Somerset Recreation Board Approves Staff Pay Raises
Other Committee · Meeting of May 13, 2026
Somerset Recreation Commission raises summer staff pay and fields a pickleball complaint over a $45,000 court repair. Commissioners approved $2-and-$1-an-hour raises for program directors Chandra Eastwood (to $23) and Josh Franco (to $22), the latter on a 5-0 vote, and promoted Claire Sousa to beach supervisor at $18 an hour ahead of the Memorial Day, May 25 season opening. The board also approved a Cornerstone Church picnic permit ($100) and a Jennifer Shea birthday party permit ($200) at Pierce Beach, a wiffle ball league proposed by Lucas Crook, and an eight-week, $40-per-player kickball league at O'Neill Field starting June 12.
Resident Diane Heath told the board the $45,000 Pierce Beach court repair left cracks that make pickleball unsafe, saying "I really don't think it is that safe to play over there"; Director Barry Fontaine and commissioner Jeff Kudlow said the funding only covered crack-filling, not full resurfacing.
In the full story:
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Source: the Other Committee meeting of May 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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