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Home My WebLink About2000-12-20-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 December 20, 2000 Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis, Dick Neumeier Staff Present: Karen Simmons, David Pinsonneault, Matthew Casparius Others Present: Jeanne Krieger, Board of Selectmen Jack Cunha, Skateboard/Inline Skate Park Committee AGENDA: 1. The meeting minutes of November 15, 2000 were approved. 2. Skateboard/Inline Skate Park update Jack Cunha reported that the committee had expected to get the concrete for the park donated, but that deal fell through. They now expect to pay the rate at cost, $54 per yard. Their fundraising efforts will continue throughout the winter targeting businesses and residents, particularly those within the school population. At the present time they have $18,000 in the bank, and hope to have $75,000 by spring. They have raised only $5000 since September. They need to raise a total of $95,000 to include a maintenance fund. The Northwest Weekly section of the Boston Globe will be running an article about the project. Rick DeAngelis feels that the committee needs to go out and identify the stakeholders and get them on board. Jack said that they are planning to expand the Skateboard/Inline Park Committee. The Town is beginning to receive calls from the community about the hole in the ground. There needs to be a plan for getting the business donations. Rick suggested that the Skateboard Park committee find a marketing person. Sandra Shaw feels that money is hard to come by and that individuals should be targeted in addition to the businesses. Jack Cunha will continue to attend the monthly Recreation Committee meetings. Karen Simmons feels that a decision has to be made on whether or not to move ahead on putting down the cement. Karen has requested that the Recreation Committee not approve the cement going down until enough money has been raised for the events. Sandra wants to see a real fundraising 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 2 plan, not just “we will be twisting arms.” Karen asked if the compacting test had been done and Jack replied that nothing has been done yet because more gravel needs to be placed. 3. Capital Project Assignments for Town Meeting ?? Pine Meadows Access Road- Don Chisholm ?? Lincoln Park Playground- Dick Neumeier 4. Lincoln Park Sub-committee David Williams approached the Town Clerk’s Office to have Susan MacWilliams join the Lincoln Park Sub-committee. That raised questions about the legality of that committee and its authority, including who should appoint the members and whether meeting minutes should be kept. Donna Hooper, Town Clerk, will be discussing the issues with the Town Counsel. The Lincoln Park Sub-committee is requesting the appointment of Susan MacWilliams to the committee. The Recreation Committee is in support of the appointment of Susan MacWilliams to the Lincoln Park Sub-committee and Karen will write a letter for Sandra Shaw to Rick White recommending the appointment. 5. Sign Policy In response to the request by Buzz Gillis that a sign be placed at the Center Field complex honoring the 2000 LHS Girls Tennis Team, the Board of Selectmen would like the Recreation Committee to write an official sign policy. Members should develop a policy draft for the next meeting. Rick DeAngelis feels that private groups have no right to place signs without the permission of the Recreation Committee and the Board of Selectmen. It can be a simple policy with some limits, but the Board of Selectmen would like a policy to reference when signs are requested for Recreation lands. Someone has put up some signs without permission that might have to be moved because of their location on backstops. These signs concern the prohibition of smoking on school grounds. 6. Recreation Report Bill Harrison of New England Golf Corporation will give the Pine Meadows update in January. He will also provide his assessment of the fee structure changes. Karen would like to present recommended fee increases at the January meeting. With the current fee structure we lost just over $3200 on the Center #1 baseball lights. NSTAR is charging the recreation rate for Center #2 softball lights and a commercial rate for the Center #1 baseball lights. Karen had worked with Boston Edison (now NSTAR) in an attempt to have the Center #1 baseball light meter rate changed, but had no success. In addition to the ball field rates we will also look at all program fees. Karen reported that she is still trying to resolve the payment of the outstanding Adams water bill and has asked Lexington Youth Soccer to pay the bill for $8500. A bill for the year 2000 for $4500 has been received. This amount was shared 50/50 by Parks and Recreation and has been 3 paid. Karen has asked LYS to meet with her and David Pinsonneault regarding the water issues and is hopeful that this will be resolved by the next meeting. Billerica has adopted a “Code of Conduct” for Recreation sponsored programs and Karen would like to see a similar code adopted in Lexington. Karen will be working with the Massachusetts Recreation and Parks Association to develop this code. Geller Sport has been awarded the contract for Article 31 of 1999 and the project plan has been finalized. Karen and David have met with Patrick McGuire to develop a timeline. On January 3, 2001 Karen and Dave will be meeting with Brian McNally, Athletic Director. Clarke field improvements might take two growing seasons (two years). With the other facility improvements we will work around the school athletics schedule and the busy Recreation seasons. We will plan to borrow $1.2 million this year and the remainder next January. Pam Varrin is concerned about providing accessibility to the press box with the new bleachers. There is money built into the project to apply for a variance but Pam does not want to do that. If we provide access for one individual, we should provide it for everyone. Geller Sport will look at other options for access. An elevator would cost approximately $100,000. th The tentative schedule is to start the geo-tech study on December 11 with the hope of finishing th at all sites by January 19. Construction is projected to begin in July and be completed in 90 days. Karen feels this schedule is optimistic. She has sent Peter Kelley of the Permanent Building Committee, John Moynihan, Director of Facilities, and Robin DiGiammarino, School Committee Chair, updates on the plans and will keep them informed. One thing that was not included in the project is replacing the fence around the tennis courts at the High School. Dave has contacted someone to get a price on the fence to see if we can afford to do it with operating money. 7. Parks Report th The playground structure at Sutherland Park was installed and certified on December 13. Christine Maestri would like to have a ribbon cutting. David reported that Parks would now have a playground inspection and maintenance plan. At some point he will meet with the schools to train them on how to inspect their playgrounds. David also recommends that the school department send someone to be certified as a playground safety inspector. Pine Meadows irrigation is now 90% complete, with the irrigation now installed on holes 1, 2, 3, 4 and half of 5. Dave expects that the odds and ends will be finished in March. We are still waiting for a report from Amory Engineering regarding the retaining wall at Pine Meadows. The patch is sufficient as a temporary measure. The staff needs to keep an eye on the erosion, but otherwise we were told verbally that it could wait for about four years. The estimated cost is $400,000 to replace the wall, gate, culvert and then the entire bridge that goes over the brook. 4 Pool Capital Article- The new pool covers have been installed. The design for the pool shade pavilions has been selected and the shelters have been ordered. Dave will be getting a price for the footings in the spring. This will be completed in the spring. th The dates for upcoming Recreation Committee meetings will be: Wednesday January 17, thstth Thursday February 15, and Wednesday March 21. Town Meeting will begin on March 26. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2001 7:30 P.M. ROOM G - 15