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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-05-18-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 Jason Denoncourt Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting May 18, 2016 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6:30pm at the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Jason Denoncourt, Lisah Rhodes, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi Yuan Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, and Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation Others Present: Julia Shapiro (COA Liaison) and Tom Shiple (Lexington United Soccer Club) 1. Meeting Minutes from April 27, 2016 Rick DeAngelis moved and Lisah Rhodes seconded approval of the Recreation Committee The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of Minutes of April 27, 2016. April 27, 2016 . 2. Citizens and Other Boards None 3. Liaison Reports Sandra Shaw presented a liaison report on behalf of the Bicycle Advisory Committee. Ms. Shaw reported that the Bike Smart program on Saturday, May 14 th went very well. The program was organized by Peggy Enders from the Bicycle Advisory Committee and Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation. Patrick Bibbins and Bruce Kulik were the instructors who led the demonstrations. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, added that there was also a bike maintenance workshop held in the Community Center dining room on the same afternoon that was successful. These events were part of the Annual Bike, Walk, and Bus thnd Week that was held from May 14-22. 4. Recreation 5-Year Capital Plan Future Projects Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, reminded the Committee to be thinking about future capital improvement projects to the recreation infrastructure that could be included in the FY2018-FY2022, 5-Year Capital Plan, which will be presented to the Recreation Committee in August. While discussing the recreation infrastructure, a few comments were made about the condition of the Center Track Field. Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, expressed his disappointment in the overall condition of the field considering it was reconstructed 3 years ago. Tom Shiple, President of the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC), reported that a female participant suffered two sprained ankles at the Center Track Field recently and encouraged the Committee to accelerate the timeframe for when the Center Track and Field reconstruction project, which is currently scheduled for FY2019. During the Parks Report, Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, stated that the field experienced significant winter kill prior to the 2015 season. Use of the field will be minimized 2 during the summer so DPW can aggressively aerify, slice-seed, and fertilize the field to improve its condition. Mr. DeAngelis indicated that a number of backstops at the baseball/softball fields around town have started to curl at the bottom and need to be tied down. Mr. Filadoro said that he will have a contractor address these issues. 5. Diamond/Clarke Middle School Construction Update Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, informed the Committee that there has been a minor change to when the Clarke Tennis Courts will go offline due to the school renovation project. Initially, the Clarke Tennis Courts were scheduled to go offline after Thursday, June 2 nd. Since the courts will be used as a staging area, it has been determined that this will not be set up until after the school year ends. As a result, the Clarke Tennis Courts will now remain online through Sunday, June 26 th. As of Monday, June 27 th, the Clarke Tennis Courts will come offline and it is anticipated that they will closed until 2018. 6. Lincoln Park Light Project Update Tom Shiple, President of the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC), presented an update on the light project at Lincoln Park. The permitting process is underway. The special permit regarding the height of the light poles for the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has been completed. It is anticipated that the ZBA will discuss this project at its meeting on July 14 th. Mr. Shiple indicated that the Conservation application is ongoing. Kevin Stetson, the consultant that is overseeing this project from Sanborn Head, is filing the permit for test borings with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the test borings are scheduled to be completed the week of July 18 th. Mr. Shiple also asked the Committee if the Valleyfield play area, located off of Waltham Street, could be used by LUSC for practices. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, believes it had been transferred over to the Conservation Department, but staff would need to research if this parcel of land. 7. Recreation Report Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, distributed a copy of the ACROSS Lexington Map to members of the Committee. There are currently six routes in this network with additional routes being pursued. Ms. Simmons indicated that the volunteers affiliated with the oversight of this program have done a great job. Ms. Simmons then gave a comprehensive update on the Community Center. Overall, the operations of the Community Center are going well. Programming at the facility has steadily increased throughout the year, going from 21 programs in Summer 2015, to 40 classes in Fall 2015, to 50 programs in Winter 2016, to 60 classes in Spring 2016, and there are 66 classes scheduled for the upcoming Summer 2016 season. As of May 1 st, the attendance was over 80,000 since the facility opened July 6, 2015. The staff has processed 7,500 transaction at the counter by the main entrance, received over 7,000 phone calls. The membership card system went into effect April 1 st and staff have issued approximately 1,500 membership cards to date. The Community Center Program Advisory Committee will begin meeting in June. Its members will be appointed by the Town Manager and will include and individual from the Council on Aging, Youth Service Council, School Committee, Recreation Committee, Cary Library, and two community members. Lisah Rhodes will serve as the liaison from the Recreation Committee. The Community Center received a grant from the Dana Home for approximately $24,500 for our senior wellness program. The grant application that was submitted to the Community Endowment of Lexington was rejected by their selection committee. The golf course is getting greener and business is picking up at Pine Meadows. The USGA is scheduled to conduct its semi-annual turf evaluation at Pine Meadows on May th 25. 3 The Irving H. Mabee Town Pool Complex and the Old Reservoir will open for the season th on Saturday, June 4. The Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) has received final approval by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The OSRP will be good for seven years through 2022 and a copy of the plan wil thththth Tyler Radicioni, Recreation Supervisor, will be starting a 5/6 grade and 7/8 grade summer basketball league this year. He will be overseeing this new program as well as the NFL FLAG Football League this fall. Ms. Simmons complimented Mr. Radicioni for his innovation and oversight of these programs. Lastly, Ms. Simmons provided the Committee with an update on the current capital improvement projects. A concept plan for the Marvin Playground project has been created. Abutters were notified about the project and asked to submit their comments about the plan. Staff will compile the responses and send them to the playground consultant for consideration. The Marvin and Sutherland basketball court reconstruction project is underway. A final draft of the ADA study should be completed this summer. The renovation project at the Lincoln softball field will begin in the fall. Funding for all FY2017 capital improvement projects will become available on July 1 st. Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, provided a brief update on summer staff and summer programs. The summer staff is now complete and all positions have been th filled. The Tennis Booth opened for the season on Saturday, May 14. The aquatics staff orientation will be held on Thursday, May 26 th. The orientation for all other th summer employees will take place on Saturday, June 18. The majority of our summer th programs, camps, and clinics is scheduled to begin the week of June 27. 8. Parks Report Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, provided the Parks Report. Staff are in the process are preparing the aquatics facilities for Opening Day on June 4 th. The two-person field crew has been extremely busy making up approximately 18-22 fields each day. Three new staff members were hired over the winter. The annual DPW Truck Day will be held on Thursday, th May 19 from 10:00am-2:00pm. Lexington won a national award for its snow removal during the Winter 2014/2015 season. The Garden Club sale that was held recently went very well. The public restrooms at the Center Recreation Complex (Park Drive) and Lincoln Park are scheduled to be open from sunrise to sunset. The Park Drive bathrooms are maintained by DPW and cleaned every weekday and the Lincoln Park restrooms are maintained by the Facilities Department. The annual Lions Club 4 th of July Carnival is scheduled to be held at Hastings Park once again this year. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 6:30pm in Room 242 of the Lexington Community Center. The May 18, 2016 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 7:30pm. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation