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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-08-REC-min Town of Lexington Recreation Committee Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (781) 698-4800 Lisah Rhodes Fax: (781) 862-2747 Wendy Rudner Sandra Shaw Ruixi Yuan Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting of October 8, 2014 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at the Public Services Building Training Room (Room 221), 201 Bedford Street. A quorum of 5 was present. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Wendy Rudner, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi (Ray) Yuan Members Absent: Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds, and Peter Coleman, Recreation Supervisor Citizens Present: Tom Shiple, Tim Carruthers, John Clough, and Gary Larson of Lexington United Soccer Club, Todd Cataldo and Michael Schroeder of Lexington Little League, and David Bonnett of Geosyntec Consultants The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. The meeting acted on the following: Photo for Annual Town Report 7:30 p.m. 1. The Recreation Committee had its picture taken for the Annual Town Report. Citizens and Other Boards 2. None Meeting Minutes from September 3, 2014 3. Lisah Rhodes moved and Wendy Rudner seconded acceptance of the September 3, 2014 Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes. The Recreation Committee accepted the September 3, 2014 minutes by a vote of 5 0. Liaison Reports 4. Wendy Rudner, liaison to the Lincoln Park Sub-Committee (LPSC), distributed minutes from the April 28, 2014 and May 27, 2014 meetings as well as her notes from the September 4, 2014 meeting. Ms. Rudner expressed her concerns about a recent planting that was completed and spring 2015 planting. The LPSC only vetted one estimate for the project. Rick DeAngelis stated that the financials for the LPSC can be confusing and more straight-forward accounting is needed. Mr. DeAngelis suggested that the LPSC be invited to attend the Recreation Committee meeting in January to provide their annual update. 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 During this discussion, Ms. Simmons informed the Recreation Committee that she had given her approval for an equipment storage container at Lincoln Park. The container was paid for by the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC) and the LPSC had initially turned down two potential locations near the meadow, so Ms. Simmons came up with an alternative location for the container within the main park near the Little League field. Vote for the Recreation Committee member on the CPC 5. Rick DeAngelis nominated Sandra Shaw to serve a two-year term as the Recreation Committee member on the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). Lisah Rhodes seconded the nomination and the Recreation Committee approved the nomination by a vote of 5 0. Fitzgerald Field Lights 6. Todd Cataldo expressed his frustration since the lights at the Fitzgerald Field had been on the Recreation Committee meeting agendas for over a year and no decision had been made. He also stated that he did not want to commit the financial resources necessary to the project if his son was not going to benefit from playing under-the-lights. Members of the Recreation Committee agreed that a vote should be taken to determine whether or not this project was going to move forward. Sandra Shaw stated that Lexington Little League should be involved in this process. Mr. Cataldo noted that representatives from Lexington Little League did not attend the Recreation Committee meetings for the first few months that this item was discussed. Michael Schroeder, President of Lexington Little League, was in attendance at the meeting and stated that while having lights at the Fitzgerald Field would be nice to have, they are not needed nor are a priority in order to run the Little League program. After a brief discussion, Rick DeAngelis said that there was no compelling reason to move forward on this project at this point. At the same time, Mr. DeAngelis suggested that this matter be tabled for the time being rather than voting Yes or No on lights at the Fitzgerald Field at that time. Mr. DeAngelis thanked Mr. Cataldo for his involvement and willingness to come forward on this issue. Mr. Cataldo reiterated his disappointment that nothing came of it. Rick DeAngelis made the motion that the Recreation Committee table the matter of lighting the Fitzgerald Little League Field. This motion was seconded by Lisah Rhodes and the Recreation Committee approved tabling this topic by a vote of 5-0. Karen Simmons told the Recreation Committee that she would notify the Board of Selectmen about the decision. Request for Permanent Lights at Lincoln LUSC 7. Tim Carruthers, Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC), provided a brief review of the proposal that was discussed at the Recreation Committee meeting on September 3 rd. In the proposal, LUSC and Lexington Youth Lacrosse (LYL) are asking for the support of the Recreation Committee on the concept of installing permanent lighting at Lincoln Park and are looking for permission to drill for core borings, which would help determine what would be required for the foundations of the lights. Members of the Recreation Committee discussed what the involvement of the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen should be in this process. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, recommended to the Recreation Committee that the test borings should be completed as part of due diligence to determine whether or not permanent lights at Lincoln Park are is even feasible. Ms. Simmons has discussed this with Carl Valente, Town Manager and it was decided that if approved, the test borings will be coordinated with the Town Engineer and the Towns environmental consultant. Ray Yuan asked if a special process needed to be followed, given that Lincoln Park is located on top of an old landfill. David Bonnett, consultant with Geosyntec Consultants, stated that geotechnical data from the test borings must be collected to determine if a lighting system at Lincoln Park would be feasible. Specifically, the test borings would help to determine the 2 foundations that would be needed and how gas from beneath the field would be emitted. Permitting is required to do the test borings. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would first have to give permission before the test borings are completed and the Town Manager would sign the permit as owner for the Town of Lexington. Tim Carruthers reiterated the current concept would be to permit all three fields for light, initially lighting one field through private funds. After a lengthy discussion on the topic, Rich DeAngelis made the following motion: ecreation Committee supports the concept of lights at Lincoln Park and supports Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC) and Lexington Youth Lacrosse (LYL) to do due diligence, at no cost to the Town, to do test borings upon receiving approval from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and all other required local, state, and Sandra Shaw seconded the motion and the Recreation Committee approved moving forward to have test borings done at Lincoln Park by a vote of 5-0. Recreation 5 Year Capital Plan 8. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, asked the Recreation Committee to start thinking about who would present the FY2016 capital improvement projects at Town Meeting in the spring. Lisah Rhodes volunteered to give the presentations at Town Meeting. Lincoln # 1 Update 9. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, reported that she continues to work with Town Counsel and negotiations are progressing, but she did not have any new specific information on Lincoln #1 at that time. A news report on the health and safety of synthetic turf fields recently aired on the NBC Nightly News. The specific issue is regarding the crumb rubber used in the infill. Based on studies completed by the EPA and CPSC, they show that there is no correlation between synthetic turf and human health concerns. Ms. Simmons informed that the Recreation Committee that several years ago, the Recreation Department had the synthetic turf fibers and rubber infill tested and the results came back safe and within legal limits. The Health Department also did an independent test and it was determined that there was no lead in the synthetic turf. The statement from the Health Department is posted on the Recreation Department website. Community Center Advisory Committee Update 10. A ground breaking ceremony was held on September 11 at 10:00 a.m. at the new Lexington Community Center. No new information to report. Recreation Report 11. The United States Golf Association (USGA) visited Pine Meadows Golf Club on Wednesday, September 24 th. The report from this visit was distributed and will be discussed at the Recreation Committee meeting in November. Fall programs are going well. New programs such as adult badminton, adult volleyball, and girls pick-up basketball are being offered at the Estabrook School gym and have been well-received by the community so far. The NFL FLAG Football League at Lincoln Park on Sunday afternoons is also running smoothly. Registration for winter programs is ongoing. So far, there are approximately 250 children registered for the skiing and snowboarding programs on Thursday afternoons 3 and Friday evenings at Nashoba Valley and these programs will reach capacity soon. The middle school early release tubing trip to Nashoba Valley on January 8 th is also full. Staff from the Recreation, Conservation, and Planning Departments will be updating the (OSRP) in the coming months. The plan needs to be updated every five years and was last updated in 2009. The consultant for this project has been selected and the kickoff meeting was held this week. The first public forum will be held on Thursday, November 20 th at 7:00 p.m. The goals and action plan outlined in the OSRP will be consistent with what is stated in the Recreation As in past years, the Recreation Committee will need to sign off on and approve the OSRP before it is finalized. It is estimated that this will be completed in Spring 2015. The Pine Meadows Golf Club is in great condition. For the fiscal year, revenue is up compared to this time last year and the course is expected to close for the season in early December unless we have early snow. Recreation Department staff will provide an overview of the department to the Citizens Academy. This presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21 st. Parks Reports 12. Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds, reported on the following: Former DPW employee Gary Ganley passed away last month. The Tree Committee will be placing a pear tree at the entrance to the football field to in memory of Mr. Ganley. The football field is holding up well to this point of the season. Breast cancer awareness ribbons were painted on the football field for the month of October. All of the grids at Center #1/#2 for the LUSC under-the-lights program have been laid out. The pools at the Irving H. Mabee Town Pool Complex have been winterized. It was a successful summer due to the hard work and efforts of Larry Anderson and the rest of the DPW staff. The sod and infield at the new Estabrook field are in good shape. The sod used at Estabrook came off of the same field as the sod that was installed at the football field. At Sutherland Park, the installation of the new backstop is nearing completion and the renovation of the Little League field should begin shortly and take no longer than two weeks to complete. The Fitzgerald Field reconstruction is ongoing and the renovation at the Worthen Road st practice field will begin on approximately November 1. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee will take place on Thursday, November 20 th at 6:00 p.m. at the Public Services Building Training Room (Room 221), 201 Bedford Street. The October 8, 2014 Recreation Committee meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. The following documents/exhibits used at the meeting are attached: 1. USGA On-Site Visit Report September 24, 2014 2. article 3. article 4. Lincoln Park Sub-Committee Minutes from the April 28, 2014 and May 27, 2014 meetings 5. Notes from the Lincoln Park Sub-Committee meeting on September 4, 2014 4