MECHANIC FALLS — Councilors emphasized Monday night the town’s need to keep track of the recreation committee’s expenditures.

Councilor Nick Konstantoulakis, who is the council’s liaison to the recreation committee, said the committee’s chairman, Justin Starbird, asked him if the committee “would be able to write their own checks.”

Town Manager Zakk Maher said, “Because they are a (town) chartered, established committee, they would have to follow the guidelines for purchasing adopted by the council,” which is the same for all committees and departments.

Those guidelines are that the town manager approves purchases over $250 and the council approves purchases over $500.

Council Chairperson Cathy Fifield said it is “our job to make sure the money comes in right.”

She added, “People come and go on the Recreation Committee,” and “the town will have records and the people will know how much money comes into the Rec Committee.”

Fifield said, “People have the right to know how much is being spent on the ball fields.”

She concluded  the committee is doing a good job, but on “the accounting piece of it, we have a responsibility as the Town Council to make sure our systems are in place.”

Konstantoulakis said the recreation committee “needs a budget,” and maybe its members could show up at the upcoming budget review sessions.

“My goal is make sure we don’t put them in a situation where we lose people with that amount of energy,” Maher said. “We don’t want them to burn out.”

In other matters:

• Paula Bolduc was reappointed to the Planning Board.

• It was announced the Red Cross bus will be at the Municipal Building parking lot Dec. 13 to conduct a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.