[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of New Castle 11-14-1972 by L.L. No. 4-1972; amended in its entirety 10-23-2007 by L.L. No.
14-2007. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Park and recreation rules — See Ch. A143.
There is hereby created and established in and
for the Town of New Castle, pursuant to Article 13, General Municipal
Law, a commission to be known as the "New Castle Parks and Recreation
Commission," which shall have all the powers and be subject to all
responsibilities given to, imposed on or required of such Commission
under the appropriate laws of the State of New York.
The purposes and objectives of the Commission
shall be as follows:
A.
To plan and provide opportunities for the residents
of the Town for recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment through participation
in a wide variety of programs of a recreational nature.
B.
To study the recreational and parks needs and resources
of the Town.
C.
To achieve maximum return from moneys expended for
such programs by encouraging broad use of such programs, by good management
and prudent selection of such programs, and by establishing an appropriate
division between tax-supported, partially tax-supported, and self-sustaining
programs.
D.
To encourage recreational programs and activity, whether
directly sponsored by the Commission or otherwise.
E.
To encourage broad community participation in its
programs and coordinate its policies and activities with those of
the Town Board (and other Town bodies or agencies charged with the
administration of the Town park system), the Planning Board, the Zoning
Board of Appeals, and the Conservation Board and with the various
school districts lying wholly or partly within the boundaries of the
Town.
A.
The Commission shall consist of seven members, who
shall be residents of the Town. They shall serve without compensation,
shall not be eligible for reappointment except for a full term immediately
following appointment to an unexpired term, and shall be appointed
by the Town Board to serve a term of seven years or until their successors
are appointed.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also noted that
the initial Commission members' terms expired sequentially on December
31 in each of the following years: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978,
and 1979.
B.
Vacancies in the Commission shall be filled by appointment
by the Town Board in the same manner as original appointments and,
where occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, shall be for
the unexpired term of office.
C.
The Commission may, at its discretion, advise the
Town Board of a member who misses three consecutive regular meetings
or more than four meetings of any kind during a calendar year.
D.
The Chairman shall be the executive officer of the
Commission. He or she shall preside at meetings of the Commission.
He or she may appoint committees, with Commission approval, with such
duties as he or she may lawfully prescribe.
A.
The members of the Commission shall annually, during
the first week in February, select from their number a Chairman, a
Secretary, and such other officers as they shall deem necessary, who
shall serve for terms of one year from their election or until their
successors are elected or chosen. The Commission shall hold at least
one regular meeting every three months and preferably will hold a
regular meeting on the first Thursday of each month, which shall be
open to the public; and it shall adopt rules of procedure for the
conduct of all business within its jurisdiction and consistent herewith,
and such rules shall thereafter be and continue in effect except as
modified, changed, or amended by the Commission.
B.
The Secretary shall take and keep in a proper book
true and correct minutes of all meetings, shall notify members of
the time and place of all meetings, and shall, in general, perform
the duties incident to the office.
The Commission shall have the power and the
responsibility, within and under Article 13 of the General Municipal
Law of New York and this chapter, for the following functions:
A.
The equipping, operating and maintaining of such facilities,
sites, premises or buildings as shall be designated by the Town Board
as a playground or a recreation center or a park to be administered
by the Commission. Nothing herein shall be construed to require the
Town Board to designate any premises, facility, site, park or building
to be so administered or operated.
B.
The planning for future recreation and parks needs
of the Town and the review and study of such needs and the Town's
resources, considering in this connection such matters as recommendations
from interested groups or citizens, the moneys made available by the
Town Board, the facilities and physical configuration of the Town
and its various geographical and overall requirements, the availability
of programs and personnel and other matters pertinent thereto. The
Commission shall be charged with executing such plans and establishing
such programs as it may have funds available therefor.
C.
The operation and maintenance of, and the making,
publishing and amending of rules and regulations governing the use
of, such sites, premises, facilities, parks or buildings; and the
conducting of recreational programs at such locations in such fashion
or place as the Commission may decide. The power to make, publish
and amend rules and regulations shall include the power, within the
limits of applicable laws, to exclude violators of such rules, individuals
who fail to pay fees established for entry to such facilities or programs,
and nonresidents of the Town from such locations, facilities, or programs.
Any rules and regulations made, published or amended by the Commission
that are approved by the Town Board shall have the same force and
effect as if same had been adopted by the Town Board and may be enforced
through issuance of appearance tickets under Article 150 of the Criminal
Procedure Law.
[Amended 6-8-2010 by L.L. No. 4-2010]
D.
The establishment and collection of fees for the use
of any such facilities or programs and/or the acceptance of moneys
by way of gift, devise or bequest from any source to be used for recreational
or other purposes within the power and responsibility of the Commission.
Any moneys so received, on collection by a Commission representative
or Town employee, shall be deposited with the Town Comptroller to
the Commission's account, to be withdrawn and paid out in the same
manner as other moneys appropriated for recreational purposes. The
Town Board shall specify and prescribe the procedures which the Commission
or Town employees shall follow herein in conformity with its authority
in this area.
E.
The acceptance and use, subject to the approval of
the Town Board, of 1) any grant or devise of real estate solely for
playground, park or recreational use; or 2) any grant, devise or bequest
of money or personal property for temporary or permanent use for playground,
park, recreation or other authorized purposes within the power of
the Commission; provided, however, that neither the Commission nor
Town employees may expend any Town moneys to solicit such donations.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by L.L. No. 5-2023]
F.
The preparation and submission to the Town Board, annually by October 1 of each year, of a recommended budget of expenditures for recreational and park development purposes for the coming year, which budget may be approved, in whole or in part, or added to as determined by the Town Board. Such budget shall clearly show proposed allocated costs of and proposed expenditures for proposed programs and shall include the information required under Subsection G below for the annual report, to the extent available at that time.
G.
The making, submitting and filing of a detailed annual
report to and with the Town Board with respect to its activities during
any calendar year, not later than three months after the conclusion
of such calendar year. Such report shall include, without being limited
to, the following:
(1)
A description of each program conducted by the Commission,
and how conducted.
(2)
The number of attendees and the persons served thereby
or participating therein, separated into categories of youth and adult.
(3)
The location of the activity.
(4)
The expenditure of funds thereon, classified as to
source or sources thereof.
(5)
The degree to which the program is tax (or fee) supported.
H.
The recommendation to the Town Board, from time to
time, of joint recreational programs with neighboring municipalities
and/or any of the school districts lying wholly or in part within
the Town, within the limitations of § 244 of the General
Municipal Law.
I.
The employment and dismissal of such persons as may
be needed to carry out the provisions of this chapter or for other
lawful purposes within the confines of the law and incidental to the
function of the Commission, within such budgetary limitations as the
Town Board shall prescribe, including play leaders, playground directors,
supervisors, secretaries and/or other clerical or maintenance personnel;
provided, however, that the Town Board shall be responsible for employment
and dismissal of full-time permanent Recreation and Parks Department
staff and that:
(1)
Job descriptions defining the scope of the powers
and duties of the positions and wage or salary ranges or compensation
of any person to be employed by the Commission have been developed
by the Commission and approved by the Town Board and are in conformance
with any applicable civil service regulations.
(2)
The Commission shall clearly describe the respective
area of operation of the Commission and of the Superintendent of Recreation,
who shall be appointed by the Town Board to administer the policies
of the Commission and to perform such other duties and have such other
responsibilities as the Town Board may assign, and who shall have,
under general Commission supervision, responsibility for the direction
of the programs and facilities established and used by the Commission,
but who shall not have power to act in place of or exercise the authority
of the Commission.
J.
The contracting to or licensing of individuals, within
such budgetary limits as the Town Board shall prescribe, who are not
or are not to be employees of the Town, for the operation of facilities
or for the conduct of programs, in whole or in part, and the sale,
under concession, of refreshments in conjunction with recreation purposes.
K.
The use of services of volunteers, without compensation,
in the conduct of recreation programs as the Commission may, on recommendation
of the Superintendent of Recreation, determine.
L.
The purchase, lease, rental or borrowing of equipment
or other material or property from others for recreational and park
use or the contracting of construction or reconstruction of facilities
or sites, provided that the expenditures for such purposes of any
money in excess of the Town's procurement policy then in effect must
have prior approval of the Town Board, and further provided that expenditures
for these purposes shall be within the budgetary limitations prescribed
for the Commission by the Town Board and shall conform to the procedures
for bidding or purchase which are or shall be prescribed by the Town
Board and New York State law.
M.
The authorizing of expenditures of money within the
Commission's budgetary and other limitations, on certification by
the Superintendent or other authorized representative, through voucher
or other regularly prescribed accounting procedures, that such expenditure
is appropriate and lawful.
