.
If you own a home in town, prepare to be hit three times:
1) from the future tax increases,
2) from higher infrastructure costs (BCWA, sewer, higher trash hauling costs, etc.),
3) from the loss in home value that is continuing in town.
.
On a per capita basis, we are at the top of the highest taxed locations in RI, and also one of the highest in the US.
Should we be striving to go even higher?
Fred Diel
6:12 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Gary
The November elections were clear. The voters of Barrington overwhelming voted for higher taxes and more governmental control. There is no reason to think that they are worried about the taxes going up next year. Thanks for all your effort you put forth to educate the populous.
Gary Morse
9:40 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Thanks Fred!
There was a time when people would move into Barrington, drop their kids into the school system, and then leave with a profit when the last child finished high school. The numbers always seemed to favor this model.
From 1998 to 2007, the median home appreciation in Barrington came in at 144% growing from $180,000 to $440,000 respectively.
But from 2007 to August of 2012, the median home value in Barrington depreciated 21.5%. It appears this may be a trend. The most recent period from 2011 to August 2012 show that the median home price continued to drop by another 6.5%.
Source: Barrington Tax Assessor
The top 30% of homes in town represents almost 60% of the taxable income. Our town council needs to pay more attention to this unforgiving math given the trend appears negative.