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<br />Town of Lexington
<br />Recreation Committee
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<br />
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<br />Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (781) 698-4800
<br />Lisah Rhodes, Vice Chair Fax: (781) 861-2747
<br />Christian Boutwell
<br />Carl Fantasia
<br />Lisa O’Brien
<br />Claire Sheth
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<br />Recreation Committee
<br />Minutes of Meeting
<br />May 16, 2022
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<br />A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2022 at 7:00pm in Room 242
<br />of the Lexington Community Center.
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<br />Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Christian Boutwell, Carl Fantasia, Lisa O’Brien,
<br />and Claire Sheth
<br />
<br />Staff Present: Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Peter Coleman,
<br />Assistant Director of Recreation, Christine Dean, Community Center Director, and
<br />Dave Pinsonneault, DPW Director
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<br />Others Present: Cristina Burwell (6 Albemarle Avenue, Lexington), Dongling Chen (39 Parker
<br />Street, Lexington), Howard Cloth (19 Sherman Street, Lexington), Kathleen
<br />Lenihan (School Committee liaison), Susann Luperfoy (31 Clarke Street,
<br />Lexington), Hal Miller-Jacobs (17 Swan Lane, Lexington), Helena and Richard
<br />Petrasso (39 Parker Street), Darren Rough (35 Parker Street), Longwei Su (29
<br />Parker Street, Lexington), and Ruth Thomas (10 Parker Street, Lexington)
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<br />1. Meeting Minutes – April 27, 2022
<br />Lisah Rhodes moved to approve the minutes from the April 27th meeting. Claire Sheth seconded
<br />the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve the April 27 minutes.
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<br />2. Public Comment
<br />Howard Cloth, resident of 19 Sherman Street, expressed his concerns about having pickleball at
<br />the Gallagher Courts. Mr. Cloth is opposed to the noise created by pickleball, but he is not
<br />opposed to pickleball itself. In Mr. Cloth’s opinion, regular, ongoing use would not qualify under
<br />the exemption within the Town’s noise bylaw. In addition to being a matter of law, there is a
<br />timing issue for the Gallagher reconstruction project with the building of a new Lexington High
<br />School in the coming years. Mr. Cloth referenced how there is a large staging area for the
<br />construction of the new high school in Belmont. Susann Luperfoy, resident of 31 Clarke Street,
<br />stated that she uses multiple recreation facilities and programs, such as swimming and tennis.
<br />While she is not an abutter, she is a heavy user at the Center Recreation Complex and she marvels
<br />at how many people are there on any given night. The design of the complex was well-thought
<br />out and provides a variety of activities such as track and field, soccer, tennis, playground, picnic
<br />area, and Skate Park. As a tennis member, Ms. Luperfoy indicated that she has a hard time
<br />reserving court time due to the demand and is concerned that having four pickleball courts will
<br />make court time even harder to come by. She is concerned about the noise level for the abutters
<br />and proposed that another location be found for pickleball.
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<br />Longwei Su, resident of 29 Parker Street, thanked the Committee for the opportunity to speak.
<br />Mr. Su expressed his concerns with the noise level of pickleball as well and compared a
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