Charter

Mission

The Parks and Recreation Commission (herein know as the “Commission”) was established, by Warrant Article on March 17th, 2001, to provide guidance and administrative assistance to the Town of Chichester Board of Selectmen for overseeing and supervising the management of the Town’s existing parks and recreational facilities and programs, and to determine and submit future planning considerations to promote and provide new Town facilities and programs to accommodate the outdoor activities and recreational needs of the community as a whole, exclusive of facilities and programs at Chichester Central School, SAU #53.

Membership

The Commission shall consist of seven (7) members and (2) two alternate members appointed by the Board of Selectmen one Selectmen who shall serve as an ex-officio and one non voting member of Chichester Youth Association (CYA).  All members, and alternate members, of the Commission shall be residents of the Town of Chichester. The term of office for a member, and alternate member, of the Commission, shall begin on a date established by the appointing authority and shall end 3 years after the date so established. The term of office of the members, and alternate members, shall be staggered and so arranged that the terms of approximately 1/3 of the members will expire each year.

An alternate member of the Commission may participate in meetings of the Commission as a non-voting member. Whenever a regular member of the Commission is absent or whenever a regular member disqualifies themselves, the Chairperson shall designate an alternate, if one is present, to act in the absent member's place. Such alternate shall be in all respects a full voting member of the Commission while he or she is sitting.

The Commission will elect, by a majority of the membership, a member to serve as Chairperson and a member to serve as a Vice-Chairperson, each for one year, or until their successors are elected. The Commission shall also elect a Secretary to serve for one year, or until their successor is elected.

The Vice-Chairperson shall preside in the absence of the Chairperson and shall have the full powers of the Chairperson on matters which come before the Commission in the absence of the Chairperson.

A majority of the membership of the Commission shall constitute the quorum necessary in order to transact business at any meeting. Any action by the Commission is not official unless authorized by a majority of the total membership.

Meetings

The Commission shall meet, at a minimum, quarterly beginning in January of each year, at a time and place as determined by the Chairperson. The posting of any meeting shall be as per RSA 91-A2 (II).  All regular meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public.

Minutes of any official meeting of the Commission will be kept in accordance with the Town of Chichester “Posting of Public Meetings and Access to Meeting Minutes Policy”. All Attendance must be verified by a roll call at the beginning of the meeting.

Finances

The Commission shall submit to the Board of Selectmen a proposed annual operating budget, in accordance with the Town’s budget schedule, which shall include, at a minimum, the necessary monies to maintain the existing Town parks and recreational facilities in a safe and well maintained condition.

The Commission may also include in the proposed annual operating budget, or as a warrant article, additional monies necessary to provide for upgrading existing facilities, or to provide for new Town park and recreational facilities as determined by the needs of the community as a whole.

The proposed annual operating budget and/or any warrant article submitted by the Commission shall be approved by a majority of the membership of the Commission. This will then be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen for review.

Operations

The administration of the day-to-day management and supervision of the Town's existing parks and recreational facilities and programs will be under the direction of the Commission, in consultation with the Board of Selectmen when necessary.

The Parks and Recreation Commission will continue to follow the guidance of the “Town of Chichester Future Management Plan For The Carpenter Memorial Center Properties” document signed by the Board of Selectmen May 2, 2006 regarding management of Carpenter Memorial Park and Center including coordination with the Chichester Conservation Commission 

Any requests to the Town for repairs or upgrading of existing facilities, or for the addition of new facilities at the Town's parks and recreation areas shall be submitted to the Commission for their review. The authorization to expend operating budget funds rest with the Chairperson of the Commission. The Chairperson shall only authorize the disbursement of the Commission operating budget funds in the manner previously approved by the Commission and consistent with the Town of Chichester Purchasing Policy

Revised and Adopted by the Board of Selectmen on June 18, 2019

Richard Bouchard, Chairman
Edward Millette
Jason Weir