By Kim Siebert MacPhail
Tara Capobianco of Donovan Drive, a member of the now-disbanded Outdoor Recreation Area Study Committee (ORASC), has been named by Selectmen to serve on the Recreation Commission. Prior to the Selectmen’s unanimous vote of support for Capobianco’s appointment, Selectmen liaison to the Rec Commission, Caroline Fedele, said she believed ORASC’s research on athletic field inventory and conditions made Capobianco a highly knowledgeable nominee.
“Tara has been deeply involved in the fields situation and fields go hand-in-hand with what the Recreation Commission discusses. That’s an added value that Tara brings,” Fedele said.
Asked to describe the reasons she applied to serve, Capobianco said that she had been “heavily involved in ORASC” and wanted to work to make sure there was “oversight on the recreation side of what we do in this town.”
“I think it’s great, all the programs that we’ve implemented recently for adults and finding things for kids to do that are active and interesting develops camaraderie and a sense of community that brings a lot of different people together who might not otherwise spend time together. I feel the Rec is an integral part of what our community is and what makes it special. I’ve enjoyed the time that I spent on ORASC and interacting with all the different committees. I wanted to stay involved,” Capobianco said.
Selectman Mark Siegenthaler asked Capobianco if she had any specific thoughts about Springs Brook Park. “It continues to need attention,” Siegenthaler said, referring to ongoing water clarity issues.
Capobianco answered that she believes Springs Brook Park is “a wonderful town resource” and that trying to “keep the Park open and viable makes sense, but we also have to look at the dollars and cents of it.”
“I understand that you can have your dream ideal of what Springs Brook Park should be –or what any Rec program should be. But, you really do have to mind the money. We’re a fiscally sound town and we want to continue that, all the way down to Rec and Springs Brook Park. We need to run the numbers and make sure that [keeping it open] makes sense for the town,” Capobianco concluded.
Capobianco will serve a term that expires at the end of June 2014. It was noted by Selectman Fedele that Capobianco filed her Rec Commission application last March and that the intension had been to fill the Commission’s vacant seat sooner. No explanation was provided for why the appointment interview was delayed.
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