Candidates' Night Part 3: Recreation Commission

Two newcomers and two incumbents addressed the audience and answered questions Thursday night during the Recreation Commission segment of Wayland’s 62nd Annual Candidates’ Night.

Stas Gayshan and Thurston “Brud” Wright are the incumbents, while Mark Lucier and Gary Carvalho are running as challengers.

The questions Thursday night ranged from relinquishing recreation land for affordable housing to the benefits and drawbacks of artificial turf.

The general feeling of the candidates seemed to be support for affordable housing, but a sense of responsibility to reserve recreation lands for recreation, both current and for the future.

“I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to those that put land under recreation,” Wright said. “I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask recreation to give up land for some other use in town.”

Gayshan added that the Recreation Commission is facing both a present a need for space, as well as a future need as laid out by the recreation master plan. He said he would want to look carefully at future recreation needs before giving up recreation land.

As the town looks at new athletic fields for both youth and adult use, the candidates said they would be open to the option of turf rather than natural grass.

“From a use standpoint it’s a great way to go,” Lucier said of turf, adding that the expense is a drawback. “It’s a consideration, certainly.”

Carvalho pointed out that turf would help alleviate some of the use problems currently plaguing Wayland’s fields, but “It isn’t meant for every location.”

The candidates also agreed that communication is a key element – and perhaps a key concern – during the transition to separate the Recreation Commission from the town’s Department of Public Works.

This is the third of three articles recapping the action form Candidates’ Night 2012. Part 1, covering the Housing Authority, is available here. Part 2, covering the Board of Selectmen, is available here.