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Home My WebLink About2017-11-15-REC-min � Town of Lexington ;2-1 �'` w ; Recreation Committee it'''a� 3\�� n APRIL 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 November 15, 2017 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday,November 15, 2017 at 7 OOpm in Room 237 of the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington. Members Present. Rick DeAngelis, Lisah Rhodes, Sandra Shaw, and Ruixi Yuan Members Absent. Jason Denoncourt Staff Present. Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, Christine Dean, Community Center Director, Chns Filadoro, DPW Superintendent of Public Grounds, and Dave Pinsonneault, DPW Director Others Present. Joe Seidel (Lexington United Soccer Club) 1 Meeting Minutes from October 18,2017 Sandra Shaw moved and Ruixi Yuan seconded approval of the Recreation Committee Minutes of October 18, 2017 The Recreation Committee voted 3-0 to approve the minutes of October 18,2017 2. Citizens and Other Boards Joe Seidel, President of Lexington United Soccer Club(LUSC),was in attendance and reported that the lights at Lincoln#2 have been working great this fall as all of the feedback that he has heard has been positive The Lexington High School boys varsity soccer team hosted a night playoff game under the lights Mr Seidel noted that the synthetic turf fields at Lincoln Park have been a benefit given how much rain there has been this fall. He also stated that the reviews of the newly renovated Adams Field have been very positive One concern that Mr Seidel discussed with the Committee is the situation at the Diamond Middle School on Saturday mornings LUSC uses the Diamond fields for their grades K-2 programs, which can include up to 500 children, and the German School,which has approximately 500 families,uses the school facility During the school renovations, the amount of parking was reduced significantly and has led to major parking concerns at the site on Saturday mornings Lisah Rhodes that this situation is critical and Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs, informed the Committee that the department issues the permits for the fields and the Facilities Department permits the use of the school building Ms Battite has been involved in conversations with the Facilities Department about this issue with the hope of coming up with a solution for future seasons 3 Liaison Reports Sandra Shaw, liaison to the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC),provided an overview of the new bike share program Zagster that is now available in Lexington. The rental bikes are available in the center of town for people to use and in addition to Lexington, Zagster is available on Needham, Westwood, and Cambridge Ms Shaw also indicated that additional signage,which was funded through a CPA capital improvement article,will be displayed around town in the near future Lisah Rhodes, liaison to the Community Center Program Advisory Committee (CCPAC), reported that the CCPAC met last week and is being tasked with pinpointing and identifying what the Committee s charge will be moving forward. 4 Capital Budget FY2019-FY2023 To follow up on the Committee s discussion from last month, Dave Pinsonneault, DPW Director, provided some more specific information on and the benefits of installing a natural grass/synthetic turf hybrid athletic field at the Center Track as part of the proposed Center Track reconstruction project. With the hybnd field, Mr Pinsonneault explained that the profile of the field would consist of a sand base right over natural soil and natural grass fibers would come up through the surface While regular maintenance practices would be in place and it would need to be mowed weekly, the hybrid field would provide for more consistency of play, a more even, resilient surface, and handle wet weather better than a natural grass field would. Essentially, it would combine the best attributes of a natural grass field with the stability of a synthetic turf field. Members of the Committee asked a variety of questions about the cost and maintenance of the field. Mr Pinsonneault noted that the cost for a hybnd field would be approximately the same as a synthetic turf and from a maintenance standpoint, a natural grass field is more labor- intensive while a synthetic turf field is more cost-intensive He also added that since Lexington is on the cutting edge, this would be a product worth considering Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs,provided the Committee with the feedback that she received dunng the capital plan presentation to the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC)back on November 1st The CEC was pleased with the proposed projects that were submitted. They recommended removing the pickleball court construction project given the new pickleball courts that will be available at Clarke and moving the cncket field construction project back to FY2023 or removing it from the plan altogether given the other needs of the community Ms Battite indicated that staff have been able to make accommodation for the youth cricket league throughout the season and after a bnef discussion, the Committee agreed that it would be best to move the cncket project back to FY2023 The CEC was pleased with the proposed renovations at the Old Reservoir bathhouse and Pine Meadows clubhouse as well as the finalized Recreation Facilities and ADA Compliance Study The three projects that were discussed the most were the Community Center campus expansion, athletic facility lighting project at the Center Recreation Complex, and the Center Track reconstruction. Strong advocacy throughout the community is going to be needed for these three projects and staff will be involved with the Facilities Department and School Department throughout the visioning process when it comes to the potential location for a new Lexington High School and the impact it may have on the Center Recreation Complex. Ms Battite noted that the Committee will need to determine a Plan B consisting of what projects to invest in and how to fund these projects if the proposed projects and their respective funding sources are not approved by the CEC, Community Preservation Committee (CPC), or the Board of Selectmen. An extensive conversation on this topic will take place dunng the December Recreation Committee meeting. 5. Review of FY17 Department Highlights Melissa Battite distributed copies of the Recreation and Community Programs FY2017 Annual Report,which consisted of the Department s FY17 highlights Ms Battrte congratulated Christine Dean, Community Center Director, and Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation, for overseeing the successful operations of the Department. 6. 2018 Fee Schedule Peter Coleman, Assistant Director of Recreation,presented the proposed 2018 fee schedule to the Committee The Department s last fee increases were back in 2014 For 2018 the propose fee increases are between $5 00-$10 00 in the program areas of aquatics, summer camps, tennis, adult 39 MARRETT ROAD LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS 02421 3 drop-in gym programs, and youth leagues and a Si 00 increase in the resident greens fees and per person golf cart rentals at Pine Meadows, In total, the proposed fee increases are projected to generate approximately $40,000 in additional revenue After a bnef discussion, Lisah Rhodes made the following motion. The Recreation Committee moves to approve the proposed 2018 Recreation and Community Programs fee schedule, as presented Sandra Shaw seconded the motion. The Recreation Committee voted 4-0 to approve. The fee schedule be presented to and must be approved by the Board of Selectmen prior to being implemented. 7 Parks Report This month s Parks Report is included with the November Recreation and Communit\ Programs Report. 8. Recreation Report Melissa Battite provided the Committee with her monthly update The November 2017 Recreation and Community Programs Report is included as an attachment to the minutes The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday,December 20`h,2017 at 7 OOpm in Room 237 of the Lexington Community Center The November 15, 2017 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 8 48pm Respectfully submitted, Peter Coleman Assistant Director of Recreation The following documents/exhibits distributed at the meeting are attached. • Recreation and Community Programs FY2017 Annual Report • 2018 Recreation and Community Programs Fee Schedule • November 2017 Recreation & Community Programs Report 39 MARRETT ROAD LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS 02421