Massachusetts: residents vote yes for recreation center.

The town of Sharon, Mass., Recreation Department has a reason to celebrate after a January 31st vote at the polls requesting $9 million to renovate its 37,000 square-foot community center. The residents of the town gave a 66 percent "yes" vote to the project. In a time of financial concerns throughout the Commonwealth, the residents of Sharon believed in their recreation department and the purpose of their community center.

The community center will have a complete rehab with construction beginning in this month and scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2007. The building will include a new senior center on the garden floor, large multi-purpose room, exercise room, ballroom, commercial kitchen, arts and crafts room, music room, performing arts room, several meeting rooms, recreation offices and town offices. The upgrades will also include state-of-the-art technology, recreation software, and new furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Recreation, parks, and leisure services are important to the quality of life of all people. Often, the recreation department is the first cut when budgets get crunched, or the last invested in when it comes to new buildings and new facilities. This victory for the little town of Sharon, Mass., serves as a reminder that even during financially stressed times people can still see just how important recreation and leisure is in their lives.

Melissa Lothrop, CPRP