Woburn Recreation Commission Supports Temporary Clapp Use Unanimously: Report

Photo Credit: Joe Lipovich (Patch Staff)

WOBURN, MA—It may have taken City Council two sessions to approve the temporary use of the vacant Clapp School facility, but the Recreation Commission was able to make quicker work of the decision.

According to a report by the Daily Times Chronicle, the Recreation Commission unanimously supported an order which allows the James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club to utilize the Clapp School building until July 15, 2017. The recreation commission, in exchange for its support of the order, will take control of a plot of municipal land known as Ryan Field, according to the Daily Times Chronicle report.

The Ryan Field plot is located off of Russell Street in the west side of the city. The commission's decision is not the final step, as the Massachusetts State Legislature needs to pass special act legislation allowing the Boys & Girls Club.

The decision comes just weeks after the Boys & Girls Club may have had to close its doors during its $8 million renovation. City Council voted 5-4 initially to not allow the temporary use of the school. However, Alderman Darlene Mercer-Bruen moved to reconsider her vote, and City Council voted to allow the use of the school for the Boys & Girls Club alone.

The Woburn Public Library, which was a part of the initial pitch for the temporary use of the school, is set to pursue other options while it undergoes renovations of its own.

The Recreation Commission was not immediately available for comment.