HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-22-REC-min �p ` ins c
Town of Lexington
�'` Recreation Committee
a� t
31� �n
APRIL.
'.-111,401°‘--
Frederick
XINGT°�
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
March 22,2017
A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 6 30pm in the Reed
Room of the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington.
Members Present. Jason Denoncourt, Lisah Rhodes, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi Yuan
Members Absent. Rick DeAngelis
Staff Present. Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Peter
Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, and Chns Filadoro, DPW
Superintendent of Public Grounds
Others Present. Julie Shapiro (Lexington Council on Aging) and Tom Shiple(Lexington United
Soccer Club)
1 Meeting Minutes from February 15,2017
Sandra Shaw moved and Ruixi Yuan seconded approval of the Recreation Committee Minutes of
February 15, 2017 The Recreation Committee voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of February
15,2017
2. Citizens and Other Boards—None
3 Liaison Reports
Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Committee that
all liaison groups will provide an update to the Recreation Committee at its April meeting A
liaison for the Lincoln Park Sub-Committee was needed and Jason Denoncourt expressed an
interest in this position. Sandra Shaw moved and Ruixi Yuan seconded the appointment of Jason
Denoncourt as the liaison to the Lincoln Park Sub-Committee The Recreation Committee
voted 4-0 to approve Julie Shapiro,liaison to the Lexington Council Aging, reported that an
Age-Fnendly Summit, in partnership with UMASS,was held on March 1St The Age-Fnendly
Communities initiative is assessing where needs are being met and areas that can be improved
which going forward,will result in the development of a comprehensive plan. Ms Shapiro
indicated that there was great community attendance at the meeting.
4 Town Pool Renovation Project Update
Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Committee that
the walkthrough for the Town Pool renovation project was held on Thursday, March 16th and
there were 4-5 companies in attendance The sub bid opening will be held on Monday, March
27th and the general contractor bid opening will take place on Fnday, March 31st
5. Recreation 5-Year Capital Plan
Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs,notified that the pre-bid
meeting for the Adams Field renovation project was held on Wednesday, March 22nd The bid
opening will be on Fnday, March 31st and the project is scheduled to begin dunng the April
school vacation week. Tom Shiple from the Lexington United Soccer Club indicated that having
use of Adams, once the natural grass fields open for the season,until the project begins would be
beneficial.
6. School Construction Update—None
7 Lincoln Park Light Project Update
Tom Shiple, President of the Friends of Lincoln Lights,provided an update on the project. A
total of$252,000 has been raised to date Significant donations were made by Tncon Sports and
the Ciccolo Family Foundation. Mr Shiple reported that a broad-base awareness campaign with
videos and newspaper articles will launch in early April. Two bids have been received so far
One of the bids came in 4%higher than the engineer s estimate and a few more bids are being
sought. The goal is for the lights to be installed this summer with an anticipated start date on
June 19'and the project should take approximately six weeks to complete For recognizing
donors, the plan is to install a boulder with plaques on it near midfield of Lincoln#2
Mr Shiple also requested permission for LUSC to use temporary lights at Lincoln#2 on
weeknights from 7 00pm-8 30pm beginning on Monday, April 3' and ending on Friday, May
15th Mr Shiple stated that the dates requested could change and LUSC could decide not to use
the lights if the natural grass field open for the season on time Melissa Battite, Director of
Recreation and Community Programs, recommended that the same conditions be followed that
were in place for the Fall 2016 season in a letter dated September 15,2016 Lisah Rhodes,Vice
Chairman of the Recreation Committee made the following motion. The Recreation Committee
votes to approve the installation of temporary lights at Lincoln #2 from April 3, 2017 through
May 15, 2017,following the same conditions that were outlined in the letter dated September 15,
2016 Ruixi Yuan seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve.
8. Parks Report
Chris Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds,provided the Parks Report. The late
winter snowfall has presented some challenges when it comes to getting the athletic fields
prepared for the spring season. Approximately one dozen trash barrels were placed on the
synthetic turf fields at Lincoln Park in an attempt to accelerate the melting. The turf fields cannot
be plowed since they are still under warranty Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and
Community Programs, added that plowing the field in 2015 was allowed since the warranty on
the original turf fields had expired. Mr Filadoro stated that during the winter, staff had
completed general maintenance tasks and built some backstop storage boxes to be used by
Lexington Little League Sandra Shaw expressed a concern about the lack of signage at Lincoln
Park regarding dogs Ms Battite agreed that the signage is insufficient. Over the past month,
staff had a walkthrough at Lincoln Park and this is something that they will follow up on. Lisah
Rhodes added that the skate at own nsk signs at the Old Reservoir need to be taken down.
9 Recreation Report
• Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs,began by telling the
Committee that a Lexington High School alumni is interested in installing a bronze statue
to commemorate Coach Bill Tighe s illustrious career This would be pnvatel` funded
and the individual would need to work to Town staff to determine the location. A more
detailed proposal will need to be presented and if approved by the Recreation Committee,
it would need to go before the Monuments and Memorials Committee and the Board of
Selectmen for their approvals
• The Lexington Cncket League (LCL)will be making a presentation at the April
Recreation Committee meeting LCL wants Lexington to become the hub of cncket,but
39 MARRETT ROAD LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS 02421
3
no designated cncket space currently exists given the demand for athletic field space in
town. They will be requesting a permanent home cncket field.
• Ms Battite reported that Fund Lexington is making a donation in the amount of$10,000
to help augment our financial aid system. Specifically, this donation is intended to
increase access for individuals in need to our many summer program offerings This is
an exciting opportunity that we will be working closely with the Human Services
Department on.
• At the Special Town Meeting on Monday, March 20tH, funding was approved for the
design phase of the Pelham Road property and the staff had a walkthrough on Tuesday,
March 21st
• Sheila Butts, Community Center Director,will be retiring on Friday, May 5t' The
recruitment for the Community Center Director position is currently underway The
application deadline was March 20t'and over 50 applications were received. After the
initial meet and greets with eight candidates,the panel interviews with the finalists will
be held on Thursday, March 30t'and the final interview is scheduled to take place the
following week. The hope is for there to be a 1-2 week overlap with Sheila and the
incoming director
• A coffee vending machine will be installed in early April,meaning that coffee will be
available for patrons dunng all hours of operation.
• The opening of Pine Meadows has been delayed due to the late winter snow The 4'
green renovation project will be presented to the Conservation Commission at its meeting
on Tuesday, April 4th
• Ms Battite concluded by informing the Committee that Noam Watt, an Eagle Scout
candidate,will be installing a gaga ball pit at the Center Recreation Complex this spring
for his Eagle Scout service project. Gaga Ball is essentially a variation of dodgeball that
people play while on their knees and this will be a nice addition to the complex.
• Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, also provided an updated. He reported
that spring and summer program registration is off to a good start with over$113,000 in
revenue being generated dunng the first day of registration back on March 6t' Summer
staff recruitment is ongoing and will be completed before the end of the month. The
winter youth basketball program concluded last weekend and it was a successful season.
Our Recreation Supervisor Tyler Radicioni has finalized the spring field permits and the
field user groups have been notified that clearing snow off of the fields is prohibited.
Lastly, Mr Coleman informed the Committee that the tennis nets will be put up as soon
as conditions are favorable and he explained the more involved partnership that the
department will have the Battle Green Tennis League this season.
The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Tuesday,April 25`b,
2017 at 7 OOpm in the Parker Room of the Town Office Building.
The March 22, 2017 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 7 22pm
Respectfully submitted,
Peter Coleman
Assistant Director of Recreation
The following documents/exhibits distributed at the meeting are attached.
• LUSC Proposal to Install Temporary Lights at Lincoln handout
• Custom Bronze Sculpture Projects Handout
39 MARRETT ROAD LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS 02421