7077-R2_NewGloucester_2019_AnnualReport_Web

ANNUAL REPORT Parks & Recreation

Hello New Gloucester, my name is Morgan Rocheleau and I am the new Director of Parks & Recreation for the Town. I started in this role in late October, which created a gap in the leadership with the program as the longtime Director, Harvey Price, took an opportunity to move back to Ohio in July. If I had to describe the past year in one word I would say “transitional,” as much of my time during the past year has been about learning, creating and educating. It has been a great opportunity to become a part of this wonderful town. Although every day there was something new to learn, I have been very pleased about the progress and growth of the department. One of the first projects that I was able to jump into was working on the final stages of the Land & Water Conservation Fund grant that town received back in 2017 that brought us the pavilion and playground at the Fairgrounds Park. I was able to meet with the state to understand what final pieces of the grant need to be completed which lead to the installation of the accessibility ramp to the pavilion from the parking area. A big thank you is owed to the Public Works team who played a large role in making that that part of the project happen. The final assessment by the state of the project is scheduled for the end of the August. Another piece that was a focus over the first several months of the position was to meet with many of the stakeholders in the community. This included program instructors, members of the Parks & Recreation Committee, community partners, leadership at the schools and program participants. This was helpful in developing an understanding of the climate within the department and the community. Themain themes from those conversations were focused around improving the marketing of department as well as increasing the program offerings to the community as a whole. With that as a direction the department started working on several projects to address those concerns. In early February, the department transitioned to a new website. This has proven to be a great asset for the department on any levels, first it created a strong first impression with our participants as they found it to be much easier to use and navigate when compared to the old site. The new website also allows for the department to create new channels of communication with our community, especially with our monthly E-Newsletter functionality. With a lack of media outlets within the town, this feature has been instrumental in the growth of our programs. If you are interested in receiving the E-Newsletter, please visit our website www.ngrecreation.com to subscribe. The E-Newsletter that is distributed

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