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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-06-27-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 MINUTES June 27, 2001 Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Pam Varrin, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis, Dick Neumeier Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Matt Casparius Others Present: Jack Cunha, Skateboard/Inline Park Committee Citizens from the Blossom Street neighborhood AGENDA: 1. The meeting minutes of March 27 and May 16, 2001 were approved. 2. Blossom Street Playground The Recreation Committee explained the ground rules for the meeting. The committee has reviewed all communications received from citizens regarding this proposed playground. Don Chisholm summarized his thoughts regarding concerns raised by the immediate abutters: ?? The street is narrow and on street parking would aggravate the traffic flow. ?? People using the playground would further narrow the roadway. This could be dealt with by having some form of off-street parking with a gravel type material. ?? There are no natural barriers near the abutters, a concern that could be dealt with by adding plantings. ?? He feels that the concern that the area would attract teenagers drinking and using drugs is a red herring. Don feels that the positive aspects of the park override the negative ones, and that it is appropriate that the Recreation Committee recommend their approval to the Board of Selectmen. 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 2 Pam Varrin feels that the proposed tot lot would not take away from the natural-like setting of the area. She feels that it is the role of the Recreation Committee to create a community experience within a neighborhood and supports building a tot lot. Dick Neumeier feels uncomfortable voting in favor of something that so many people are against and for that reason will not vote to support going ahead at this time. Rick DeAngelis agrees with the manner in which Don Chisholm has summarized three of the issues. He feels that we are not proposing to urbanize the area, just adding a small tot lot. He feels that all the issues can be dealt with and supports the proposal. Sandra Shaw feels that the greatest impact will be felt by the direct abutters. She feels that the proposed tot lot would enhance the area because it would be maintained regularly. She also feels that teens are much more likely to hang out near the center of town than in an outlying location. The following comments were brought up by citizens in attendance: ?? The Bowman Playground is fine, but it is not appropriate for pre-school children. ?? The general consensus is that the money contributed by the contractors should be used town wide. ?? The topographical map shows this land as informal recreation land. The Planning Board said this would be maintained. ?? Dr. Rosen stated that the neighborhood is adamantly opposed to the proposed tot lot. Don Chisholm responded that the parcel had been listed as passive recreation land. Rick DeAngelis said that when a development such as this is created, the open land is not an extension of a back yard, but it is public land. Karen Simmons stated that currently the lot is not maintained as a park and is mowed by the Parks Department only once or twice a year. If a tot lot were built, the park would be maintained regularly by DPW. Don Chisholm reminded the citizens that the Recreation Committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. He asked if the neighborhood would be willing to participate if the Recreation Committee decides to proceed with the project. It was recommended to set up a team to study the proposed tot lot at Blossom Street. This would include Pam Varrin and Dick Neumeier from the Recreation Committee, representatives from Police, Fire, and DPW, and neighbors Sarah Forrester, Christina Cheng, Jane Waldman Aronson, and Claudia Nole. Jeanne Krieger from the Board of Selectmen would also be invited to participate. The Recreation Committee voted to approve the proposal to create a team to study the proposed tot lot. 3. Skateboard Park Jack Cunha reported that the Skateboard/Inline Park Committee has $42,000 in the bank and another $10,000 is needed to put in the slab. Letters have been sent out to Bowman and Fiske families and $1,250 was raised in one week. They are continuing to look at one piece at a time. 3 Four new members have joined the committee. They are resubmitting a grant proposal to Stride Rite and will be working on Raytheon and Stop and Shop as well. The Town Engineer has noted several issues that must be looked at again, including the number of large rocks in the fill that should be corrected before the slab is poured. Once the park is built and turned over to Recreation the Town will be responsible for maintaining it. Karen Simmons said that Recreation provides staff support to the Skateboard Committee. She gets complaints weekly regarding the lack of progress on the project. Don asked if it were reasonable that the park would be completed this summer and if not, what would we do in September. Jack Cunha said that we should then plow it over and put grass on it. Rick feels that we shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. Karen said that at one time the Skateboard Park was listed in the Recreation 5-year plan for $25,000, but in ’97 or ’98 the Skateboard/Inline Park Committee said they did not need the money and felt they could raise the funds easily. She suggested that the Skateboard Committee look at a new skate ramp product call “Skate Wave”. Rick suggested that at a future meeting we look at setting a deadline for completion of the park, after which Recreation would possibly take over the project. The Skateboard Committee proposed posting a fund-raising “thermometer” at the park site. The proposal was approved 5 – 0 by the Recreation Committee. Rick wants the site to be reviewed by the Engineering Department before any construction occurs. This should include a compaction test. In October 2000, the Recreation Committee requested that a report be given to them prior to any cement work being done. This should include: ?? Compaction test results ?? What the surface material is, the depth of the material 4. Lincoln Park Don Chisholm, a member of the Lincoln Park Subcommittee, discussed the development of a Master Plan for Lincoln Park by Sasaki Associates Inc. of Watertown, funded by money received from the estate of Dick Kirk. They are going through the process of looking at several alternatives for the proposed reconfiguration of the area, including several attractive features. The funds were left specifically for the fitness path and associated area, but the master plan is for all of Lincoln Park. It is proposed to move the parking lot along Lincoln Street instead of at the end of the current long driveway. There is concern with dust on the bumpy road. A modest berm is proposed to minimize the view of the cars from the street. It is being recommended that only the turnaround be paved. The new parking lot would hold 150 cars. The lot will be configured to hold two rows of parking. The Little League fiild will be relocated adjacent to the other fields. A portion of the existing field will be part of the parking lot and rest will become a picnic area. Part of the Fitness Path would have to be relocated from the area for the new parking lot. The proposal includes a walkway down to a raised platform viewing area. The Lincoln Park Subcommittee would also like to try to develop the area by the boardwalk and open up the wetlands, including opening up the Vine Brook to make it a more robust stream. If the pond were enlarged and dredged it could become an outdoor classroom for the high school. 4 Karen asked when the Master Plan report would be ready to be presented. The preliminary budget is a half million dollars, not including rebuilding the athletic fields. Karen requested that rebuilding the fields, including irrigation, be included in the Master Plan. The School Committee has been considering three options for construction at the elementary schools: ?? Construct a new Harrington School and use the existing school as swing space. ?? Put portable classrooms at Fiske, Diamond, or Estabrook fields. ?? Put portable classrooms on the Little League field at Lincoln. Robin DiGiammarino of the School Committee wanted impact hours from Karen. Last year Recreation permitted 440 hours at Estabrook, 420 hours at Lincoln, and 2500 at Diamond. Karen feels she might be able to work with the schools to assist in rebuilding the Little League field if the portable classrooms are put on the exiting field. We now expect to lose one full size and one ¾ field at Harrington permanently because of the proposed school construction. 5. Disabled Rate Pam Varrin wanted to postpone discussion of the disabled rate until after she meets with the Enablement Committee. The Recreation Committee approved to move the vote to the September meeting. 6. Senior Golf Rate After reviewing the information submitted by John Fedorochko in May, the Recreation Committee voted 5 - 0 not to institute a senior membership rate. Seniors currently receive a substantial discount. 7. Recreation Report Sign Policy- Rick recommended that language be added to the policy to allow the Recreation Committee to grant a variance. Don suggested, “The Recreation Committee reserves the right to consider variances on a case by case basis. “ The Recreation Committee requested that “policy” be changed to “guidelines”. This was approved 5 – 0. Town Pool hours- A copy of a letter from Dana Wendel, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 6, was given to the Recreation Committee. She has concerns regarding the pool hours, specifically looking for open swim hours in the morning. Karen stated that the morning hours are reserved for swim lessons which impart a valuable skill. We serve over 1500 children each year and add lessons based on need. Since the next Recreation Committee meeting will be held at Pine Meadows, Dick suggested that Dana Wendell be invited to the August meeting to discuss this issue. Old Res- Karen reported that the water heater burst and caused damage at the Old Res bathhouse. The electricity has been turned off until we are given the okay by the electrician. The insurance adjuster has looked at the damage. Coppersmyth Way- The Bike Advisory Committee would like a path from Coppersmyth Way to the Bridge School. It is very clear in the Planning Board documents that this is not to be a 5 bikeway. The Recreation Committee supports the efforts of the Bike Advisory committee, but does not have the funding to construct a bike path. It was suggested to invite Marita Hartshorn to the August or September meeting to discuss the path. Capital projects- Sutherland is almost complete. Based on this project, future playgrounds should include the cost of professional installation. Park staff do not have the time and do the work on overtime. Article 31 - We are receiving complaints about the work at the ballfields. Karen did reach out to the users a year ago and is hearing from them now that the work has begun. The bleachers have just been taken out, the backstops and football fence have been removed. Everything is within budget. The project is moving quickly so Karen requested that committee members refer all questions regarding the project to her. ?? Clarke soccer field- This field will be out for at least a year until the fall of 2002 or spring of 2003. ?? Senior baseball- The construction is having a major impact on senior baseball, but with only four senior fields available there is not much we can do. ?? Tennis courts- We hope that the Clarke tennis courts will be completed in mid-August before the Center courts are started. The Center courts will be completely rebuilt. ?? Track- The track will be re-coated. ?? Long jump was added as an alternate for $16,500. ?? The only project that might not be completed until spring is the final coat on the center tennis courts, weather pending. Pine Meadows- We are getting prices from firms to the road improvement project. Amory Engineering is too busy to give us a quote for a fall start. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. NEXT MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2001 6:30 P.M. PINE MEADOWS GOLF COURSE