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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-09-REC-min Town of Lexington Recreation Committee Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (781) 698-4800 Lisah Rhodes, Vice Chairman Fax: (781) 862-2747 Sandra Shaw Ruixi Yuan Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting September 9, 2015 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi Yuan Members Absent: None Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Sheila Butts, Community Center Director, Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds, and Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation Others Present: Eric Brown (14 Douglas Road), Aline Gery (Head of School, Lexington Montessori School), Wendy Manz (Capital Expenditures Committee), Stephen Mattingly (19 South Rindge Avenue), Tom Shiple (Lexington United Soccer Club), and Tricia Wojtaszek (Business Manager, Lexington Montessori School) The Recreation Committee meeting officially began at 7:02 p.m. The meeting acted on the following items: 1. Meeting Minutes from May 20 th and July 15 th, 2015 Sandra Shaw moved and Ruixi Yuan seconded approval of the Recreation Committee Minutes of The Recreation Committee voted 3-0 to approve the May 20, 2015 and July 15, 2015. minutes of May 20, 2015 and July 15, 2015 . 2. Citizens and Other Boards None 3. Liaison Reports Sandra Shaw reported that a successful bike corral had been set up at the also indicated that attendance monitors would be placed on the Minuteman Bikeway within the next few weeks. Tracking usage on the bike path is a practice that the Bikeway Advisory Committee completes on an annual basis. 4. Eagle Scout Project, Disc Golf Project Pieter Svenson, along with his mentors Stephen Mattingly and Eric Brown, presented his proposal to construct a disc golf course at the Bridge Elementary School. Mr. Svenson is a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 119 and this project would qualify as his Eagle Scout Community Service Project. Mr. Svenson explained that while disc golf is growing in popularity and there are several courses in the area, there is currently no course in Lexington. He discussed the 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 2 benefits of disc golf as well as the course criteria, which includes five acres of wooded and open spaces for a 9-hole course that is easily accessible. Mr. Svenson stressed that safety was the top priority. If approved, Mr. Svenson stated that the construction of the course would take place during Spring 2016 and would include the installation of baskets and tee areas. While the baskets would be fixed, he indicated that they could be removable. The total budget for this project would be approximately $3,500 and upon completion, the course would be gifted and turned over to the Town to maintain. Eric Brown stated that Mr. Svenson, Mr. Mattingly, and he had done a walkthrough of the site with Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, to determine the best locations for the holes. Mr. Svenson spoke with the Acting Principal at Bridge School and they support the project. Ms. Simmons indicated that the principal at the Bridge School should send a letter of support. After a brief discussion, Rick DeAngelis, chairman of the Recreation Committee made the following motion: The Recreation Committee votes to approve the disc golf proposal presented this evening and that the Recreation Committee retains oversight jurisdiction through the Director of Recreation and Community Programs, or The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to her designee. Sandra Shaw seconded the motion. approve. 5. Montessori School Aline Gery, Head of School, and Tricia Wojtaszek, Business Manager, discussed the possibility of the Lexington Montessori School acquiring land that could be used for field space. Currently, Lexington Montessori leases this land from the Belmont Country Club. Ms. Gery and Ms. Wojtaszek stated that Belmont Country Club has offered to sell it to the school. The size of the field area, which is located at the high point of the property, is approximately 65 yards by 85 yards, which is large enough for an 8v8 small-sided soccer field. A large portion of the land may have restrictions due to the wetlands. Ms. Gery understands that there is a need for field space in town and that is why they came before the Recreation Committee. She stated that the school has a good relationship with the neighborhood and the field would be available for the community to use on weeknights after 5pm and on weekends. Mr. Shiple, President of Lexington United Soccer Club, walked the field in Spring 2015 and agreed that the area could be large enough for an 8v8 soccer field. Mr. Shiple expressed his concerns about location, access to the field, parking on private land, and the high cost to build an 11v11 soccer field due to the slope of the site. Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, said that the Committee supports open space and that this is a topic that should be continued at a future meeting. 6. ACROSS Lexington Route E Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, reported that the ACROSS Lexington Team has completed the layout for Route E and the one concern she has is that the th route will go through the tee box of the 6 Hole at the Pine Meadows Golf Club. ACROSS Lexington has made assurances that the route will not interfere with the golf course. Ms. Simmons will do a walkthrough of the proposed route in October. 7. Update on Lincoln Park Light Feasibility (LUSC) Tom Shiple, president of the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC), requested permission for LUSC to temporary lights at Lincoln #2 on weeknights from 5:30pm-8:30pm beginning on thth Monday, October 5 and ending on Friday, November 13. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, recommended that the same conditions be followed that were in place for the spring season in a letter dated March 5, 2015. Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation Committee made the following motion: The Recreation Committee votes to approve the installation of temporary lights at Lincoln #2 from October 5, 2015 through November 13, 2015, following the same conditions that were outlined in the letter dated March 5, The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve. 2015. Ruixi Yuan seconded the motion. 3 Mr. Shiple also provided an update on where things stood regarding the feasibility of permanent lights at Lincoln Park. Sanborn Head was hired in April as a consultant and LUSC has been working with Musco Lighting as well. While Mr. Shiple was aiming to have a report to present to the Recreation Committee, that was not the case and he is hopeful to have a report at the October meeting. He did state that based on all of the information that has been gathered so far, installing permanent lights at Lincoln remains feasible. On August 28 th, representatives from LUSC and the Town met onsite with Kevin Stetson from Sanborn Head for a walkthrough and to discuss potential light locations. The cost to install a transformer is estimated at approximately $50,000 per field, so the plan would be to install a transformer for Lincoln #2 only for the time being. Mr. Shiple reported that LUSC had held its third and final community meeting, this time with the Middleby Road neighbors. The overall reaction was neutral to positive. LUSC has created an email list and sent out the first update to all of the neighbors surrounding Lincoln Park during the summer. 8. Community Center Membership Fees Sheila Butts, Community Center Director, presented a draft Community Center Membership Fees proposal. Ms. Butts is hopeful that the new membership system will be in place by October 1 st and she indicated that a large number of non-residents have been using the facility. While Lexington residents will not be charged a fee, the proposal calls for an annual membership fee of $25.00 for non-resident youth and seniors, $50.00 for a non-resident adult between the ages of 18-59, and $125.00 for a non-resident family membership. If approved, Ms. Butts indicated that this proposal would go before the Board of Selectmen. Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation Committee made the following motion: The Recreation Committee votes to approve the draft Non-Resident Community Center membership fees proposal dated September 9, 2015 and recommend that the Board of Selectmen do the same. Lisah Rhodes seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve. 9. Recreation 5-Year Capital Plan Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, presented the FY2017- FY2021 5-Year Capital Plan to the Recreation Committee. The six capital projects scheduled for FY17 are the Irving H. Mabee Town Pool renovations, construction of the Granite Forest at thth Lincoln Park, reconstructing the 4 hole at the Pine Meadows Golf Club, replacing the fencing at Muzzey Field and at the Center Recreation Complex on Worthen Road from the Town Pool Complex to the Center #1 baseball field, the renovation of the Adams Field, and resurfacing the basketball courts at Rindge Park and Kinneens Park. The Recreation Committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Town Pool renovations. Ms. Simmons reminded that a facility audit had been completed back in 2008. In the report, it stated that the current filtration system had a life expectancy was 15 years and the system had been installed in 1980. While installing a new filtration system is the largest portion of this renovation, two different options for the Wading Pool were presented: the first would be to leave the Wading Pool alone and the second would be to reconfigure the Wading Pool to incorporate a water feature, such as a spray park or splash pad, in an attempt to attract more patrons to the facility. Reconfiguring the Wading Pool would add approximately $300,000 to the cost of the project. While members of the Recreation Committee thought it would be a good idea to include the Wading Pool reconfiguration as part of the project, others believed that including the reconfiguration would be too large of a cost increase from last year to this year, especially since the project is requesting funding from the Community Preservation Committee. The Recreation Committee decided that it would be best to divide the Town Pool renovations into two phases: Phase One with the filtration system replacement and other improvements at the facility in FY17 and the potential reconfiguration of the Wading Pool would be Phase Two in FY18. With this adjustment having been made, Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation 4 Committee made the following motion: The Recreation Committee votes to approve the Recreation FY2017-FY2021 5-Year Capital Plan as presented, September 9, 2015. Lisah The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve. Rhodes seconded the motion. 10. Community Preservation Vote Recreation Committee Representative Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, stated that the Recreation Committee must vote on its representative on the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for th a two-year term and that the term expired on June 30 this year. Sandra Shaw has served on the CPC and indicated that she would be willing to serve on the committee for the upcoming year. Rick DeAngelis made the motion to appoint Sandra Shaw as the Recreation Committee member to serve on the Community Preservation Committee through June 30, 2017 and Lisah Rhodes The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve seconded this motion. . 11. Community Center Update Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, reported to the Recreation Committee that Sheila Butts has been doing an outstanding job in her new role as the Community Center Director. Five new staff, part-time clerks and building supervisors, have been hired. Additionally, Thomas Romano has been hired as the Youth and Family Program Coordinator with a focus on developing programs for teens and special events and activities for families. Ms. Simmons said that the Community Center is an exciting facility and reminded the Committee that th the grand opening for the facility will be held on Saturday, October 17 from 10:00am-1:00pm. The facility has officially expanded its hours of operation and is currently open Monday Friday 8a:00am- 9:00pm and Saturday 9:00am -5:00pm. During July and August, the attendance at the center was just shy of 10,000. In addition, the customer service transaction counter staff handled over 1,300 telephone calls. 12. Recreation Report Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Recreation Committee that the summer went very well. Enrollment in the summer camps/clinics, tennis, and aquatics programs remained steady and minimal issues. She complimented Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, for overseeing all of the summer programs and handling the responsibilities of two positions for the majority of the summer. She also noted that Tyler Radicioni has been hired as the new Supervisor of Recreation and he began working for the Town th on August 17. 13. Parks Report No Parks report was given. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 237 of the Lexington Community Center. The September 9, 2015 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 8:54 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents/exhibits distributed at the meeting are attached: Google Map of Lexington Montessori Property, Lexington Eagle Project Disc Golf Proposal, Non-Resident Community Center Membership Fees Proposal