Orleans Recreation Committee Approves Minutes, Hears Eldridge Park and Skate Park Updates

ORLEANS -- May 28, 2026, Orleans Recreation Committee hears Eldridge Park design update, skate park governance question, and disclosure of a $150,000 anonymous donation offer. Meeting May 28 in the Skaket Room, the committee received a working-schematic presentation from Regan Riella, Senior Project Manager and Landscape Architect with Leslie Sampson, detailing changes to the Eldridge Park renovation plan, including a 10-foot center promenade, an accessible pickleball court, eight-foot interior tennis court fencing, and a contested sandbox versus sand-table question for the playground. Volunteer manager Erica of NASA Together We Can raised the question of whether Orleans, Brewster, and East Ham should assume direct municipal management of the Finch Skate Park, which the three towns collectively fund at $8,900 per year and which sits on expiring school district land. Recreation Director Tom's monthly report noted 657 summer registrations totaling $29,000, a town-wide yard sale set for June 27 and 28, and a free weekly beach Pilates program launching this summer. Tom disclosed that an anonymous donor has committed $150,000 to the Recreation Department but cannot transfer the funds until a 501(c)(3) entity is established to receive them.