BANGOR – According to City Manager Ed Barrett, if the Palesky tax cap referendum is passed in November, there will be dire consequences for the city’s parks and recreation program.

“We’d end up with a parks system that was not maintained at the level our citizens have come to expect,” Barrett said Monday at a Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting. “It’s to the point where I foresee we’d only be able to mow the parks once in a while.”

The Parks and Recreation Department has a budget of about $1.2 million, of which $375,000 is spent every year on parks maintenance.

While programs such as Sawyer Arena and the Bangor Municipal Golf Course pay for themselves, others generate fees that cover only part of their operating costs.

Those programs might not survive if the property-tax cap passes, Barrett said. In contrast to Bangor’s health and welfare services, which mainly are state-mandated, the parks and recreation programs are vulnerable to budget cuts.

“We’re not required by law to provide parks and recreation services,” Barrett said.

In the worst-case scenario, the city manager said, the city would be able to maintain only those self-sustaining programs and the new Pancoe Pool, which could become self-sustaining.

One of the worrying aspects of the proposed tax cap is that there would likely be a period of uncertainty if it passes in November.

“Palesky is very difficult to see how it will be implemented,” Barrett said. “Everything will go on hold.”

Barrett said that he feels very strongly about the parks and recreation programs.

“To me, parks and recreation is in some ways the heart of our community,” he said. “It’s where people go to meet their neighbors in a time when people don’t meet their neighbors.”

He said that one of his proudest accomplishments in 15 years of being city manager is that the parks are now in good shape, and in many instances, centers for the community. Keeping them that way is not cheap, he said.

“Each new set of playground equipment costs an average of $75,000 now,” Barrett said, adding that the parks will be depending a lot more on the community if the tax cap passes.

“We’re going to be looking for a lot of neighborhood involvement if Palesky goes through,” the city manager said. “You just may have to get your neighbors together to mow the parks.”

The advisory committee members also discussed their summer programs.

The Pancoe Pool brought in $49,286, which greatly exceeded expected revenue generation, according to Frank Comeau, Parks and Recreation director. The pool had 27,863 users despite the cold, wet summer, he said.

Dakin Pool attendance was only 682 for the season. No revenue figures were available. The Hershey Track and Field program had minimal participation and its future will be under discussion, according to a department report.