Recreation Departments (Worcester, Cambridge, Quincy: school, subsidized, live in)

[airunxc]

I've notice a huge difference in towns recreation offerings. Some with very few (or none) and others with all kinds of sports, different ages, even some for adults. Curious what towns people think have the best recreation offerings/departments? Obviously bigger towns have more than smaller towns.

[porterhouse]

Cambridge’s rec department does an excellent job serving its residents. They offer a wide breadth of opportunities for both children and adults. Most recently they offered an outdoor afternoon rec program for children during the pandemic. Most Cambridge children were not in school for the better part of the year and have a little social contact with other children. This program was open to all, free, and a godsend for some. One could live in Cambridge for years and still discover new opportunities provided by the city.

[mdovell]

I think it might be a blend of the buildings and parks dept. Some think baseball fields are parks. Unless you have a commission with a commissioner it's hard to call it parks dept.

If look park is considered part of Northampton's town then I would say them. Plymouth has a large one as well and Lexington

Sometimes there's overlapping with activity. Look at Yoga. I've seen COA's offer yoga and libraries and rec depts.

[johngolf]

Towns place different things in/under budget items so the line items must be looked at. In my town, Elder Services comes under Parks and Recreation.

[Foxboro]

Unlike many other states, most recreation departments in Massachusetts are expected to be partially of fully self supporting through user fees. While most parks departments tend to be 100% funded out of a municipal operating budget (taxpayer subsidized). In general, the more the community values recreation and the more recreational facilities that it has to manage, the larger the department. Typically, the more affluent or tourism dependent the community is, the more recreation facilities and programs it has to offer. Although some cities like Worcester & Quincy have a lot of programs and facilities. There are many great recreation departments in the state, but I would say communities like Lexington, Plymouth, Barnstable, Brookline & Hingham are some of the best.