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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-17-REC-min1 US MCI? ¢ 1775 ti s- { naanir £xrnG'S Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Christian Boutwell, Vice Chair Carl Fantasia Lisa O'Brien Claire Sheth Renen Bassik Weiwei Li Town of Lexington Recreation Committee Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting January 17, 2024 Tel: (781) 698-4800 Fax: (781) 861-2747 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 in person and via Zoom as a hybrid meeting at 6:30pm in Room 237 of the Lexington Community Center. Members Present: Christian Boutwell, Renen Bassik, Weiwei Li, Lisa O'Brien, and Claire Sheth Members Present: Rick DeAngelis and Carl Fantasia Staff Present: Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, and Christine Dean, Community Center Director Others Present: Lisa Baci (18 Fair Oaks Terrace, Lexington), Ira Bernstein (53 Carville Avenue, Lexington), James Blake (29 Lincoln Street, Lexington), Marci Cemenska (59 Outlook Drive, Lexington), Frederica Cushman (55 Watertown Road, Lexington), Mingshi Dai (21 Welch Road, Lexington), Jeff Darcy (6 Crawford Road, Lexington), Debi Dulberg (63 Bridge Street, Lexington), Eileen Entin, (104 Blossomcrest Road, Lexington), William Erickson (31 Sherman Street, Lexington), Doreen Karoll (76 Bloomfield Street, Lexington), Zoya Kinstler (13 Potter Pond, Lexington), Marcy Lidman (63 Grant Street, Lexington), Allison Lynch (10 Bloomfield Street, Lexington), Kim McCormick (20 Maple Street, Lexington), Janna Mendonca (1 John Wilson Lane, Lexington), Hal Miller - Jacobs (17 Swan Lane, Lexington), Bob Morse (11 Joseph Road, Lexington, Hien Nguyen (17 Holland Street, Lexington), Mike O'Connor (59 Bridge Street, Lexington), Sanjay Padaki (Appropriation Committee liaison), Roy Palumbo (9 Seaborn Place, Lexington), Pamela Peifer (15 Barnes Place, Lexington), Steve Quatrano (76 Bloomfield Street, Lexington), Deepika Sawhney (School Committee liaison), P.K. Shiu (1024 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington), Andrea Smith (11 Joseph Road, Lexington), Elaine Tung (5 Franklin Road, Lexington), Roger Tung (3 Burnham Road, Lexington), Mark Weiss (1 Millbrook Road, Lexington), Eli, John, and Ron 1. Public Comment While there were no public comments made, Sanjay Padaki was introduced to the Committee as the Appropriation Committee liaison. Adams Park Hard Court Surfaces — Tennis & Pickleball Facility Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, gave a presentation on the tennis and pickleball court use in Lexington and the presentation slides are attached to the meeting minutes. A survey seeking feedback from the 2023 tennis/pickleball members was distributed to 265 members in December and a total of 139 responses (52% of members) were received. Mr. Coleman provided an overview of the proposed dedicated pickleball court construction projects that have been included in the Recreation 5 -Year Capital Plan in recent years. The courts at Clarke, Adams, and Valley are currently lined for both tennis and pickleball and no site has been identified for the construction of dedicated pickleball courts. The Tennis & Pickleball Working Group (TPWG) was formed in September 2022 and Mr. Coleman reviewed the work that the TPWG completed over the previous 16 months. At its September 2023 meeting, the Committee decided to not line the new Gallagher Courts for pickleball and not permit those courts for pickleball use at that time. Staff have worked creatively in recent years to add additional indoor pickleball offerings in the fall, winter, and spring. In addition to the postseason survey that was distributed to members in December, a survey was sent to five stakeholders of Adams Park in November 2023 regarding parking at the site and letters were mailed on January 9, 2024 to abutters within 500 feet of Adams Park notifying them of tonight's meeting. During the 2023 season (April -November 2023), the tennis and pickleball courts were permitted a total of 22,655 hours, 18,987 hours of tennis use and 3,668 hours of pickleball use. The courts are generally permitted for 30,000-35,000 hours each year, but this number was reduced last year due to the Gallagher Courts reconstruction project. Mr. Coleman reviewed the survey responses regarding which sport(s) people play, the frequency of how many times per week people play, and the location(s) where people play tennis or pickleball. Regarding frequency, the most common response was 3-5 times per week with 35% of tennis players and 26% of pickleball players playing between 3-5 times per week. The Gallagher Courts are used by over 90% of all tennis players and 95% of pickleball players use the Clarke Courts. Themes that were mentioned throughout the various responses are that there are not enough tennis courts in Lexington and that there is a need for dedicated pickleball courts in town. One of the survey questions read as follows: "The Recreation Committee is considering a pilot program that would convert the Adams Courts to dedicated pickleball courts for the 2024 season. This means that if approved, tennis use would not be allowed at Adams in 2024. Would you be in favor of this pilot program?" Of the 137 respondents, 81 people (59%) answered Yes and 56 people (41 %) answered No. Potential advantages of the pilot program include the courts can accommodate more pickleball players at one time compared to tennis players, it would create a destination for the pickleball community, pickleball players can no longer reserve Gallagher, and the Adams property does not abut homes in the same manner that the Gallagher and Clarke Courts do. Potential disadvantages of the pilot program include that the tennis courts are in high demand as is, East Lexington residents utilize Adams for tennis, and parking is a major concern for both players and those around the Adams Courts. Mr. Coleman concluded the presentation by reviewing a variety of different scenarios that could be implemented for the 2024 season: • Scenario A: pilot Adams as dedicated pickleball courts, tennis and pickleball at Clarke and Valley, tennis only at Gallagher • Scenario B: pilot Adams as dedicated pickleball courts, tennis only at Clarke, Valley, and Gallagher • Scenario C: allow tennis and pickleball at Adams, Clarke, and Valley, tennis only at Gallagher, reline the pickleball courts in yellow at Adams and Valley, and increase the number of pickleball courts at Adams from 4 to 6 • Scenario D: allow tennis at Adams, Clarke, and Valley and tennis only at Gallagher (status quo) Members of the Committee then made remarks and asked questions about the information given during the presentation. Claire Sheth said that while she loves the idea of dedicated pickleball courts at Adams, traffic would increase and since the Waldorf School is on the property, the Committee should be responsible stewards of this site. Ms. Sheth suggested tweaking the pilot and implement it once Waldorf ends school for the year. This would allow for tennis players to be able to use Adams this spring. It was stated that tennis does not have an indoor option that is 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 Town -owned, meaning that while pickleball is played year-round, tennis is only played during the outdoor season. Regarding the geographic distribution, Renen Bassik asked if there was a way to know where people are coming from to use the courts as he wanted to be mindful of the distance factor. Ms. Sheth asked if the resources in other communities could be utilized. Weiwei Li expressed his support for relining the pickleball courts to gain additional use. Christian Boutwell, Vice Chair of the Recreation Committee, acknowledged that it is common for tension to exist when recreational resources have been maxed out. This has been the case over the years with such sports as lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, cricket, and now pickleball. The common theme is that when a new sport emerges, there is a need to find a compromise. Mr. Boutwell added that the survey is a very useful tool and the 52% response rate is incredible. People in the audience were then given the opportunity to make comments. Jeff Darcy, resident of 6 Crawford Road, said that parking at Adams is something that already exists given the uses at the park (soccer, ultimate frisbee, tennis, pickleball) and that the on -street parking is ample and seems to work pretty well. Mr. Darcy added that the pickleball usage numbers might underrepresent the actual usage since four people are playing on one court at the same time. Ira Bernstein, resident 53 Carville Avenue, has been using the Adams Courts for many years and expressed that he was vehemently against making Adams dedicated pickleball courts. Since Adams are the only courts located in East Lexington, his concern is that if there are times when the courts are unused and sitting idle, why couldn't people utilize the reservation system to reserve the courts for tennis play. Mr. Bernstein encouraged the Committee and staff to look at the courts being used for private lessons and he expressed his concerns about parking at the site. Pamela Peifer, resident of 15 Barnes Place, explained that Adams has coexisted with mixed used for 35 years. She expressed her concerns about the noise associated with pickleball and asked what mitigation measures would be taken to address or deaden the noise. Mr. Boutwell replied by stating that noise recommendations were provided in the TPWG report and that the Adams Courts are at/beyond the minimum distance needed from nearby abutters. P.K. Shiu, resident of 1024 Massachusetts Avenue, expressed his appreciation between tennis and pickleball players and reiterated that Adams has been used for pickleball previously. Parking at the site can and cannot be a problem depending on the time and designating Adams as pickleball only would allow for people to be able to reserve courts in P1ayLocal more easily. Bob Morse, resident of 11 Joseph Road, described the benefits of pickleball and how the sport is community building. Having dedicated pickleball courts would build a sense of community where players could learn from each other. Roger Tung, resident of 3 Burnham Road, expressed his support for the pilot program since there are few ways for people to get together on an ad-hoc basis in Lexington. Allison Lynch, resident of 10 Bloomfield Street, learned pickleball last winter. She is absolutely addicted to it and has met some great people while playing pickleball. Hal Miller - Jacobs, resident of 17 Swan Lane, encouraged the Committee to keep in mind the age of pickleball players and that Lexington is moving towards older people demographically. Kim McCormick, resident of 20 Maple Street, appreciated the creativity and problem solving that was demonstrated throughout the presentation. Ms. McCormick added that the Lexington Pickleball Club (LPC) is supportive of the options that were outlined during the presentation and is very much behind creative options and solutions. Mingshi Dai, resident of 21 Welch Road, asked about the long-term plan and if the Town could build a state-of-the-art indoor, multi -sport facility. Mr. Boutwell reminded the audience that Recreation has to compete with all of the other entities in town. Eileen Entin, resident of 104 Blossomcrest Road, stated that pickleball is a game that a lot of seniors are playing and as more and more people play pickleball, asked how this is going to be accommodated in the future. Ron, resident of Roswell Road, explained that he is a "young" person who plays both sports and reiterated that pickleball is getting more popular. After public comment ended, members of the Committee continued their discussion. Ms. Sheth said that if there is going to be a dedicated pickleball site, Adams makes the most sense, but 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 4 advised that tennis should not be removed from Adams entirely. Mr. Boutwell supported restricting reservations at Adams to pickleball only, but still allow the courts to be used for tennis if there are no reservations. Mr. Bassik stated that it will be important to maximize the access and usability of the courts since they are a limited resource and thought that creativity could be used to find a happy medium while also taking into consideration such factors as geographic location, disability, timing, and schedules. Ms. Sheth said the Committee is not in a position to create exclusive rights since the Town does not have the land or the money, meaning that the current Recreation infrastructure does not have the capacity to meet all needs 100% of the time. Ms. Sheth expressed that she was not comfortable lining 6 pickleball courts at Adams and restricting use to pickleball only since it is unknown how that would impact the dedicated pickleball at Clarke #3. Mr. Boutwell emphasized that it would be integral that this is a pilot program. The Committee will not know the impacts unless it is offered and this would not be a permanent, forever decision. He added that he was looking for ways to expand pickleball hour and would like to see how the community responds to this. Mr. Bassik asked why not share the space and continue to offer both tennis and pickleball at Adams. Mr. Boutwell said he was more comfortable pushing forward with pickleball. Since the interactions among tennis and pickleball are much different, splitting use would foster those interactions. He did say that if the pilot goes poorly, the Committee could reset and adjust the court use after one season. Lisa O'Brien recommended getting a sense of what the court reservations at Adams looked like midway through the season, that way the Committee could keep its finger on the pulse of the situation. While pickleball would be the priority at Adams, Ms. Sheth expressed that she would not want LPC open house at Adams and that they should remain at Clarke. At the conclusion of the conversation, Christian Boutwell made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee approves a temporary pilot program to restrict reservations of the Adams Courts to pickleball for the 2024 season. The pilot will run from April 1, 2024 (or whenever the season opens) to the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2024 (or whenever the season closes) at which time the pilot program ends and the restriction on reservations to pickleball only will expire." Lisa O'Brien seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve this motion. 2024 Recreation Committee Report to Town Meeting A draft of the Committee's Annual Report on Recreation Capital Projects to Town Meeting is attached to the meeting minutes. Christian Boutwell emphasized that while this is not required, a document of this nature would be beneficial to outline the complexity of the Town's Recreation capital assets and highlight the rationale for the Committee's capital requests each year. In addition to the current year requests, this report (which will consist of a considerable amount of backing material and appendices) will identify what is known as well as provide project updates from the last five years. Claire Sheth commended Mr. Boutwell for his Herculean effort in putting this report together which will be hugely beneficial for Recreation both now and moving forward. Renen Bassik agreed, stating that this is a great position paper and is grateful that all of this information is now located in one place. Lisa O'Brien added that it will be critical to have a report like this moving forward given how much the Committee depends on the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to fund CPA -eligible capital improvement projects. Christian Boutwell made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee submit the Annual Report on Recreation Capital Projects to the 2024 Annual Town Meeting." Claire Sheth seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve this motion. 4. FY25 Fee Proposal Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, presented the FY25 fee proposal. A memo outlining the proposed changes and the proposed fee schedules are attached to the meeting minutes. Ms. Battite reminded the Committee that this is an exercise the staff 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 completes each year. One slight change to the fee schedule is that the price for Swim Team (2 - week session) — non-residents would be $100.00, not $90.00 as indicated on the table. The department has been prioritizing Lexington residents as evidenced by increasing the number of resident -only programs over the past 18 months. Staff are comfortable with the projected revenues based on the proposed fees and if enrollment levels remain consistent. There would be no increases to the Community Center rental fees. For the Outdoor Recreation Facilities, the definitions of the tiers would be modified to prioritize the top tiers. Tier 3 used to consist of 60%+ Lexington residents and beginning in FY25, at least 75% of a group must be Lexington residents to qualify as Tier 3. The lights fee for Tier 4 and Tier 5 field users is also increasing. A more formalized tier structure for the hard court surfaces will also be implemented. In total, it is estimated that the proposed fee increases will generate approximately $64,000 in additional revenue. This is being done in an effort to weather-proof the Recreation Enterprise Fund with the impending Lexington High School project. Staff review the operating budget on a quarterly basis throughout the year. Golf has remained strong, programs offerings continue to increase, and the department continues to award financial aid and apply for grants and sponsorships. If approved by the Committee, the Select Board would review and vote on the proposed FY25 fees at its February 51}i meeting. Christian Boutwell stated that the department offers incredibly reasonable rates, especially given the robustness of financial aid that is provided. Renen Bassik made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee approves the proposed FY2025 Fee Schedule with a correction to the Swim Team non-resident per session rate as noted." Lisa O'Brien seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve this motion. 5. 2024 ATM Citizen Petition — Marci Cemenska Marci Cemenska, resident of 59 Outlook Drive, presented a citizen petition and a copy of the draft motion for Article 40: Integrated Pest Management Resolution (Citizen Petition) is attached to the meeting minutes. An updated version of the Recreation FY25-FY29 5 -Year Capital Plan is attached to the meeting minutes. Ms. Cememska informed the Committee that many wild animals and some domestic pets are being poisoned by second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs). Across the country, 10,000 children are exposed to rodenticides each year. Ms. Cemenska believes that it is important for Lexington to do its part and this resolution would seek to have the Town develop IPM policies that prohibit the use of SGARs. This petition was presented to Arlington Town Meeting in the past and Ms. Cemenska asked the Committee if there would be any impact on Recreation. Ms. Cemenska has spoken with Dave Pinsonneault, DPW Director, about this petition. Melissa Battite stated that this item falls within the purview of the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Department of Public Facilities (DPF). Through communication with Mike Cronin, the DPF Director, he indicated that for information purposes, every school must have an IPM. Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, informed staff prior to the meeting that DPW uses minimal weed control that is run through the IMP when maintaining the fields. They do not use any pesticides/rodenticides that are harmful to humans or wildlife. While members of the Committee appreciated the informative conversation, they agreed that this topic falls outside of the Committee's purview. 6. 2024 ATM Article — Elaine Tung Elaine Tung, resident of 5 Franklin Road, is the Chair of the Lexington Affordable Housing Trust (LAHT). The map for a parcel on Lowell Street (Locus Map 68-44), as well as the presentation slides, are attached to the meeting minutes. LAHT was created by Town Meeting in Fall 2022 and its scope is to create and preserve affordable housing. Ms. Tung reported that approximately 21% of people living in Lexington are low-income. William Erickson, resident of 31 Sherman Street, described the parcel that will be up for consideration at Town Meeting this spring under Article 33. The lot, which is 3.1 acres, was given to the Town in 1978 and is located near the intersection of Lowell Street and North Street. The warrant article states Select Board or 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 designee can determine the land disposition through sale or lease. Mr. Erickson indicated that the ideal arrangement would be a lease so the Town would maintain some control of the land. Town Counsel is currently looking into this to determine if public procurement would be required. The LAHT has also initiated outreach to the neighborhood. Melissa Battite informed the Committee that Conservation has looked into this parcel and it cannot be developed for outdoor recreation other than passive trails due to wetland limitations. In the Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP), the parcel is listed as being owned by the Town, but it does not specify if the owner is Recreation or Conservation. Ms. Tung stated that LAHT is supported by the Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB), Lexington Housing Authority, and the Select Board since affordable housing is a goal of the Select Board. Lisa O'Brien expressed how this is an interesting possibility on how to collaborate going forward. After a brief discussion, Christian Boutwell made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee votes in support of Article 33." Renen Bassik seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve this motion. 7. Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes from the December 2023 and January 2024 Recreation Committee meetings will be voted on during the February 2024 meeting. 8. Recreation Committee Email Correspondence Renen Bassik reported that most of the email correspondence over the past months were notes and had been discussed previously in the meeting. 9. Liaison Report No liaison reports were submitted in advance of the meeting and no updates were given during the meeting. 10. Recreation & Community Programs Report The January Recreation & Community Programs Report is attached to the meeting minutes. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 28" at 6:30pm. The January 17`h, 2024 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 9:17pm. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents distributed at the meeting are attached: • Hard Court Surface Use Tennis & Pickleball Presentation Slides • Draft of Annual Report on Recreation Capital Projects to Town Meeting • FY25 Fee Schedule — memo and proposed fee schedules • Lexington Citizen Petition Draft Motion — Article 40 • Locus Map 68-44 and Presentation Slides • December 14, 2023 Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes • January 2024 Recreation & Community Programs Report 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421