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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-09-17-REC-min.pdf �tru; 'ns TOWN OF LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTSr1� MASSACHUSETTS l 3 RECREATION COMMITTEE RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES September 17, 1997 Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Pam Varrin, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Brian Gilbert, Jon Jalbert Others Present: Dick Perry, Tom O'Grady,Nick Santosuosso; Tom Trometer, Dick Thuma and Carla Fortmann,representatives of Lexington Youth Soccer; and many representatives of Friends of Hennessy AGENDA. 1 The meeting minutes of August 20, 1997 were approved with the following correction. Eva Heney should not be listed as a guest since she is employed by the Lexington Minuteman. It was suggested to use the term"others present" instead of guests. 2. Center#1 Lights Dick Perry and Rick DeAngelis reported that the Center#1 light project has been successfully implemented. During the process they noticed improvements that are needed to the field. They proposed to work privately on the following: re-do the infield in October 1997 by taking down the infield and rebuilding to the appropriate grade with appropriate materials. Brian reminded them that the field overlaps the soccer field and proposed that they postpone the work on the entire field until a later date when the soccer field will be leveled. Karen Simmons said that the Lions Club showed interest in re-sodding the field because of the carnival damage and perhaps they should consider doing the work along with the Lions Club. Sandra stated that there is no rush to do this project. Rick replied that there is funding interest now so we should do it in October. Brian feels that we should look at possible options to ensure safety before moving ahead and correct those for the short term before long term planning happens. A meeting was set up for Friday, September 19 at 8:00 am at the field. Karen Simmons, Dick Perry, Rick DeAngelis, Don Chisholm, and Brian Gilbert will attend. 2 3 Friends of Hennessy The input from the Friends of Hennessy Field will be postponed until the next meeting on October 15 when it can be held at Estabrook Hall to accommodate the large number of people present. Deborah Brown will stay in touch with the Recreation Department and advise as to the number of people expected to attend. 4 Lexington Youth Soccer(LYS) LYS is interested in adding an irrigation system at the Adams Field and doing some modest improvements around the field. They would like to take the field out of commission for a year so that next year it will be ready with full turf This would be fully funded by LYS. Karen Simmons has heard concerns from coaches that LYS is funding Town improvements and they are also questioning where the fees the town receives are going. Rick DeAngelis feels that the LYS endeavor is fabulous. Questions arose as to who has the privileges and who becomes the facilitator when town owned land is supported by funds from a private organization. LYS is very clear that the fields and the permitting belong to the Recreation Department and the Recreation Committee. But LYS stated they would have a problem if a group not affiliated with Lexington uses that field. Brian Gilbert felt this was an issue for the Recreation Committee. Every decision regarding policies on a field affects his budget and what happens to his department. His concern about having nice turf is future funding for fertilizing, increased cutting and watering. Rick DeAngelis said that when he joined the committee there was money to put towards these types of projects. He also stated that the recreational facilities we have are very valuable and fragile and need to be maintained. He hopes that we can find more alternative and constructive ways to maintain whatever fields we have for our youth. With organizations offering their financial support, we should really look at our policies very closely to avoid future large capital projects and more money for maintenance and upkeep. Pam Varrin feels that we need to look at how we spend our money and when because we could hurt our money in the long run. What are the pitfalls if LYS does help out in this way? The Recreation Committee needs to think about this in a more community way Carla Fortmann questioned Brian as to whether the improvements would really require more work. Brian replied that it is a drip effect and more DPW services are put on because of the expectations of how the fields work and look. Karen asked if there is a way to do a financial analysis to project what extra cost there would be for Adams Field. Brian said that whatever happens does affect his budget and we need to keep a closer eye on the policy changes. Dick Thuma said that we can turn all fields to mud if there is no spending. LYS does not want to turn away any kids. They just want to help by doing their part. Rick felt that we need to take a step back and then decide whether we are going to do this or not. Sandra Shaw said that as the ( Recreation Committee with a responsibility to the town, we need to put a policy in place to ensure these fields and their usage for the future. We need to ask whether we are getting into a 3 situation where we are not looking at the overall future plans. This is a real concern. Situations do arise such as the management of a field, who is on and who is not, and who has priority Carla Fortmann stated that LYS would continue to support the maintenance of the fields and hopes that the Recreation Department would fund the water bill. Their committees have looked at these options. Don asked that they elaborate on a time table if this is approved. Carla replied that if the project is approved they are ready to start on Monday LYS has met with representatives of the Waldorf School and has had them involved in planning meetings. The field would be closed until the fall of 1998. No one uses the field except Waldorf School and LYS. Brian questioned whether the mowers would hit the automatic sprinkler system. LYS felt this would not be a problem because the system would be down low enough. Karen said that if the project is approved by the Recreation Committee,Brian Gilbert should review and approve the blue prints before the project starts. LYS presented a blue print of the Adams Field and the work to be done on it. It is an eight zone system with 5 heads per zone for water output. It takes four hours to water the field with an inch of water from this system. A 3/8" amount of water for 22 weeks averages a yearly water bill of$1000. Rick is interested in the idea of having wells at the fields. A battery source could be placed on top of the tennis court fence. The rain sensory device would work when a certain amount of water builds up and sets off the switch. Brian said he would need to have access to the switch. Pam feels that$1000 could be absorbed in the current budget. Karen said that any water bills would raise fees to the ( users. To Don's question of who pays for the water bills, Karen replied that the amounts come out of both Parks and Recreation budgets. Jon questioned whether the tennis courts would get wet with the full rotation of the sprinkler head. LYS responded that they could set the sprinkler head to rotate only half way to protect the tennis courts. The Recreation Committee will evaluate this project to determine it's success as well as the impact on future operating budgets. The Recreation Committee approved the Adams Field project, to include seeding the field and a new irrigation system, with the requirement that Brian Gilbert review and approve the plans before the project begins, and it will proceed. 5. Karen's Report Karen reported that Recreation had a very successful summer season. Swim tags sold out early in the season and swim lesson classes were filled. Recreation had difficulty getting qualified lifeguards and water safety instructors this year. The water level at the Old Reservoir was very low because of the dry weather and the facility almost closed early this year due to this. Karen had to appear before the Conservation Commission for an extension of the algicide treatment which needs to be done every year. The Conservation Commission requested a yearly report and a plan to reduce the algae at the Res. The proposed move of the Library to Cary Hall will have an impact on the Recreation Department because of the number of programs held there in Estabrook Hall. We are looking at other sites at which to run programs, including the Munroe Center. Pam reminded the committee that Munroe is not accessible and suggested working cooperatively with the schools for space. 4 Other suggestions were St. Brigid's Church, Hayden and Minuteman Tech. Karen will consider these options and said that we will have to look at our fees with any possible moves because of added custodial and/or rental fees. Don asked if there were any year end figures for 1997 at Pine Meadows compared to other years and requested this report for the next committee meeting. Regarding Capital Improvements, Karen has met with Frank Fields to discuss the pools. The specs have been drawn and the diving pool is in worse condition and will cost more to repair than anticipated. Karen and Brian will work closely with Frank and come back to the committee with their decisions. 6. Brian's Report The Pine Meadows bidding closed last night. Presently$89-90,000 is available to work on the wells project. Three or four greens will be modified with more irrigation heads (holes 6, 7, and 8). The three cart paths should be completed this year. Everything is going well and he will have the report on the wells at the next meeting. Brian gave the following review of the irrigation system. Hole#1- old irrigation with one head on the green/4 heads proposed Hole#2- don't know where it comes from-2 heads on the green/4 proposed ( Hole#3- old system with adequate automatic heads Hole#4-old system with no heads Hole#5- crest of the hill is dead-ended with no connection to green Hole#6-new system connects to 5th green Hole#7-new Hole#8-new Hole#9-new Don asked whether the bid request that went out on the wells and drainage had a timetable in which the project should be completed. Brian felt sure that it did, and it also included a fair time period for the contractor to get things done. Lincoln soccer field has been seeded and is being watered and should have decent turf in a week or so. This year a new method was implemented using a Block machine borrowed from the Town of Wellesley It is expected that the field will be ready for soccer play in May The work on the soccer field at Harrington is more involved and will take about a week. The infield of the softball field is also being rebuilt. Parks is very busy and the schools are looking for Brian all the time. Worthen Road soccer field project is on the back burner and will be the next to go. Work at Rindge Playground will have to be postponed for another year. Karen suggested contracting out the work. 7 Skateboarding Jon and Dana Ham are working on a committee for a grant proposal for a skateboard park for 5 Lexington. They are exploring options with families and kids in the community 8. Hennessy land Deborah Brown requested that the discussion of Hennessy Field be moved to the November meeting. Rick suggested that the Friends of Hennessy plan to make their presentation in October because the Recreation Committee is going forward with the project. Karen Simmons offered to meet with representatives of the Friends of Hennessy to explain the procedures to catch them up before the October meeting, and would like feedback, concerns, and issues from the neighbors. Sandra Shaw concluded that the Recreation Committee is in no position to change their minds on the Hennessy land. 9 Nick Santosuosso- LABBB request Nick Santosuosso, representing the LABBB program at Lexington High School, wants permission to put up a shed next to the memorial garden adjacent to Center#4 Little League field. The shed would be used to store adaptive physical equipment that is presently in the corridors. There is a question as to whether this area falls under Recreation or School Department jurisdiction. Karen will call Phil Lanoue regarding this space. Brian feels there is ample space there for the LABBB program's need. Little League has a future plan to shift the fence; therefore,the shed should not go against the fence. 10. Policy of Private Funding Pam Varrin put down some thoughts on her suggestions for a policy on the private funding of town recreation property Take it and look at it and make some comments. This needs to be discussed very soon and will be put on the agenda for next month's meeting. 11 Rick DeAngelis announced that there will be a meeting of the Center Lights Committee soon. He will notify everyone on the Recreation Committee when details are finalized. Rick wanted to discuss the lighting issues, specifically the timer. Karen has completed the paperwork and is waiting for Jim McLaughlin to return from vacation to sign off. The contract was awarded to P C.I., but we have to be certain that is compatible with the new town computer system. Rick offered the services of an electrician to put in the system. Karen reminded the committee that requests from groups would be discussed with the committee and we would get neighborhood input before making any decision. Karen also reminded Rick that the request to change the shut off time to a time after 10:00 pm must be submitted in writing and received by the Committee. The Recreation Committee will also hold a public meeting prior to making it's recommendation. 12. Don asked if there were any new information on the long range Recreation and Open Space Plan. Karen hired Dick Lakutis to update the Recreation maps and they are 99% completed. The overall plan is almost done, and changes now need to be made on the computer. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 pm.