Board of Selectmen Reclaims Little Park, Forms Memorial Committee After Months of Dispute

NORTH BROOKFIELD -- December 30, 2025, North Brookfield Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to remove the town's "little park" from Parks and Recreation Committee oversight and create a new North Brookfield Memorial Park Committee. Board of Selectmen member Jamie Gilman delivered a prepared statement acknowledging the board, Parks and Recreation Chair Brandon Avery, and donor John Trip had all mishandled a dispute over a memorial picnic table removed on safety grounds, saying two men he admired were "feeling unappreciated and disrespected." The board accepted the Trip family's donation of the table for reinstallation with a new memorial plaque, appointed John Trip as the committee's first member, and tabled Avery's resignation, effective January 1, in hopes he will reconsider. The board also approved warrants totaling more than $1.1 million and accepted a $100 donation from the East Quabin Land Trust.