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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-02-15-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 February 15, 2001 Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Pam Varrin, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis, Dick Neumeier Staff Present: Karen Simmons, David Pinsonneault, Matthew Casparius Others Present: Jack Cunha, Skateboard/Inline Park Committee; Richard Friedman AGENDA: 1. The meeting minutes from January 17, 2001 were approved. 2. Skateboard/Inline Park Update Jack Cunha apologized for not making it to the meeting last month. The fund has recently received a $20,000 donation from a Lexington resident so now there is $40,000 in the fund. Two members have been added to the committee, Wendy Manhard and Luka Serdar. $35,000 is needed to lay down the concrete. Between now and spring they are hoping to raise another $30,000 to add some events, which can range in price from $2,000 to$15,000. Pam Varrin asked the plan for the next step. Jack said they could not put the concrete down until April. Don Chisholm asked if in a worst case scenario no more money were raised between now and April, would they go ahead with putting down the concrete. Karen Simmons replied that the Recreation Committee had voted in a past meeting that the concrete could not be poured unless there were funds for the events. Jack said that all the school PTA’s are helping to fund-raise. Rick DeAngelis suggested that they find a talented craftsperson and auction off their craft. Small sums add up. The Stop and Shop Corporation might donate $10,000. Pam felt that the PTA’s are good to target and it is good timing to attract support. Don feels that at least another $10,000 is needed to move forward with the project. Karen wanted to caution members of the Skateboard/Inline Committee that a recent news article regarding the proposed park talked about allowing BMX bikes in the park. This would be very 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 2 dangerous when mixed with skaters and would present a safety issue and increased liability to the Town. At this time, the park will be for skateboarders and inline skaters only. 3. Sign Policy This will be tabled until the March meeting. The committee needs to discuss the issue further and look at different categories of sign policies, in particular how long a proposed sign would stay up and whether it would be moved after a certain amount of time, as well as the size of a particular sign. Dave, Karen and Matt will try to draft a policy for the committee, including maintenance, size, color, location, material and duration. 4. Article 31 of 1999- Recreation athletic fields improvements The geo-technical work has been completed at Lexington High School and Diamond. Last year’s report from Clarke will be used. At LHS everything looked good except the area for the bleachers. Because of peat in that area, extra piles will be added at an additional cost. The cost estimates are now being worked on and should be completed in a week or so. Dick Neumeier inquired when the contracts would go out. Karen said that the specs have to be completed first and then we would be working around the schedules of the various athletic fields. Karen would expect to have more information for the next meeting. She expects that not all the work will be completed in this calendar year. Don questioned how confident we are that the projects will be completed within the budget. Karen said that the Recreation Committee had made a commitment to the School Committee to keep the same number of seats at the bleachers. If costs do escalate Karen will go back to the School Committee to discuss the size of the bleachers. Karen feels comfortable working with Dave on this project because of his expertise. Karen and Dave walked the sites with the engineers and discussed the logistics of sport seasons and usage. It has been suggested that the orientation of the Clarke tennis courts be shifted to north/south. Due to limited space, only three courts would fit in the area. Rick DeAngelis made a motion to change the orientation of the Clarke tennis courts from the existing east/west orientation to a north/south orientation and keep four courts if they fit, otherwise switch to three courts. If re-permitting is required, than the decision will come back to the Recreation Committee to be re-examined. All were in favor of the motion with a vote of 5-0. 5. Recreation Report Recently there have been some questions regarding the easement at Coppersmyth Way, a condo development off Marrett Road near five forks. Marita Hartshorn of the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee thought that a paved bike path would be placed there. At this point she is concerned about time restrictions for this easement to be completed. Karen met with Glenn Garber, Planning Director, to review the permit requirements. It is an informal walking trail and is to be seeded by the builder. Marita did have some issues she wanted Recreation to look at. Storm drainage is flooding part of the path and Marita is also concerned about who would be responsible for pruning the trees. Karen and Dave will have to walk the land and determine ownership of the property. 3 Next month John Fedorochko is planning to come to the Recreation Committee meeting to discuss a senior golf rate. He will present a request for a season pass. He expects to submit his proposal in writing ahead of time. Recreation has received $27,500 for a public benefit in the Concord Avenue area. It is proposed to put a tot lot on Town land on Blossom Street. One neighbor is concerned about the project and is questioning jurisdiction of the land. Karen met with Glenn Garber, Planning Director, Joe Marino, formerly with Planning, and Karen Mullins of Conservation. They can’t find anything on conservation restrictions so Karen and Dave are proceeding with the project. A tot lot structure is proposed and will stay away from the 100 ft. buffer. Dave will be holding a public hearing within the next two months to get neighborhood feedback. Recreation has started the interview process for summer employees. Space requests continue to be on a day by day basis. On Monday it was discovered that we might not be able to have the Lexington High School gym and field house for rainy day space this summer. Karen has spoken with Rick White and has asked for his assistance. The loss of space could jeopardize summer services for close to 1,000 children. There will be changes this summer at Camp for All. At this time SPED will not be sending children to our camp which could have a major financial impact on the program this summer. SPED would like to work with Community Education to offer some inclusive recreation programs. We still will continue to service everyone who registers, but cannot financially support the staff structure that we have had in the past. We expect to hire two floater support staff plus junior counselors. We might need to re-market the program to gain numbers since last year over 60% of the campers were referred by Special Education. In recent years the School Department began recommending children with more intense needs, which required a higher staff level and the program was adapted. Sandra asked whether the School Department has withdrawn their support because they felt Camp for All didn’t meet their needs. Karen replied that the new SPED director is evaluating summer services. The school has been sending children who would have benefited from a program that offered treatment services to Camp for All. Camp for All is not designed to be a treatment program. thth The spring/summer brochure is at the printer and should be delivered around March 5 or 6. 6. Parks Report The shelters for the Town Pool have arrived. The specs for installation should be in next week. th The project should be completed by May 18. Karen and Dave met with Steve Hamilton, the builder working in the Morris Street/Marvin Park area, and he is willing to work with us on the handicapped parking spot and moving the gate in. He declined to contribute a public benefit. Geller Sport has been asked to price the Harrington School field project. There has been a delay because of the uncertainty of the site for the field. The geo-tech report has not come back yet. We might lose one field during construction, but otherwise we will be losing only the ¾ field. 4 Geller Sport was asked to look at the entire space and recommend the best orientation for all the fields. The proposal should be received within the next few weeks. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. NEXT MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2001 7:00 P.M. ROOM 111