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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-16-REC-min`OVs MORN' O� 1775 tic s wA 3 z a� APRIL 19 �FXI NGSO� Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Lisah Rhodes, Vice Chair Christian Boutwell Carl Fantasia Lisa O'Brien Claire Sheth Town of Lexington Recreation Committee 2022 05 May, %�56 aiii7,,i TOWN CLERK Tel: (781) 698-4800 Fax: (781) 861-2747 Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting February 16, 2022 A virtual meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 7:00pm through the Zoom platform. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Christian Boutwell, Carl Fantasia, 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, Melinda Spencer, Administrative Manager, and Hayato Tsurumaki, Recreation Supervisor Others Present: Suzie Barry (Select Board liaison), Sandy Beebee (Capital Expenditures Committee liaison), Tim Clackson (14 Winthrop Road, Lexington), Suzanne Lau (18 Phinney Road, Lexington), Tom Libretto (12 Cooke Road, Lexington), and Deepika Sawhney (School Committee liaison) 1. Meeting Minutes — January 19, 2022 Lisah Rhodes moved to approve the minutes from the January 19' meeting. Lisa O'Brien seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 6-0 to approve the January 19 minutes. Recreation Committee Email Correspondence Lisa O'Brien reported that all emails received over the past months were from staff that the Committee were copied on. The highlights include snow removal at Lincoln 91, interest in potentially having a skating rink at Sutherland Park, and concerns from the Lexington High School track coaches. A site visit with the track coaches at the Center Track is scheduled for Thursday, February 17th 3. Liaison Report The February 2022 Liaison Reports are attached to the meeting minutes. Lisa O'Brien, liaison to the Lincoln Park Sub -Committee (LPSC), indicated that things have been quiet during the winter and that planning for the spring will begin soon. Citizens have reached out to the LPSC about donating a memorial bench, so the LPSC will look to create a policy and map around donations that will proactively identify potential locations for benches and other donations in the future. Deepika Sawhney, School Committee liaison, reported that the indoor mask mandate at the Lexington Public Schools is effective through March 15th. Despite recent developments, this date will not be moved up at all and this item will be discussed at the March Board of Health meeting. Ms. Sawhney added that the vaccine clinics will continue and the vaccination rates among students and staff are at a high level. Suzie Barry, Select Board liaison, stated that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), is scheduled to vote on funding for a new Lexington High School at its March 2nd meeting. If Lexington's request is approved, then the School Committee would meet to vote and a Special Town Meeting would convene during Annual Town Meeting this spring to seek funding for the feasibility study. Ms. Barry indicated that Jim Malloy, Town Manager, would prefer to move forward with the formal feasibility study as compared to the request being brought forward in Article 25. The Select Board and School Committee are scheduled to have a joint meeting on Thursday, February 24' (this meeting has since been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 9th) Ms. Barry added that the Select Board is bus getting ready for Town Meeting. For the Recreation articles, Article lOg (Kinneens playground replacement), Article 10h (Fiske field renovation and ADA improvements), and Article 11 (Pine Meadows improvements) will all be on the consent agenda. Article IOf (Gallagher/Farias Courts reconstruction project) and Article 101 (Lincoln Park master plan) have been pulled off of the consent agenda and will be presented and voted on individually. For the water heater replacement at the Town Pool (Article 16h), the request is for a direct replacement of the existing oil heater. Some members of the Board believe that the heater should be replaced with an electric/solar option, which would cost significantly more. At a recent meeting, the Select Board discussed that if there is an issue with the water heater this summer, then the plan is to replace it with an oil heater to minimize the disruption with operations. Otherwise, alternative energy sources will be explored and the funding request will be presented at Special Town Meeting in the fall. Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, added the initial request of $31,000 could go towards the consultant for the electric/solar option. Field Permitting Process Update — Christian Boutwell Christian Boutwell provided the Committee with an update on how the first working group meeting went, which took place on Thursday, February 10th. In addition to Mr. Boutwell and staff, Naomi Martin, Lexington Public Schools Director of Athletics, and representatives from the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC) and Lexington Youth Lacrosse (LYL) were in attendance. Mr. Boutwell said that it was a good conversation about the reasoning for time over -runs and the primary focus is on the synthetic turf fields. Everyone in attendance seemed engaged with the goal of minimizing conflicts or time uncertainty for follow-on users. Both LUSC and LYL fully support LHS Athletics and a draft of the spring permit was reviewed during the meeting to look at options to amend prior to final approval. An attempt to preserve Lincoln 91 will be made by moving older, heavier users off of that field. The next working group meeting will be scheduled in March and the ultimate goal of the group is to be creative to maximize use of the limited, valuable resources. Rick DeAngelis, Chair of the Recreation Committee, stated that this is a good start to a perplexing problem and that it is a worthwhile effort for all parties to work together on this challenge. Mr. DeAngelis and Lisah Rhodes commended Mr. Boutwell for his active participation in this initiative and Mr. Boutwell recognized Hayato Tsurumaki, Recreation Supervisor, since he is responsible for overseeing the master field schedule each season. Financial Working Group Update — Christian Boutwell Christian Boutwell informed the Committee that the financial working group met on Wednesday, February 16th. The group reviewed alternative funding models. Melissa Battite and Katharine Labrecque, Management Analyst, sent out a survey about funding model and services to the approximately 230 communities that are members of the Massachusetts Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) and a few dozen responses have been received to date. It will be valuable to pull out comparable communities when it comes to services and size (town vs. city). Mr. Boutwell reported that Town staff is currently reviewing multiple options that could work for Lexington. There will be value to have a draft policy on paper for constructive criticism and feedback. The group will follow-up in a month with the intent of presenting the various funding model options to the Recreation Committee and Select Board by late spring or early summer. 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 While Mr. Boutwell attended this meeting on an interim basis, the Committee wanted to formalize his appointment to the group. Rick DeAngelis made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee moves to confirm Christian Boutwell's appointment to the Financial Working Group." Lisah Rhodes seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 6-0 to approve this motion. 6. Outdoor Recreation Facilities — Snow Removal — Lisah Rhodes Lisah Rhodes reported that there has been a number of incidents at Lincoln Park of people using the fields for organized and pick-up soccer games this winter. In one case, a tarp was placed on a field prior to a storm to make snow removal easier and last week, Ms. Rhodes saw high school students shoveling at Lincoln 91, who believe that it is a right to use the fields. Ms. Rhodes added that this is not just happening at fields as people have shoveled the Center Track previously. Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, said that he could put a group together or work with staff on how to properly close the field with signage and/or permanently removing soccer nets for the winter. He added that if anyone sees something taking place that should not be happening, they should let DPW and Recreation know. Melissa Battite stated that there is strong buy -in from current user groups as they're mindful of this situation. The tarp group refuses to get a field permit and the high school students were less than respectful when they were approached. Approximately $6,000 was spent in repairs at Lincoln 91 after last winter. This is a matter of messaging, community education and awareness, and what can be done to enforce whatever parameters are put in place. Although it would be a last resort, assessing fines would be enforcement measure to ensure the lifecycle of the fields is not shortened. Lisa O'Brien mentioned the concept of piloting a snow removal program at one field if there would be a field eligible for this. Christian Boutwell was intrigued by this idea and thought it would be worth adding to the conversation. Mr. Boutwell added that clear, succinct, short communication each December is needed and recommended that the messaging be sent to LHS Athletics and LHS students, the youth sports organizations, and the Town Meeting Member Association (TMMA) listserv. Rick DeAngelis concurred with the need for enhanced communications and that this conversation will continue going forward. 7. Park & Playground Improvements — Rindge Park — Peter Coleman Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, provided an update on the playground replacement at Rindge Park and a copy of the presentation slides is attached to the meeting minutes. After the Committee approved the design for the new playground at its January meeting, a few individuals contacted the department to express their concerns about the lack of play elements for younger children. Over the past month, staff worked with the playground designer to address these concerns and Mr. Coleman presented a modified design to the Committee for their review and approval. As compared to the previous design, the modified design contains a lower double slide for younger children and the spiral slide has been replaced with a step climber. The monkey bars have been modified and an additional platform would be installed by where the double slide is located. Mr. Coleman informed the Committee that Melissa Battite and he met with the concerned residents on Tuesday, February 15' to review the modified design. They were appreciative that their feedback had been incorporated into the most recent design and they are in support of the modified design. After a brief discussion, Rick DeAngelis made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee moves to approve the modified design for the Rindge Parkplayground replacement, as presented." Lisah Rhodes seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 6-0 to approve this motion. 8. Scoreboard Donation — Tom Libretto Rick DeAngelis reminded the Committee that the current scoreboard at the Center 91 baseball field was installed back in 1997 and has gotten a lot of use over the years. The residents that are collaborating on this initiative are Mr. DeAngelis, Tom Libretto, John Igoe, Eric Steinkrauss, and 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 4 Jeff Heisner. The request at the meeting was to seek the approval of the Committee to remove the existing scoreboard and install a new scoreboard at no cost to the Town of Lexington. If approved, the request would be presented to the Select Board for their approval. Tom Libretto, resident of 12 Cooke Road, reiterated that the current scoreboard is old and in increasingly disrepair. Fundraising has taken place through the LHS Boosters and Mr. Libretto presented a rendering of the proposed scoreboard. This rendering is also attached to the meeting minutes. The new scoreboard would utilize the existing electrical service and there would be no construction costs besides the installation. The plan is for the new scoreboard to be installed in late April or early May. The current scoreboard is 10/z-11 feet in length, so the new scoreboard would be 5-6 feet longer. There was a question about the Minuteman logo and this will be looked into further. Members of the Committee expressed their support for the new scoreboard. Mr. Libretto stated that the scoreboard requires a wireless remote and it does not have the capability to be controlled using an app. A solar -based option would add approximately $3,000 to the project. The scoreboard could be retrofitted to solar in the future, if needed. Mr. Libretto added that they will look to match the new scoreboard as closely to the ones that are currently at Center 92 and Center 94. Lisah Rhodes and Rick DeAngelis jointly made the following motion: "The Recreation Committee moves to accept the proposal for the donated scoreboard at Center 91 fi^om the ad-hoc baseball group. The new scoreboard will replace the existing scoreboard, be installed in the same location, and the current policy on logos will be investigated and, if needed, the ad-hoc baseball groups will report back to the Recreation Committee." Lisa O'Brien seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5-0-1 to approve this motion. Annual Town Meeting a. Article 25 — Rick DeAngelis As a continuation from a conversation during the January Recreation Committee meeting, Rick DeAngelis stated that Lexington is in the hunt for MSBA funding for a new Lexington High School. There will be a joint meeting between the Select Board and School Committee in the near future. Article 25 is a citizen's article that was created by Jon Himmel and signed by nine other residents. Based on presentations made to the Appropriation Committee and other financial committees, Article 25 would provide funding to complete a land use master plan along Worthen Road from Waltham Street to Massachusetts Avenue that would determine the best uses for all of the properties in this area. Jim Malloy, Town Manager, and Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent of Lexington Public Schools, have been collaborating on this matter and have formed a working group that consists of the Town Manager, Superintendent of Schools, staff from DPW, DPF, and Recreation and Community Programs, representatives from the School Committee, Select Board, and Recreation Committee, and Town Counsel. Mr. DeAngelis stated that when it comes to a new LHS and the replacement of recreational and conservation resources, a more broad-based collaboration within the existing working group is the preferred approach as compared to moving forward with Article 25. Melissa Battite indicated that the request for Article 25 is $175,000 through DPF and the Permanent Building Committee (PBC) and this master plan would be parallel to the work that the working group is currently doing. Suzie Barry indicated that there is Article 97 land at the Center Recreation Complex, meaning that if one parcel is taken, it must be replaced. Ms. Barry added that Mr. Malloy is not in favor of Article 25 due to its competing purposes with the working group. Article 25 was also not well- received by the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC), the Appropriation Committee (AC), and the Select Board (SB). Ms. Barry acknowledged that there are many moving parts involved with this process right now. Going forward, the working group meetings will be public meetings and this will be the largest building project that the Town will see for a long time. Sandy Beebee, CEC liaison, agreed with Ms. Barry's sentiments about Article 25 being a duplicative process. Ms. Battite said that this served to provide the Committee with an update as it could impact the work of the Committee going forward. Mr. DeAngelis proclaimed that the Committee wants a 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 seat at the table, know what the plan is, and have a voice in forming the plan. Lisah Rhodes, Vice Chair of the Recreation Committee, echoed this sentiment and stated that since Lexington is one community, striving to have collaboration so each party is represented and heard will be critical. Christian Boutwell thought it would be beneficial for the Committee to have an official position on Article 25 prior to Town Meeting and he would be willing to draft a statement that could be presented at Town Meeting, if needed. Ms. Barry said it would be helpful for the Select Board to have the Committee's position by March 9th b. Article l0e — Mike Cronin Mike Cronin, Public Facilities Director, provided the Committee with an update on the Center Restrooms renovation project. A copy of the presentation slides is attached to the meeting minutes. The proposed renovation calls for six toilets to be installed, including one fully - accessible handicap staff and one family changing room. Mr. Cronin stated that the architect is in the final phase of construction documents. The construction documents are 90% complete and Mr. Cronin anticipates receiving the finalized construction documents within the next week. As part of the renovation, two new, high garage doors would be installed to ease with accessing DPW equipment and an IT room would be created and contain electronic controls for the doors, heating controls, and ventilation. A new roof will also be installed. From a plumbing standpoint, Mr. Cronin indicated that the winterization process will be more efficient and there should be no freezing issues going forward. Finishes, such as colors and floor materials, have not been selected. An update will be presented to the PBC at its meeting on February 24th. Once the design is completed, the finalized documents will be approximately 30 pages. Mr. Cronin reported to the Committee that the architect has been unable to address the storage component associated with this project. The stakeholders did a clean out of their storage trailers last spring and the plan is to look to incorporate school storage within the building. The conversation about the Morton storage building and where storage should be sited is still months away. As a result, the storage upgrades will be put on hold for now and introduced as Phase 2 for the project. Based on initial estimates, Mr. Cronin is confident the project will come in well - below the amount of the request, which is $915,000. Melissa Battite said that the presentation for Town Meeting will need to be re-recorded and the slides will need to be edited. Christian Boutwell expressed his concern about how this change will be received at Town Meeting and messaging will be important. Suzie Barry emphasized the importance of this project coming into Town Meeting complete or the request will run the risk of not being approved. Ms. Barry also asked if the community is aware that the project is being broken into two phases. Melissa Battite indicated that while storage options were a part of the initial feasibility study, they were not included in the scope of construction for the actual building. Ms. Barry reiterated that the request must be presented in a clear, upfront manner. Suzanne Lau, resident of 18 Phinney Road, expressed her disappointment that the storage issue has not been solved and that the proposal seems rather confusing. She added that pictures should not be included in the presentation that do not represent an accurate portrayal of current conditions. Members of the Committee thought it would be beneficial to have a community meeting for Town Meeting members where Committee members could review and advocate for this project. Ms. Battite will see if non -consent Recreation articles can be added to the TMMA information meeting on Thursday, March 10th. The articles that are not on the consent agenda at Article l0e (Center Restrooms renovation), Article l Of (Gallagher/Farias Courts reconstruction), Article 101 (Lincoln Park master plan), and Article 16h (Town Pool water heater replacement). The consent agenda is meant for regular and routine requests and the Appropriation Committee believes that Town Meeting should have the option to discuss the articles listed above with the restrictions of the consent agenda. Ms. Battite informed the Committee that the last time a master plan of Lincoln Park was completed back in 2002 and with six projects coming up at Lincoln over the 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 next five years, it will be important to bring the various stakeholders together. Mr. Boutwell stated that while there is uncertainty about a new Lexington High School, maintenance costs cannot be deferred. If they are, it will lead to safety and playability issues which could result in the closure of or restrictions on usage and access of the various amenities at the Center Recreation Complex. Based on the discussion regarding on Article 25, Article 10e, and other Recreation capital articles, members of the Committee agreed that more work needs to be done on these requests prior to Town Meeting and a working meeting should be scheduled before the regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 16th The next virtual meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 3rd at 7:00pm through the Zoom platform. The February 16`" 2022 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 9:19pm. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents distributed at the meeting are attached: • February 2022 Liaison Reports • Rindge Park Playground Replacement & ADA Improvements presentation slides • Center #1 Scoreboard Replacement Rendering • Center Restrooms Renovation Project presentation slides • February 2022 Recreation & Community Programs Report 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421