Beverly Pete's Park Hoop Dispute Leads To Confrontation

BEVERLY, MA — A dispute between park neighbors of Pete's Park and students organizing regular 3-on-3 basketball games took a confrontational turn on Saturday when Mayor Mike Cahill described an attempted mediation effort as one that "did not go as we would hope such conversations would."

Cahill apologized to the students and parents on behalf of the city and Community Services Director Bruce Doig for the interaction and said the city will revisit the permitting process for its parks located in residential areas.

"Since a number of our parks are located in smaller spaces within or adjacent to residential neighborhoods we are sensitive to parking limitations and noise impacts in these spaces," Cahill wrote in a letter to the community, "and we've tried to avoid permitting larger organized gatherings and events.

"In the wake of the events Saturday, valid points have been made that these parks are public and they need to be kept available as such."

Cahill praised the organizers of the games as "trying to provide a fun, positive experience for their peers" and said, "this is a time and attention well spent."

While Cahill said the city takes responsibility for Saturday's less-than-ideal interaction, he asked that personal attacks on the city official be tempered.

"Criticism directed at me and Mr. Doig is fair," he said. "However, I am concerned by the vitriol that has been directed at Mr. Doig. He is a good person and a passionate, longtime advocate for the people and public spaces of Beverly."

Cahill asked that anyone unhappy with what occurred Saturday, or who would like to have input on the park permitting process, contact his office at mayorcahill@beverlyma.gov.

"We look forward to meeting with the three student organizers this week and we will together do our best to turn this into a positive experience," Cahill said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)