[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Franklin 12-18-1967 as Ch. 9 of the 1967 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks — See Ch. 278.
A municipal department which shall be designated as the "Board of Recreation Commissioners of the Township of Franklin" be and the same is hereby established in and for said Township.
[Amended 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-3-2008]
A. 
Said Board of Recreation Commissioners shall have charge of and conduct all parks, open places for public rests and recreation, including lakes, which shall be located within the Township and to which the Township has acquired or may hereafter acquire title, by conveyance, lease or condemnation, and shall lay out and maintain the same in the manner which shall seem best to the Board, under such rules and regulations as the Board may hereafter adopt. Said Board shall compromise the administrative and supervisory activities of said Township in connection with the development, improvement and maintenance of all park, playground, lake or other recreation facilities now or hereafter established and located within the boundaries of said Township.
B. 
Said Board shall have charge of and supervise all sports leagues and other athletic organizations, as well as cultural and senior citizen organizations and events which are sponsored by the Township and/or utilize Township property or facilities.
A. 
Said Board of Recreation Commissioners shall be composed of seven persons, who shall be citizens and residents of the Township of Franklin, and said members of said Board shall be appointed by the Township Committee at the annual meeting of said Committee. The Commissioners first appointed shall hold office as follows: one for one year, one for two years, one for three years, two for four years and two for five years, respectively, and thereafter all appointments shall be made for the term of five years from the date or dates of their appointment and until their superiors are appointed and qualified; vacancies on said Board shall be filled for the unexpired term only. The terms of office of the Commissioners first appointed hereunder shall begin upon the day of appointment and continue for the aforesaid respective periods from the first day of January succeeding such appointment, and the terms of said appointees are to be designated in their respective appointments.
B. 
The governing body may appoint three alternate members to the Board of Recreation Commissioners of the Township of Franklin. Such alternate members shall be designated by the Chairman of the Board as "Alternate No. 1," "Alternate No. 2" and "Alternate No. 3," and each member shall serve in rotation during the absence or disqualification of any member or members. The term of each alternate member shall be one year.
[Added 1-13-1981 by Ord. No. O-1-81]
The members of the Board shall serve without compensation, and they shall annually from their own number select a President, Vice President and Secretary.
Said Board shall meet regularly at least once each month in connection with the performance of their duties and for the consideration of the matters affecting public parks, playgrounds, lake and other recreational facilities in the Township of Franklin. They shall adopt rules and regulations for the purpose of facilitating the work of their department and for the purpose of regulating the conduct of the meetings of said Board.
Said Board of Recreation Commissioners shall from time to time formulate plans for the development and improvement of the public park, playground, lake and other recreational facilities now or hereafter acquired by said Township; shall propose methods or arrangements for the proper maintenance and care of such lands and the improvement thereon; shall formulate rules and regulations for the public use of such park, playground, lake and other recreational facilities within the Township of Franklin and recommend to the Township Committee in writing the amounts necessary to be raised for said purpose, and the Township Committee shall not raise any money for park, playground, lake or other recreational facilities either by issuance of bonds or by taxation except upon and after recommendation by said Board of Recreation Commissioners. All recommendations of said Board involving the expenditure of moneys shall be submitted to the Township Committee prior to the introduction and formal consideration of the annual budget. The sum actually raised by the Township Committee in any year shall not in any case exceed the sum recommended by the Board, but the Township Committee may raise any lesser amounts.
[Amended 6-10-1980 by Ord. No. O-14-80]
A. 
The Board of Recreation Commissioners shall have the power and authority to arrange and provide for the giving of indoor and outdoor exhibitions, concerts, games, contests and sporting events and shall have full control over all public parks, playgrounds, lakes and other recreation areas acquired or leased by the Township, and may adopt suitable rules, regulations and bylaws for the use thereof and the conduct of all persons while on or using the same.
B. 
Any rules, regulations and bylaws affecting any recreational facility shall be conspicuously posted, and any person who shall violate any such rule, regulation or bylaws shall be deemed to have violated this chapter and, upon conviction thereof, shall, for each offense, be liable to a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days, or both.
C. 
The Board of Recreation Commissioners shall have the power and authority to review any and all requests to utilize Township property or facilities by sports leagues or other athletic organizations, by cultural and senior citizen organizations, and by any outside vendor seeking a concession contract. Said Board shall be required to give approval before any alterations shall be made to any Township property or facility unless such approval is first given by the Superintendent of Public Works.
[Added 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-3-2008]
D. 
The Board of Recreation Commissioners shall have the power and authority to oversee and monitor all sports leagues and other athletic organizations, as well as cultural and senior citizen organizations, which are sponsored by the Township and/or utilize Township property; said Board may require reporting and attendance at Board meetings from representatives of such leagues/organizations, may review, approve, reject or require the amendment of the bylaws of each league/organization and may, at its own discretion, assume control of a league/organization if, after a Board hearing on notice to those affected, it is determined that substantial misconduct or misappropriation of money or property has occurred.
[Added 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-3-2008]
The custodians, supervisors and assistants appointed by the Board shall, while on duty and for the purpose of preserving order and the observance of the rules, regulations and bylaws of the Board, have all the power and authority of police officers of the Township of Franklin.
The Township Committee shall provide a suitable office for the Board of Recreation Commissioners.
[Amended 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-3-2008]
Said Board shall have the full and complete authority and power, subject to the approval of the Township Committee, to expend the moneys raised for the park and playground, lake and other recreational facilities, other than for the acquisition of land, and all money so raised for such purposes shall be paid out by the Township Treasurer upon the warrant of the said Board of Recreation Commissioners, signed by its President and attested by its Secretary, and approved by the Township Committee. Said Board shall have the full and complete authority and power, with the approval of the Township Committee, to expend moneys, at its own discretion, for sports leagues, athletic organizations, and cultural and senior citizen organizations, which are sponsored by the Township and/or utilize Township property and facilities, in the same manner as set forth above. However, said Board shall not have power or authority to incur any obligation in the name of or for the account of the Township or Township Committee except as authorized from time to time by the Township Committee and the provisions of this chapter.