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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-06-REC-min `OVS MORN' O� 1775 tic Town of Lexington D - Recreation Committee APRIL 19' �FXINGSO� Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (781) 698-4800 Lisah Rhodes,Vice Chair Fax: (781) 861-2747 Christian Boutwell Carl Fantasia Lisa O'Brien Claire Sheth Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting October 6, 2021 A virtual meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 7:00pm through the Zoom platform. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Christian Boutwell, and Carl Fantasia, Members Absent: Lisa O'Brien and Claire Sheth Staff Present: Melissa Battite,Director of Recreation and Community Programs,Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation,Mike Cronin,Public Facilities Director, Christine Dean,Community Center Director, Chris Filadoro,DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, Carolyn Kosnoff,Assistant Town Manager for Finance, and Dave Pinsonneault,DPW Director Others Present: Suzie Barry(Select Board liaison), Suzanne Lau(18 Phinney Road, Lexington), Dawn and Steve McKenna(9 Hancock Street, Lexington), Deepika Sawhney (School Committee liaison), and Tom Shiple (18 Phinney Road, Lexington) 1. Center Recreation Restroom Project Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs,provided the Committee with a status update on the project. The Department of Public Facilities continues to work with the architect, LDa Architecture, on the next level of design and the updated site plans are attached to the meeting minutes. Additionally, the project is currently being requested through the tax levy. Ms. Battite reported that this project would be eligible for Community Preservation Act(CPA) funds. It would not qualify for CPA funds at the 2021 Special Town Meeting this fall as the deadline for Special Town Meeting submissions is Thursday, October 7th. With that being said, Marilyn Fenollosa,who is the Chairperson of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), has indicated that the CPC would support use of CPA funds for this project if it were proposed for the 2022 Annual Town Meeting next spring. Rick DeAngelis, Chair of the Recreation Committee, expressed his opinion that the plans are in need of further evolution before going to Town Meeting and was in favor of requesting CPA funds for this project. Mr. DeAngelis added that since there is an evolutionary process involved with concept plans, design development, and construction documents, additional time is needed to review the plans as well as to ask questions and receive answers from Mike Cronin,Public Facilities Director, and LDa. He stated that the project should be brought forward,requesting CPA funds, at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting once the plans have been finalized. Lisah Rhodes inquired about the impact on the timeline if the project was deferred until the Annual Town Meeting next spring. Ms. Battite spoke with Mr. Cronin and Dave Pinsonneault,DPW Director, last week and once Annual Town Meeting closes, CPA funds available. This means that the plan for a 2022 mobilization for this project will remain unchanged. Ms. Rhodes questioned if a delay 2 would affect the department's revenue stream for the Spring/Summer 2022 programs and Ms. Battite answered that there would be no impact on revenue. Portable toilets may be needed at the site in addition to having access to bathrooms at Lexington High School and the Town Pool. Ms. Rhodes also asked what the impact on school programs would be and Ms. Battite indicated that the department would work with the Lexington Public Schools to understand their needs to minimize the impact that is experienced. Deepika Sawhney, liaison from the School Committee, added that it would be important to work through the logistics given how many different users there are. Christian Boutwell stated that the funding source is important and being eligible for CPA funds is a significant change. Mr. Boutwell indicated that he would be open to having storage,but the site would help determine if that would be possible. He agreed with Mr. DeAngelis that the plan shared at Annual Town Meeting would essentially need to be the finalized plan. Mike Cronin reiterated that staff would continue to receive input from the public between now and Annual Town Meeting to ensure there are no surprises and he anticipates going to Annual Town Meeting with the design being completed and the construction and bid documents ready to go. At this point, members in the audience had the opportunity to make comments and ask questions. Tom Shiple,resident of 18 Phinney Road, stated that while they are in a useable state, the Center bathrooms need to be renovated. He also supports delaying the project presentation until the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. Suzie Barry, liaison from the Select Board,inquired about the properties available for the bathrooms to be built on and questioned whether or not the proposed location for the bathrooms would be available for the new Lexington High School to be built on. Melissa Battite said that the land is under Recreation's jurisdiction and control and Dave Pinsonneault concurred with this. Ms. Barry stated that the Select Board, School Committee, and Recreation Committee will have a joint meeting in the next couple of months to review the map of the survey that was recently completed at the Center Recreation Complex and start the conversation about the new Lexington High School. Ms. Battite added that the map has been reviewed with Town Counsel as well. Steve McKenna, cross country and track coach at Lexington High School, commended the Committee for taking a step back to make sure the scope of the project would include everything that is necessary and he expressed his support for using CPA funding for this project. At the conclusion of the discussion, Rick DeAngelis made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee moves to not bring the Center bathrooms and storage building capital improvement project forward to the Fall 2021 Special Town Meeting, but rather to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting to allow for additional work on the plans and further development of the design drawings to be completed in the upcoming months in conjunction with the architect, Department of Public Facilities, DPW, and the Recreation and Community Programs Department." Lisah Rhodes seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve this motion. The next virtual meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 20"at 7:00pm through the Zoom platform. The October 6`" 2021 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 7:3 7pm. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents distributed at the meeting are attached: • Center Restroom Building and Storage Site Plans 39 MARRETT ROAD,LEXINGTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02421