by Lonnie Brennan
GEORGETOWN – Members of the Georgetown Park and Recs. Commission expressed excitement last week as they discussed new possibilities for the town, thanks to Jim Bussing’s donation plans.
In March we reported on a $1 million gift planned by former resident Jim Busssing. Since then, Mr. Bussing has experienced “frustration” with the town, which took almost seven months to begin the process to legally accept his donation. He was also frustrated with the selectman’s office for allowing this to happen, and the accumulation of engineering bills which went unpaid for months.
Apparently, in December of 2025, Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco chose a design firm for the rec. area, and signed an $8,500 contract with them.
Unfortunately, the contract Pacheco signed was unfunded by the Bussing money at that time (the Town did not sign a contract with Bussing for Bussing’s donation until three months later, and did not set up the donation account until seven months later), so when the town received their first engineering bill dated February 11, 2026, the firm had to wait. The bill sat unpaid until September.
It was later learned that the contract was open-ended (allowing additional billing for time and expense), signed only by the town administrator, and allowed the engineering firm’s billing to double the stated amount: The firm’s first invoice was in excess of $10,000, and ended up costing $17,090 when it was paid in September. While plans for court type and locations shifted over time, the number was “surprising” to the parties involved for design work, not actual engineering work.
Despite all that, Mr. Bussing is looking forward to the eventual construction of three tennis courts at the Bussing Recreation Center off East Main Street and a stand-alone pickle ball court. It was the proposal of those three courts which led to last week’s discussion by the Park & Rec. Commission to re-purpose the old two tennis courts at American Legion Park (ALP).
“Mr. Bussing is giving an opportunity here to reconfigure the offerings down there,” Chair Mike Donahue said, “as we look forward, now is the time to consider the possibilities at ALP.”
In place of the old courts, long-term member Dave Schauer said the baseball area and batting cages could be re-addressed and reconfigured. Alternatively, he spoke about the possibility of placing a dirt bike area there, similar to the one on Rte. 97 in Topsfield. “It’s low maintenance, and the kids love it. Just drive down there and you see the moms sitting on the picnic tables and the kids having a great time” Schauer said.
Fellow board member John Dunlevy discussed the pros and cons of the reconfiguration of the tennis courts, and expressed his excitement at the possibilities for the town in converting the courts to other uses.
NEW YEAR’S EVE BONFIRE
Fire Chief Matt McKay was on hand to discuss the Park and Rec.’s upcoming bonfire. Donahue, said that they have “set the “ignition time for between 4:30- and 5:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve” for this third annual event which will be held at the Bussing Recreation Center. The board discussed pre and post bonfire prep and cleanup activities.
The need for clean dry wood was discussed, and wood donations will be sought. Former selectman Alan Aulson was at the meeting and offered a tremendous amount of nearly tree-length pine cutoffs from his farm, which was enthusiastically received by the commission.
STOCKING OF THE POND
At Aulson’s request, the commission discussed the stocking of the old quarry ponds adjacent to the Bussing Recreational Area.
Chief McKay who was there for the bonfire discussion, weighed in by sharing that he grew up in the area, and there was always great fishing there. He said they stopped stocking the pond perhaps 15 or so years ago. He didn’t know why. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife stocks more than 450 lakes, ponds, and rivers across more than 260 towns with more than 400,000 trout each spring, and approximately 70,000 each fall. They just stocked Stiles Pond in Boxford on Sept. 28, and Baldpate Pond on Oct. 13, according to
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/trout-stocking-report.
“I think it’s another great resource in this town that we can look into reviving, and with ready access, it will be a great place for kids and their parents to go and fish like they used to so long ago,” Aulson said.
The commission agreed and gave their unanimous support to Aulson to pursue stocking of the ponds. “We’re very thankful as a commission to Mr. Aulson for his efforts to improve the parks and recreation areas,” chair Donahue shared.
ROWLEY LANDING
Former Selectman Gary Fowler asked for the status of the use of the Rowley Landing boat launch area by Georgetown residents, a right which former commission chairman Jim Dimento has vigorously pursued for years. Georgetown finally reached agreement for residents to launch their boats from the area, but have been denied the right to park their vehicles.
The commission discussed the matter and stated that they are continuing the fight to ensure fair use of the area, as it was tradition and enshrined in legal proceedings long ago.
