HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-10-15-REC-min.pdf • �n, TOWN OF LEXINGTON
1. 9 MASSACHUSETTS
RECEEATION COMMITTEE
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RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES 1
October 15, 1997
Members Present: Sandra Shaw, Pam Varrin, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis, and
Paul Keane
Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Brian Gilbert
Others Present: Members of Friends of Hennessy's Field
AGENDA.
1 Minutes of September 17, 1998
Pam Varrin wanted to clarify her statement regarding improvements to playing fields by
private organizations to reflect the concern that if private organizations take over the
funding in a regular way, then those items can pass out of the general budget in a way
that can be unexpected, and that can be an issue. The minutes were accepted with this
clarification noted.
2. Friends of Hennessy's Field
Sandra Shaw stated that the committee is generally familiar with many of the positions of
the Friends of Hennessy because of the discussion at the previous meeting and because of
the articles in the Lexington Minuteman. For the past six years the long range plan of the
committee has included plans to build soccer fields and a small unpaved parking area at
the Hennessy area. Because of the increased participation in soccer,junior lacrosse and
other field sports,Recreation has determined that the time has come to act on our plan in
order to do our job and provide enough fields for the increasing program demands. The
purpose of this meeting is not to debate the issues around Hennessy We are interested in
hearing your concerns and will listen carefully to them. If there are questions of
clarifications we will try to address those, but we are dedicating the first hour to hearing
you and will not debate your conclusions. We apparently have an honest difference of
opinion of what is appropriate at Hennessy, but we do believe that we share an
appreciation of Hennessy and we feel that with a sensitive field design that this
recreational area will continue to serve the neighborhood well, and will also give all
citizens of Lexington an opportunity to share more fully the many benefits of this ten acre
parcel in North Lexington.
All speakers are requested to stand and give their name and address before speaking. We
have one hour and then the regular meeting will continue.
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Deborah Brown was the first to speak and stated that the goal of the Friends of
Hennessy's Field is to keep Hennessy's Field the way it is and to preserve it as a spot for
quiet,passive recreation. Copies of her remarks and those of the several other speakers
are included with these minutes. The next speakers were Fran Ludwig, science specialist
at the Estabrook School, members of the Estabrook Brownie troop; Arlayne Peterson of
Turning Mill Road; and Meg Landers reading a letter from Marilyn and Irving Abel of
Partridge Road. These statements are included.
Pedro Lilienfeld of Demar Road read a letter from a person who grew up in Lexington
and is a medical student in Worcester. She wanted to lend her support to keeping
Hennessy's Field as it is. As a child she went there to learn about milkweed and lilacs
and as a teenager it is where she went to be alone, walk her dog and cross country ski.
She suggested repairing the Estabrook field where she used to play Sunday soccer, which
would also benefit the children on school days. She wants to add her voice as a young
adult, athlete and nature lover, not because she is homeowner or not in favor of
recreational sports. She thinks the field provides a great learning opportunity and always
enjoys a run in Hennessy's field when she is at home.
Stuart Muench has lived on Dewey Road for 25 years and previously for12-13 years on
Ledgelawn Ave. He learned to expect a little bit less of the town when he moved beyond
Rt. 128, less lighting and sidewalks in poorer condition. He has walked other school
grounds and found them in better condition than Estabrook playing field, which is a
disaster, all weeds with hardly a blade of grass and not well cared for. He feels that it is
another case of the further away from town,the lesser the services get. But he likes the
rural setting and the way Hennessy's Field is now If the plan does go through, what will
the area be like in five or ten years? The center will be taken care of first and the suburbs
will take care of themselves like they always have. He feels Hennessy will only
deteriorate in time and will not be kept up. Soccer fields that are close to the center are
more accessible and will be the ones that are maintained if money gets short. That is his
main concern. Can you really do the job, keep it up, and keep it up over the long term
and do it right?
The remarks of Eileen Entin of Blossomcrest Road, representing the Citizens for
Lexington Conservation, are included.
Dan Brzezenski of Robinson Road stated that he has walked Hennessy Field for all of his
32 years in town and has watched it change quite radically from when Mary Hennessy
sold it to the town to what it is now He noticed the effect on the ecology of the lower
area when the town ran a sewer line through it. After the August Recreation Committee
meeting he followed up on suggestions from LYS and called both Hanscom Field and the
Bedford VA Hospital regarding their fields. Hanscom has two fields, with the larger one
available at a$35 fee. The VA field is used by Bedford Soccer, and is available to other
youth groups at no charge as long as they have liability insurance.
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John Pompeo of Hadley Road read a statement that is included with the minutes.
Deborah Brown read remarks from Tom Sileo of Chelmsford,the author of Historical
Guide to Open Space in Lexington, and from Ellen Kaplan of Burlington Street.
Additional remarks were head from other members of the audience. To the question of
how long is the soccer season compared to year round pleasure of Hennessy's Field,
Sandra Shaw responded that permits are issued from April 1 to the second or third week
in November, 22 weeks. Rob Baltz mentioned that most of the houses there do not have
grass so residents like natural areas. He mentioned the possibility of building soccer
fields at the Hartwell Ave. landfill sight similar to what was done at Lincoln Park. Kay
Tiffany from Reed St. enjoyed the recent Conservation walk at Hennessy with Tom
Sileo. She feels that not all kids play soccer and need open space for other recreational
purposes. Hennessy is a magic place accessible for older people. Kati Steinberg, a
Schoolyard Adventure volunteer who has children who play soccer, contrasted the
Hennessy property to the Great Meadow,which you really can't get into. Linda Wolk
said she always thought it was the mission of the Recreation Department to provide
recreation for the entire population and asked if there were any other options for those
who do not play team sports. Suggestions given were the Fitness Path and Willards
Woods. Sandra reminded her that some very articulate statements had been presented
and that is the way the Recreation Committee wants to keep it tonight. Town Meeting
will be the time for debate. David Kaufinan of Burlington St., a steward for Willards
Woods, emphasized that Hennessey is a meadow, and one of the few kept in that state.
Willards Woods at one time had a meadow, but with decreased mowing it is no longer in
that state. Sandra responded that it was not a financial decision not to mow We were
told that there were butterflies there and we were not to mow it anymore. She reminded
the audience that there are some facts that have been thrown out tonight that are not
correct. The committee will be talking about this and might even get an Op-Ed page.
To the question of how many fields there are Sandra responded there are six regulation
full size fields. The Estabrook field is used for Little League Baseball in the spring and
cannot be scheduled for even smaller type soccer games. Mr. Brzezenski said that he got
a list of all the fields in Lexington when he visited the Rec. Dept. and there are three
fields at Lincoln. Sandra emphasized also that we don't always have the same number of
fields available because fields have to be rested and seeded. Karen said that we deny
permits on a regular basis, and agreed that we give blanket field permits to LYS and
Youth Lacrosse when the school teams are not using the fields, and they schedule their
games. It would require many more hours of our time, and another 20 hour or more
position, if we did the actual game scheduling at the Recreation office. To the question
about what size field could smaller children play on, Brian Gilbert responded that a
regulation full size field such as Diamond or Lincoln is about an acre and a half LYS
uses fields that are about%of that size for younger age groups (U10), and then graduate
up. When pressed on the number of% size fields, Brian emphasized that it depends on
the season, what is resting, and whether or not it is baseball season.
Pam Varrin said that we really do not like to talk off the top of our heads and may not
have all the information to answer the questions. She suggested that if the questions were
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put in a more organized form, we would be happy to answer them. She emphasized that
the Recreation Committee does care about recreation for all citizens and very much
appreciates the Friends coming to articulate the concerns of those who recreate on
Hennessy's Field. It is a lot of information to digest. The Recreation Committee does
not undertake a project like this lightly and have thought about alternatives. Deborah
Brown will be a point person to get questions. Sandra said that they had gone over the
amount of time agreed upon with Deborah for this part of the meeting.
When the meeting resumed, Don Chisholm read part of a statement form the Planning
Department clarifying the process by which land can be moved from one type of use to
another. When Hennessy was purchased in 1962, it was for playground and ballfield and
related recreation purposes and other public purposes. That's a standard phrase that
enables it to be changed to another purpose with a different process than protected land.
Before it can be converted,the board or officer in charge needs to specify that it is no
longer needed for that purpose and is no longer of value as recreational property,then it
can go to town meeting for a 2/3 vote to transfer. It can't go to town meeting unless the
committee in charge says it no longer needs it. Last year, for instance, some school
property was converted at Town Meeting. The logical follow up is what would the town
want to do with the property
3 Pine Meadows
Brian stated that the wells were put back out to bid because the initial bids were so high,
and will be in October 23 Brian said that the second bid that came in late had an
( acceptable price so we are optimistic of getting a better price this time. Dave Carbonneau
of the Engineering Department has also contacted another well driller. Brian believes
that we can still proceed this fall. The scope of the work is to dredge the lower pond,
install the wells, and pipe that to the upper pond, and plant a seven foot buffer along the
pond on the second fairway side in addition to the trees that are already there. The
planting is not part of the bid and will be done by Parks Department.
Karen handed out a report on the golf course. The 1997 data is only through October 5,
so the figures are not complete and should go up by about 2000 rounds with an increase
to the revenue. Pine Meadows will close December 1 unless there is a snowstorm before
that date. It looks like we are on our way to a banner year revenue wise, and will at least
match the number of rounds played. Our projected revenue for end of the fiscal year
ending June 30 was $600,000 and we went over by $26,000. We have had a very
successful year and the report will be updated when the course closes.
Regarding the tee markers,there are three still available. Five have been purchased and
Bill Harrison will contact the sponsors to see if they should wait to go up next season.
When questioned whether or not New England Golf retains any of the revenue from the
carts, Brian replied that an amount is reflected in New England Golf's 5%, and there is
not a separate $1.00/cart amount, for instance. A customer who said that in the summer
he was told that players who went out after 4.30 PM could not use carts prompted the
question. Karen said the evening leagues do use carts so she will look into this with the
Management Company
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Regarding the usage of Pine Meadows by the L.H.S. golf team, Karen stated that she has
had no negative feed back this year. She wants to get figures of the number of players to
present at Town Meeting so they see what Recreation is donating to the schools. Bill
Harrison also has data on use by Minuteman Tech. On Friday, October 17 there will be a
Town Employee Golf Tournament with a 10:00 am shotgun start. Thirty-six players are
registered, paying greens fees with a cold cut lunch included. Rick questioned whether or
not New England Golf would be receptive to charity tournaments, but all agreed that a
policy would have to be in place if a charity event were to be held. Don suggested
running an employee tournament in the summer when school department employees
could participate and build some camaraderie between departments.
The Pool bid came in very high, at approximately $180,000. The de-watering portion
came in at$100,000, so Karen met with Rick White to discuss options. Rick will be able
to assist us with the funding. We've awarded the contract and Frank Fields is dealing
with the necessary paperwork. We'll be meeting with the contractor to see what can be
done soon and what will have to wait until next year. We'll probably get the wells in
now to take care of the de-watering, essentially to pump the water out of the construction
site. If you don't de-water the pool shell could pop out.
4 Bike Path Report
Karen reported that several months ago the Town Manager requested that a committee be
formed to look at the bike path. It is seen as an "orphan" in town and no one has
( jurisdiction over it. One of the goals is to improve communication and enhance the
support of all the dedicated people who help with the bike path. Karen has met with Rick
White and the Senior Management Team to get their feedback, and then will go to the
various bike committees to get their support, and to the Board of Selectmen.
Brian should get credit for a team he pulled together,the Inventory and Means
Committee, as a subsidiary of the bike committees. Brian applied for a planning grant to
have an arboretum along the bikeway because of all the different ecosystems there,
enabling a tree to be planted in the right place and to exist in its natural state. Schools are
involved, Fran Ludwig, Citizens for Lexington Conservation, Friends of the Bikeway,
different stewards, and representatives of the Garden Club. The goal is to do an
inventory The money is from the D.E.M. Bikeway maintenance now comes out of
Highway and Park's budgets, etc. depending on what use is needed as determined by
Board of Selectmen. In the proposed plan, George Woodbury recommends that
maintenance be part of the DPW budget and that the Bikeway Committee then prioritize
their needs. Brian reported that there has probably been less vandalism than expected,
but there is a lot of graffiti and signs being stolen. Bicycle patrols have now been
extended beyond the Minuteman Bikeway The proposal is to move the Bike Path under
the jurisdiction of the Recreation Committee, and Brian will continue to maintain it with
the assistance of the volunteer groups. Recreation would advocate for the Capital, but it
would come out of the tax levy Any capital project (other than standard maintenance)
would require MBTA or EOTC approval. There was some discussion as to what would
( constitute a capital project. Rick said that in layman's terms a capital improvement is an
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improvement that is not otherwise already there. A replacement of whatever is already
there would not be a capital project.
Rick DeAngelis also wanted a definition on what was meant by"the Bikeway needs
being integrated into the Recreation Committee's master plan" Karen replied that this
would be the Recreation Committee's master plan of what our needs are, the 5 year
Capital Improvement Plan.
Pam felt that according to the flow chart if it were proposed, for instance,to extend the
path through Hanscom to hook up with the Minuteman National Park Bike Path, it
wouldn't necessarily involve the MBTA because it was not their land. It appears that the
Selectmen would have to approve any projects that would then go to the Bikeway
Committee.
Regarding Brian's committee, he feels that there has to be communication between the
friends and stewards and DPW and that is what this committee will be doing and
coordinating the responsibilities of each group.
5 Brian's Report
Parks Department is doing typical fall maintenance. Lincoln looks great and Harrington
is about a week behind. We will top dress the rough areas at Lincoln and hand seed
them in. The process used at Lincoln with the roto-tilling contracted was different from
that used at Harrington,the in house method. Probably a combination of the two would
be good. Adams field has been seeded but the water is not in yet, although some of the
irrigation work has been completed. Brian feels that this area will probably have to be
worked on again in the spring. There will still be several fields out in the spring. Lincoln
might not be ready even though it was seeded at a very high rate and the weather has
been very good. Other fields are being fertilized as well. Worthen Road field will be
drained this fall and, if successful, it will become a' soccer field in the spring.
Trees have been planted at Pine Meadows to create a grove including some specimen
trees. Others will be planted in the spring.
6. Karen's Report
Last week the Recreation Department got more bad news on space available to us. As
reported to us by Tony Capezza,the high school is not issuing permits for non-academic
programs after July 1, 1998. This will have a significant impact on recreation because we
use the gym and field house for drop-in and other structured programs. This is because
of the construction associated with the capital project. Since we also will be denied use
of Estabrook Hall because of the temporary library in Cary Hall, this will mean a
significant drop in revenue. Programs at LHS include drop in jogging and basketball
with 10-60 participants daily, men's basketball, golf and aerobics, mostly adult programs,
with some use by youth basketball teams and a spring baseball clinic, and rainy day space
for summer sports clinics. When Karen spoke with Brian McNally he was not aware of
this decision. Pam felt that with the scope of the capital project changing daily, a more
L
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mutually useful agreement could be worked out. Rick felt that we need to preserve use of
the field house for the programs Recreation provides.
Karen will be turning in her operating budget on Friday and will have a copy at the next
Recreation Committee meeting.
7 Rick DeAngelis reported that Dick Perry had a conversation with Boston Edison this
week and the meter for the control box has come in. Edison will plan to install it within
the next week or so. Karen added that LHS has scheduled a boys' soccer game under the
lights on October 24 at 6:15 PM, and they are still trying to schedule at girls' game.
Center#2 lights are on Monday through Thursday for ultimate Frisbee.
Regarding the irrigation for the Center#1 baseball field, Rick understands Lawthorn
Irrigation must present a plan to Karen and Brian, and when approved the work can then
be scheduled and the field can be taken down and re-sodded. Brian wanted to clarify that
once this system is put in there has to be an understanding about maintenance, and Rick
agreed that all wanted it to be maintained properly and they would talk about it. Karen
felt this should go along with the policy they should discuss regarding the issue of private
funding. Rick felt that it would take about two weeks and understands that the soccer
field area will be the last part completed.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 PM.
NEXT MEETING. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997
7.30 PM
ROOM 105
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN DATE AND LOCATION
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