MUMC parking lot once again available for sports parking

Parking in the MUMC’s lot for a sporting event last May, before the agreement was put on hold. Photo courtesy of Rev. Susan Hitts.

submitted by Dr. Brad Bezeau, Manchester Community Schools and Rev. Susan Hitts, Manchester United Methodist Church

Manchester Community Schools and Manchester United Methodist Church are pleased to announce that we have come to an agreement regarding the usage of the church parking lot through the end of June 2025.

For the last 35 years, the church and school have had use agreements for the community to park on the church lot during school sporting events. That agreement was paused over the summer as both the church and school worked out their own long-term plans and needs.

Both organizations met again in late August in the hopes of coming to an agreement. Through the diligent work and good faith on both sides, we realized that it was the contract duration that seemed to be the main challenge.

With upcoming school improvements planned for the summer of 2025, and the church’s hope to refinish the parking lot during the same timeframe, we simply needed more time to consider future needs. So, in order to give time and space for the church and school to separately decide what their future needs and plans are before making any long-term parking plans, a short-term agreement was made.

Manchester Community Schools and Manchester United Methodist Church thank the community for their flexibility as we worked out the details of this parking agreement. Please note that all discussions were done with a focus on the best way to support the needs of the community. Thus, we can now happily announce that the paved portion of the church’s parking lot is open for personal vehicles to park during sporting activities once again.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.