Three candidates, incumbents Cynthia Chaston and Michelle Geddes and challenger Jit Basak, are vying for two available seats on the Park and Recreation Commission in the April 8 town election. There was significant agreement among them in the March 18 League of Women Voters forum, where the conversation was more about rec than park.
Chaston, a longtime member of several town committees and treasurer of the Charles River Center’s Board of Directors, said her greatest interest lies in the town’s recreational spaces.
“We need an indoor recreation space. We really need some kind of an active community center,” Chaston said. Along with indoor spaces, Chaston said she’s focused on new tennis courts for Needham High School, a softball field near Claxton Field and the continuation of the action park project.
All three candidates agreed about reworking outdoor recreational spaces, much of which is already being planned or built. Basak, who’s lived in Needham for 13 years, said expanding spaces for youths should be a priority. He also suggested encouraging engagement between youths and the town’s seniors.
“During the half day Wednesday, when students are wandering around the town, they’ll be involved in some activities where both students and seniors could benefit,” said Basak. He said creating more inclusive and accessible activities is a priority.
Incumbent Geddes elaborated on this goal, pointing out the possibility of collaborating with small businesses or vendors to create more spaces where young people can be supervised.
“I do feel that the middle school- and high school-age students that aren’t in formal programs are underserved currently,” she said. “There’s tendencies for that age group to roam.” She said it would be important to engage with the community in order to find opportunities for kids to be in places they would be anyway, but in a more “formal” way.
Geddes, a mother of young children, said she hopes to represent the needs of the community she’s been a part of for 40 years.
She had a couple of ideas for improving Needham’s existing park spaces. “The rail trail is fantastic,” Geddes said. She pointed to the potential of establishing connection points with Dover.
Basak mentioned a goal of opening up fields for longer periods throughout the year, and working closely with the Parks and Forestry Division in order to do so.
Early voting is underway at Town Hall. Election day is Tuesday, April 8.
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