Block Island Times

Revenue, programs stalled at Recreation Department

The halt to virtually all Recreation Department programs for the past nine months has not only impacted the kids who participate in those programs, but also department heads and the revenue that helps keeps its slate of activities afloat.
With continued restrictions on activities, Recreation Department Director Dave Sniffen and Assistant Director Cindy Lemon have been reassigned to other departments to help with town projects outside the department. Sniffen, for instance, is working with Facilities Manager Sam Bird, and Lemon is in the Town Clerk’s office. Sniffen said he has been taking online courses and seminars to receive certification in coaching.
The decline in revenue is due to the fact races, such as the annual Triathlon, were cancelled, and revenue-producing rentals, such as showers at the Beach Pavilion, were unavailable this past season. Sniffen said that overall revenue was down about 30 percent — less than the 50 percent decline that had been anticipated. Sniffen said the department usually takes in about $100,000 in the summer, and this year it was about $70,000, but all sources of revenue had not been added up yet.
The Recreation Department’s budget this year is $417,815. As he begins to think about

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