Rec board rejects earlier closing time for parks

Jun. 22—BEVERLY — The city's Parks and Recreation Commission has rejected a proposal by Mayor Mike Cahill for an earlier closing time at all city parks in response to neighbors' complaints about noise and late-night activity.

Cahill submitted a proposed ordinance change to the commission that would establish a uniform year-round closing time of 8 p.m. or dusk, whichever is later, at all parks. The current rules allow parks to remain open until 10 p.m. from April through September.

Instead, the commission voted 4-0 last week to keep the hours the same and even to extend them to 10 or 11 p.m. at lighted parks and playgrounds. The board also voted to eliminate the current $100 fine for violations.

Commission member Nancy Marino said she was surprised that the mayor proposed shutting all the parks down earlier.

"Could you imagine telling a family to leave because it's 8 o'clock?," Marino said.

Cahill said he proposed a uniform 8 p.m. or dusk closing time to the commission as a way to balance access to parks with the concerns of neighbors. He said most of the city's parks are nestled in neighborhoods or close to them.

"I asked them to look at the parks and try to find some uniformity and something that worked for all seasons," Cahill said. "None of us has the magic formula."

At the same time, Cahill said he understood the commission's concerns and said he is fine with the "status quo."

"We'll see where it goes next," he said.

Cahill said the vote by the Parks and Recreation Commission is a recommendation. Any change to park closing times would have to be approved by the City Council because they are included in the city ordinances.

Bruce Doig, the city's director of parks and recreation, said the debate about when parks should close was prompted by complaints from neighbors of Pete's Park about teenagers playing basketball at night. Pete's Park, which was dedicated in honor of ALS research advocate Pete Frates in 2019, is tucked in a neighborhood on Middlebury Lane in Centerville. Doig said some neighbors reported that teenagers were playing loud music and swearing during late-night basketball games and leaving trash behind.

Doig said the discussions over the problems at Pete's Park led to the proposal to change the hours at all of the parks in the city.

"We realize the need for kids to be outside and be active," Doig said. "We're trying to make it easier for everybody, both the neighbors and the kids."

The ordinance that was rejected by the recreation commission would have established a year-round uniform closing time of 8 p.m. or dusk, whichever is later, at all city parks. The Department of Parks and Recreation could issue a permit to allow parks to be open outside those hours, but not later than 10 p.m.

The current ordinance sets seasonal hours for the parks — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. from April 1 to Sept. 30, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Oct. 1 to March 31. Organized leagues that operate at lighted parks, like Beverly Little League at Harry Ball Park, can play up until 10 p.m. with a permit from the city.

Ward 6 City Councilor Dominic Copeland, who represents the neighborhood where Pete's Park is located, said he favors Pete's Park having a closing time of dusk. But he said he does not support a "one size fits all" approach to all of the city's parks. McPherson Youth Center, which has lights for its basketball court, should stay open later, he said.

"That's the only place kids can really go (to play basketball) where it's not really abutting a neighborhood," Copeland said. "You can be there at 10 o'clock at night and you're fine. Pete's Park is different. It's almost like someone's backyard. There are no lights, so if you're at Pete's Park at 10 o'clock at night, that's a problem."

Marino said most the complaints have come from the Pete's Park neighborhood, and that not every park should have to shut down early.

"For many of these kids the only open space or green space is the playgrounds," she said. "You're going to put it on police to remove everyone from a playground at 8 p.m. on a 90-degree summer night?"

Doig said the city would have to figure out issues of staffing and costs in order to keep the lights on later at McPherson Youth Center and Balch Playground for kids to play basketball. The YMCA has been managing McPherson Youth Center for years under an agreement with the city. And Doig said the lights at Balch have not been turned on for 10 years.

Marino said Balch gets a lot of use and that she has seen kids playing in the dark.

"They just want to play basketball," she said. "We need to make sure it's lighted for them."

Copeland said he was concerned that teenagers aren't being given a voice in the decisions over how to best use the city's parks and playgrounds.

"They need a place to go because if you keep pushing them away from the positive they're going to fly right into the negative," he said.

Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.