Last week’s snowfall may well have sent some residents into their closets to rummage for mothballed cross-country skis and snowshoes, unused during last year’s near-snowless winter. But the commissioners of Parks and Rec want to save you the trouble.
At the commission’s regular biweekly meeting Monday night, Chair Bob O’Shea proposed that the self-service boat rental kiosk located at the town beach be reconfigured to dispense snowshoes and poles rather than kayaks and canoes. Boating equipment would be removed from the rental shed and replaced with snow gear. Residents would pay for its use with a credit card, as is currently done for boats during summer months.
“It sounds like it’s something that people would be interested in … everybody’s looking for something to do and to get out…[they’re] tired of being isolated,” agreed field liaison Keith Bilafer.
And there’s money available—enough, O’Shea estimates, for purchase of 24 sets of snowshoes and poles if they can be acquired at a cost of $100 per set. Add some dollars for additional padlocks and other modifications to the kiosk and the program could be launched for $2,500, he said. Users would provide their own boots, but the snowshoes would be available in small, medium, and large sizes to accommodate children and adults. The cost of renting snowshoes and poles would likely be set at $15 to $25 per day, rates comparable to those offered by Mass Audubon and other area renters of winter gear. Renters could hike trails near Bare Hill Pond, such as the Barba’s Point Trail behind Bromfield, or on conservation land elsewhere in town.
Money to purchase the equipment would come from the commission’s Other Recreation fund, which was left with a small windfall by last year’s ski program. Traditionally, the commission offers Bromfield students afternoon skiing and bus service to and from Wachusett Mountain ski area for a fee. Last year the commission collected $16,663, according to O’Shea, but spent only $12,570 to provide the service. With the bus service canceled due to COVID-19 rules, an extra $4,000 is available for other uses. Treasurer Doug Thornton would like to preserve some of that money for other winter-related activities, but agreed with fellow commissioners Bilafer, Michelle Lauria, and Mark Morin that a snowshoe rental program was worth a trial run.
The boat rental kiosk was a huge success this summer, O’Shea wrote the Press. It was “loved as a COVID escape,” he said. “I wanted to see if we could give citizens something similar in the winter.”
With the backing of his colleagues, O’Shea will present a formal proposal to the commission at its next meeting, Dec. 21. Suggestions are always welcome, O’Shea told the Press. Send them to harvardparksandrecreation@gmail.com.
