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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-06-21-REC-min Town of Lexington Recreation Committee Sandra Shaw, Chairman Tel: (781) 862-0500 x262 Pamela Varrin, Vice Chairman Fax: (781) 863-2350 Frederick DeAngelis Donald A. Chisholm Richard L. Neumeier RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 21, 2000 Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Pam Varrin, Don Chisholm, Dick Neumeier Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Brian Gilbert, Matt Casparius, Ron Russo Others Present: Jeanne Krieger, Board of Selectmen AGENDA: 1. The minutes from May 17, 2000 were accepted. 2. Article 31 There is good news regarding the status of the improvements with Article 31. Rick White has been very supportive in assisting Recreation with moving this along. The Permanent Building Committee has been very busy with the school and library projects and has not had much time to devote to the recreation improvements. A meeting was held three weeks ago with John Moynihan, Peter Kelley, Rick White, Karen Simmons, Brian Gilbert, and Bill Hadley in attendance, to see how we could move forward strategically to get this project going. It was decided that it would be broken down into three projects: bleachers, the track, and everything else. Brian McNally will be working on the specs for the bleachers as well as the track which just needs to be resurfaced. A landscape architect is looking at all the other projects and serving as a project manager who will report to the Recreation Director. Brian Gilbert is working with Steve Hurley to create an initial report. Pam would like to contact Brian McNally regarding accessibility issues with the bleachers. Jeanne Kreiger feels that it is a good idea to start planning ahead for the future as we could potentially be losing seven athletic fields due to the reconstruction plans at Harrington and Fiske. It will be a minimum of three years before the land at Hartwell Ave. landfill could be considered for field development. 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 2 3. Old Capital Articles Pine Meadows Irrigation: Conservation cannot find a determination for Phase I. Marilyn Nordby visited the course and was given a drawing for the pump house. Brian is going to contact Amory Engineering who drew up the original specs to see if they have a copy. Otherwise we might have to re-file for determination. Dick Lakutis, a landscape architect, has been hired to look at Pine Meadows for a future Capital Article including the driveway, maintenance shed, and parking area. Old Res: The installation of the Super Deck, which will make the beach area accessible, is expected in the fall. Town Pool: The pavilion will be completed after the pool closes in the fall. Karen and Ron Russo have discussed the plans, and need to hire an architect to draw up the specs so the project can be started promptly. The Town will oversee the construction of the pavilion, but it will be done privately. This work needs to begin in the fall. The fence between the wading pool and the tennis courts will be temporarily removed to install a storage shed for hoses, and other supplies. Once the shed is in, the fence will be reinstalled. There is still the second fence there to prevent anyone from coming into the pool that way. 4. FY2000 Budget/Capital A copy of last year’s 5-year Capital Improvement Projections is attached to the minutes and was handed out to the committee at the meeting. Karen will soon start budget meetings for FY02 so the Committee needs to start planning. We have currently identified projects projected over the next 10 years, at a cost of approximately 4.5 million dollars. The Committee members should be prepared to discuss this at the August meeting and make recommendations. The 5-year capital plan for FY02 starts July 1, 2001. The $150,000 recommended for Pine Meadows parking lot and maintenance shed might not be enough. An architect was hired to lay out a design and give some estimates of the cost of the project. Karen recommends that the $50,000 for the Lincoln Park playground and junior fitness course come from the donations to the Lincoln Park. Don Chisholm supports this concept and will bring it up at the Lincoln Park Fitness Path committee meeting. The fence at the Old Res. is repeatedly being vandalized. The repairs are taking away from the time allotted to the DPW crews. It has been a big problem that needs to be looked at. 4. Skate Park Update The Skate Park Committee is ready to begin the excavation and put in the cement. Before the work begins there needs to be a pre-construction meeting. Karen has given Bob McConnell eight possible dates, but has not heard from him yet. For safety reasons the work cannot begin th until after the 4 of July Carnival. 3 5. Performance Measurement Karen presented a draft copy of the Performance Measurement, an exciting project for the Town. Recreation typically takes a lot of data, but the consultant had some great ideas for us which are incorporated in the second draft copy, which is also enclosed with the minutes. There will be a citizen survey that will be sent out that will incorporate questions from all departments. Matt has created a program survey/evaluation that he has started mailing. Karen has created one for Pine Meadows, but it still needs work. Don wondered whether we should add the question of the membership fee to the survey. Karen reported that our attendance has been high thus far and she feels a membership is not needed. Dick feels that it ought to be seriously considered but have a high enough price tag that it works to our benefit. One suggestion is to frame the question on the survey so that the customer would pay at X amount and have five different rates to choose from. If people are only willing to pay at a low rate, we could reject the idea. 7. It was agreed to schedule the next Recreation Committee meeting for July 12, 2000 at Pine Meadows at 6:30 p.m. 8. Recreation Report Karen reported that there has been a problem with the retaining wall at Pine Meadows on #9. It was thought that there was a leak in the culvert, but it is actually the retaining wall that is leaking. An engineer needs to come in to recommend how best to repair it and give a cost estimate. Bill Harrison of New England Golf is hoping we can do a temporary fix until the fall so that it doesn’t impact play. Public Works personnel patched the area and the water is being diverted to the mail culvert. This is a temporary fix. It’s time to look again at the sponsorship of the Tee signs at Pine Meadows. The time limit is almost up for the sponsors who are currently there. We need to sit down and figure out pricing and terms if sponsors want to continue to sponsor the sign, or if not, to figure out the pricing for a new sponsor. For a new sponsor, plaques can be bought and put right into the granite signs. The signs at the pool and tennis courts are getting a face-lift. The existing signs are being replaced and the new ones will include the town seal. The sign at the track that was vandalized will also be replaced. Parking in the area is a real problem this summer since the lot at the Hayden ice rink is under construction. Matt Casparius, Program Coordinator, reported that the programs are in good shape for the summer and all the staff members have been hired. The Town Pool and Res are open for the season and things seem to be going well. Space issues continue to be a problem. Working with John Moynihan has been slow and frustrating. Karen had been working with Pat Ruane who has been helpful, but space for fall programming is still tight. Matt is also working with Joe Marino to search for possible alternate sites. The attendance at the April vacation Kidstock program was low, possibly because of the location. Matt will be joining the School Project Management meetings on Mondays to keep posted on the school renovation progress. 4 9. Parks Report The Town Pool is all set for the season. The Garrity pool, which was sandblasted last year, needed 3 or 4 new coats of paint this year. Water was being absorbed through the cement and it needed to be sealed with extra coats of paint. Public Works requested that a shed be purchased st to house pool supplies. The new shed will be delivered by the 31 of June and will be located just behind the chemical shed. The septums will be sent to California in the fall to be re-coated. Ron Russo needs to write up the specs and work with Recreation on the shade pavilion project and pool covers. Over the winter leaves got into the wading pool through holes in the cover leaving stains. Ron feels that they will disappear as the season goes on. Karen congratulated Ronnie Russo on the great job he is doing in maintaining the water quality at the pool complex. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2000 AT PINE MEADOWS 6:30 P.M.