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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-20-REC-min.pdf sia41Zrz, 4. 1173 .tik. TOWN OF LEXINGTON I �, \ MASSACHUSETTS RECREATION COMMITTEE _,,,x �', wnn. RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES November 20, 1997 Member Present: Sandra Shaw, Don Chisholm, Rick DeAngelis, Paul Keane Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Brian Gilbert, Jon Jalbert Others Present: Winnie Huff and Pamela Mann, Bowman PTA Outdoor Space Committee; Arlayne Peterson,Deborah Brown, and Tom Peterson, Friends of Hennessy's Field AGENDA. r 1 The minutes of October 15, 1997 were accepted. 2. Bowman PTA Outdoor Space Committee Pamela Mann and Winnie fluff presented a photo board of the Bowman School Playground that showed the lack of maintenance on the playground and inadequate surfacing. They have met with John Moynihan to discuss these problems and he and Brian Gilbert have been working together on a Band-Aid approach. The Bowman PTA Outdoor Space Committee hired a safety inspector who issued a three-page report stating that the condition of the playground is deplorable. The Outdoor Space Committee has budgeted a fund raising amount of$50,000 for improvements and has preliminary plans from vendors. Liability is an issue and they do not want individual committee members to be responsible. Rick DeAngelis suggested that they look at the cost of a liability policy with $2-3 million coverage. The PTA committee is willing to raise the funds and hand over the money to the Town, but does not want to be involved in doing any planning or selecting materials that would make them liable. Their hope is that the Town will make the final plans and complete the project with money raised by the PTA. They have already seen and spoken with other departments and sent a written request to the School Committee. The current policy on school playgrounds is that the school PTA's fund playground equipment. Previously complaints would come into the Parks Department and no one knew who owned what equipment so DPW would just remove unsafe equipment. 2 - Winnie felt that the policy is not clear enough as to who should plan, get site approval, and build the playgrounds. Sandra reviewed the Playground Ad Hoc Committee Report. (See attached copy) Winnie questioned what department puts in the soft money and how much so they could budget for that amount. Karen responded that Recreation would not put in any money, but referred her to the School Department. Brian felt that Parks/DPW could provide some services such as plowing or excavating and removing the old equipment. Pam and Winnie said that the policy does not state clearly who clears out the old equipment. Sandra suggested the Bowman group present their proposal to John Moynihan and the School Committee. 3 Enterprise Report Karen presented copies of the Enterprise Report with projections based on new policy changes. Brian noted that the program projections were up and questioned how that could be given the fact that spaces will be limited during the reconstruction of the schools and library Karen replied that the department is looking at alternate space and she will be meeting with John Moynihan after the election to see what will be available. Don said that looking at the retained earning year by year should be looked at as a worst case scenario and not so conservatively The reserve can be transpired more quickly if you look more optimistically 4 Hennessy's Field The Friends of Hennessy's Field presented many issues at last month's meeting. Brian and Karen have met to discuss and research options to developing a soccer field at this time. Karen handed out research report results on the number of fields available. Karen and Brian are working with the new facility director at Minuteman Vocational and will continue to build a positive relationship. Karen presented enrollment numbers from Lexington Youth Soccer. Sandra stated that the Hennessy Project is still an option and we are looking at more options, but keeping this option open. Karen said the committee will need to make a decision by December because she will be presenting in front of Town Meeting. Rick said that maybe the Friends of Hennessy's Field should be involved with persuading the Base to convert a few soccer fields for the Town. The committee felt that Karen should keep Hennessy in the capital report. The time frame is the only question. 5 Karen's Report Karen was asked to look at the cart rental policy at Pine Meadows. Bill Harrison stated that they do not rent to kids or non-regular golfers after 5.00 or 6:00 PM because of the danger of finishing their game in the dark. Karen handed out information on the operating budget,which she was due to present to the Board of Selectmen on November 24 Regarding the scholarship item, Paul suggested getting donations from special interest groups such as the Rotary Club to fund ( scholarships. Karen also distributed copies of the LYS newsletter that included 3 r information about the partnership between LYS and the Parks Department in re- conditioning the Town soccer fields. 6. Brian's Report Brian presented a letter from the Blue Sox regarding the re-sodding of Center#1 According to Rick DeAngelis the field has been re-graded and the company is going to put together a maintenance plan. Rick would like Brian to be involved and to see what he can do with the plan, any questions or suggestions to how it should be done and who should do it. The irrigation system at Adams field is now in, but was completed late and the field did not do as well as he had hoped. Some serious work needs to be done in the spring to get something growing. Brian will talk with Dick Thuma and LYS to figure out what to do. M'77ey will be used again in the spring. The new Little League fence at Center#4 is completed. The warning track along the fence is completed and regular maintenance will be done. Everything else is finished and closed up for the season. The Center tennis nets will stay up for now Karen thanked Little League for their donation of field improvements. Brian estimates that repairs to the tennis courts at Clarke would be $7000 for resurfacing and repairs, and $7-8000 for the fence. He anticipated $15,000 per court over a 5-8 year period. Next year he plans to put in a perimeter drain on the uphill side of the courts. Brian will move ahead and get other opinions on this project. The issue of private funding should be on the agenda to discuss at the next Recreation Committee meeting. 7 Pool Project Karen reported that an additional $80,000 is needed to fund the swimming pool project. Rick White suggested that Karen request the funds through Article 7 Paul asked if we could stretch the project for another year. Karen replied that the cost would just increase. Paul asked if the department is looking ahead to staffing the pool for next summer. Karen replied that she will start advertising for an Aquatics Manager very shortly She will be looking at other communities to get information on fee structures, raises, duties and average workweek before making any changes. The meeting was adjourned 10:30 PM. NEXT MEETING. DECEMBER 17, 1997 7.30 PM ROOM G-15