Arnold Council seeks to formally appoint a recreation commission

Arnold Council is moving to formalize recreation activities by creating a city recreation commission.

The move is intended to create a formal, legal body to plan, sponsor, sanction and oversee recreation activities in the city’s name and act as an advisory group to council.

“Right now, the city is not operating a committee or a commission that has anything to do with recreation,” Solicitor Jaclyn Shaw told a group of about 25 residents at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Mayor Joseph Bia said the city had an “events committee” made up of volunteers appointed by council, some of whom were not city residents, that was involved with planning recreational activities. It was created in 2018 by a simple council vote and then became known as the recreation committee.

However, Shaw said, that carried no weight under Pennsylvania’s Third Class City Code, which calls for establishing a recreation commission. She said that is done by council enacting an ordinance to that effect, which was never done.

“That committee never had the endorsement of the City of Arnold,” Shaw said.

“The reason we formed the committee was to have some control over things,” Councilman Philip McKinley said.

He said it was an attempt to ensure that money being raised through events aimed at boosting recreation in the city was not tampered with or siphoned off. The money was to be deposited into a city account accessed through a checkbook kept in the treasurer’s office.

Councilman George Hawdon said the recreation committee was disbanded when city officials found out that the checkbook was actually being kept in the home of one of the committee members who lived in Lower Burrell.

Bia said that happened four years ago. Since then, events have been held by groups who schedule use of Roosevelt Park and the 18th Street ball field through city hall.

Shaw said a recreation commission must comprise five or seven members, all of whom are city residents. She said they would be appointed to five-year, staggered terms.

McKinley voiced concern about whether enough city residents would seek appointment to a recreation commission. He said a recent meeting to gauge interest in forming a recreation body attracted only 15 people, and not all of them were from Arnold.

But noncity residents who have shown interest in developing a recreation program or holding events would not be shut out of participating as volunteers, Shaw said.

“People can volunteer for any activity the recreation commission is a part of,” Shaw said.

She also said having a commission would not prohibit nonprofit organizations outside the city from holding events at city facilities.

“This (commission) would make it easier for them to find someone who can help them organize events,” Shaw said.

Several items on the agenda related to the issue were tabled by council pending the drafting of an ordinance to create a recreation commission.

In the meantime, Shaw said, events already scheduled can proceed — provided the groups holding them can produce a required proof of insurance coverage to protect them from liability claims.