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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-15-REC-minFrederick DeAngelis, Chairman Lisah Rhodes, Vice Chairman Sandra Shaw Ruixi Yuan Jason Denoncourt Town of Lexington Recreation Committee Tel: (781) 698 -4800 Fax: (781) 862 -2747 Recreation Committee Minutes of Meeting February 15, 2017 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:00pm at the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington. Members Present: Rick DeAngelis, Jason Denoncourt, Lisah Rhodes, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi Yuan Staff Present: Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, and Thomas Romano, Youth & Family Program Coordinator Others Present: Tom Shiple and Joe Seidel (Lexington United Soccer Club), and D Asquith (1 Vynebrook) 1. Meeting Minutes from January 5, 2017 Lisah Rhodes moved and Sandra Shaw seconded approval of the Recreation Committee Minutes of January 5, 2017. The Recreation Committee voted 5 -0 to approve the minutes of January 5, 2017. 2. Citizens and Other Boards Tom Shiple, Past President of the Lexington United Soccer Club (LUSC), informed the Committee that his term as President has ended and Joe Seidel in the new LUSC President. Mr. Shiple will continue to be on the LUSC Executive Board as the Past President as well as the President of the Friends of Lexington Lights. Mr. Seidel indicated that he is looking forward to the continued success of LUSC and working with the Recreation Committee in the future. 3. Liaison Reports Sandra Shaw, liaison to the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC), said that Peggy Enders and members of the BAC are interested in the Safe Streets Initiative, which would include increased bike markings and "Share the Road" signs throughout town. The Board of Selectmen will be asked if it will support this initiative in the coming months. The Committee briefly discussed the Lincoln Park Sub - Committee and it was recommended that a representative from both the Lincoln Park Sub - Committee and the Community Center Program Advisory Committee provide an update on their committee at the next Recreation Committee meeting. 4. Town Pool Renovation Project Update Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Committee that the design work for the Town Pool renovation project is nearing completion. It is anticipated the project will go out to bid during the first week of March and the bid openings will be scheduled for 2 -3 weeks later in March. The exact schedule will be given at the March Recreation Committee meeting. Tom Scarlata, consultant from Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype, Inc. (BH +A), will be in attendance at Town Meeting to answer any technical questions that are asked. Sandra Shaw stated that she believes there will be questions about the project at Town Meeting as the estimated cost of the project has come up among Town Meeting members recently. Ms. Battite indicated that staff are preparing all of the back -up information necessary to be able to 2 adequately answer questions that may come up as well as demonstrate the positive impact that this project will have on the community. 5. Recreation 5 -Year Capital Plan Fiscal Years 2018 -2022 Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Committee that the 5 -Year Capital Plan was approved by the Board of Selectmen to move forward and staff are preparing the presentations for these articles at Town Meeting. Sandra Shaw added that the Community Preservation Committee voted unanimously in support of the three proposed Recreation projects: the Town Pool renovation project, irrigation improvements and upgrades at the athletic fields, and replacing the swings and installing bike racks at Bow Street Park, Franklin Park, and Munroe Park. 6. Community Center Fees Update Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, updated the Committee on the status of the Community Center room rental fees. Ms. Battite and Sheila Butts, Community Center Director, met with Carl Valente, Town Manager, and Linda Vine, Deputy Town Manager, recently to discuss the fee structure. Ms. Battite is hoping to meet again with Mr. Valente in 4 -5 weeks and then this issue would go back to the Board of Selectmen for their consideration. 7. School Construction Update Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, informed the Committee that with the new Hastings School project on the horizon, the Hastings Little League Field is scheduled to be offline for 2018, 2019, and 2020. Staff will be in contact with Lexington Little League about this and will work on coming up with field alternatives during these three years. There is no new update on the Diamond and Clarke Middle School projects. Both renovation projects are moving forward as scheduled. While the fields will not be usable in summer 2017, the renovation projects will not impact the field use at these sites during the spring 2017 season. Additionally, the Clarke tennis courts will be offline for the entire 2017 season. 8. Lincoln Park Light Project Update Tom Shiple, President of the Friends of Lincoln Lights, provided an update on the project. The most recent meeting with the consultant Sanborn Head was on February 17"' and the hope is to have the project out to bid before the end of the month. Mr. Shiple reported that the fundraising campaign has hit a dry patch with $10,000 being raised over the past month. The amount raised to date is $231,000 and the total goal is $550,000. Mr. Shiple indicated that he will be approaching organizations and family foundations in the coming weeks. The preliminary plan is to recognize donors with placards on a commemorative boulder that will be placed at midfield. Mr. Shiple added that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is aware of the major modification permit for this project that is yet to be submitted. 9. Heritage Commons Realty Trust Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, gave an overview to the Committee. The Town was contacted back in the fall by the attorney that represents the individual who owns the Heritage Commons Realty Trust (parcel 66 -66), which abuts the 7t'' fairway at Pine Meadows, to see if the Town would be interested in purchasing this land. Town staff from Planning, Conservation, and the Recreation and Community Programs Departments met to review this parcel. Currently, there are three separate owners between this lot and the two abutting properties (parcel 59 -135 and 59 -136). While unlikely, if one owner owned all three parcels, they could tear down the two existing homes on the abutting properties to get to and build on the Heritage Commons lot. In 2016, the assessed value of this lot was $22,000. In January, the attorney informed the Town that the individual would be interested in selling the Heritage Commons parcel to the Town for $99,000, given the substantial land values of the abutting properties and 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 3 the Committee was asked how it would like to proceed in this matter. Sandra Shaw stated that this lot would not qualify for Community Preservation Committee funding and members expressed their belief that a better course of action would be to donate this parcel to the Town for tax credit purposes. After a brief discussion, Rick DeAngelis, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, made the following motion: Regarding the potential purchase, based on the plan presented this evening, I move that the Town does not entertain the purchase of the Heritage Commons Realty Trust property." Sandra Shaw seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 5 -0 to approve. 10. Recreation Report • Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, provided a brief update on the state of the Department. During her first three weeks in the position, Ms. Battite has seen many great things going on at the Community Center and she noted that the staff has not missed a beat. • Ms. Battite stated that staff are currently putting together a program matrix for the Pelham Road property that outlines the programs that may move from the Community Center to Pelham Road as well as new programs that may be added at the Community Center or Pelham Road with the acquisition of this property. The Pelham Road property that would be designated for community use includes a full -size gym with a stage, cafeteria, commercial kitchen, and classroom space. This site has a lot of potential, especially in terms of adaptive and preschool programming, and will be a great opportunity for the Department going forward. Pat Goddard, Director of Public Facilities, will be making a presentation to the Board of Selectmen on February 27t1' on the Pelham Road property in which a cost estimate for the purchase will be given. • Ms. Battite concluded by complimenting DPW and the Facilities Department for the great job they did in cleaning the Community Center parking lot during the recent snowstorms. • Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, reported that for the most part, the Thursday afternoon and Friday evening ski /snowboard programs at Nashoba Valley have gone smoothly. The five -week Friday evening program ended on February 2nd and the six -week Thursday afternoon program is scheduled to end on February 16t''. • Mr. Coleman added that the spring /summer program brochure is currently at the printer and registration will begin on Monday, March 6t1'. The summer application deadline for new applicants is March 1st • Lastly, Mr. Coleman provided a brief update on the current capital projects. Both the fence replacement at the Center Recreation Complex along Worthen Road and Muzzey Field and the Adams Field renovation project are both scheduled to take place this spring and the ADA accessible study should be completed in the coming months. • Thomas Romano, Youth and Family Program Coordinator, provided an update on the youth programs being offered at the Community Center this spring. There will be a variety of arts & crafts programs, a computer coding class, and math and other educational programs offered this spring. During the February school vacation week, there will be a theater program, RAD self - defense class for children, and a chess clinic. Mr. Romano also reported that the Community Center is currently demoing a new coffee machine. The coffee expenditures for the Human Services Department have increased significantly since the Community Center opened and coffee is served on weekdays from 9:OOam- 1:OOpm and the option of serving it on weeknights and Saturdays is being explored. 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421 4 11. Parks Report Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, provided the Parks Report. During the winter, staff have been building new benches and picnic table and doing some fence repairs. Snow removal over the past week has kept the crews busy. Regarding professional development, the Rhode Island Turf Conference will be held in a few weeks and two staff members have completed an irrigation education course recently. Mr. Filadoro reported that $92,000 was spent in water bills during the past year. Water consumption needs to become more efficient and that is why the upcoming irrigation improvement/upgrade project in FY2018 is so important. Mr. Filadoro attended the Golf Industry Show in Orlando last week and he and his staff will assist at Pine Meadows going forward whenever possible. Sandra Shaw stated that appropriate signage concerning the guidelines for dogs at Lincoln Park should be posted at the park. Rick DeAngelis added that more trash barrels are needed, especially at the heavily -used fields. These are items that staff will review. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 22°', 2017 at 6:30pm in the Reed Room of the Town Office Building. The February 15, 2017 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 8:17pm. Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents /exhibits distributed at the meeting are attached: • Map of the Heritage Commons Realty Trust property 39 MARRETT ROAD, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02421