HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-27-REC-Certified.Vot. Comm.Bus.Use.Town.Property.rpt 1 +� ,,
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xa SELECT BOARD
DOUGLAS M.LUCENTE,CHAIR
JOSEPH N.PATO
SUZANNE E.BARRY
JILL I.HAI TEL: (781)698-4580
MARK D.SANDEEN FAX: (781)863-9468
July 28, 2020
As Executive Clerk to the Lexington Select Board, I certify the following:
At its duly called and publicly posted meeting ofJuly 27, 2020, Upon a motion duly made, by
roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to set the Town Manager, or his designee, as the
permitting authority for Item 8 (which reads, "engage in business activity') under the Board
of Selectmen Parks and Recreation Facilities Policy(attachment a) to allow the use of Town
property for business activities during the current pandemic until such time that the Governor
lis the State of Emergency for the purposes stated in the July 14, 2020 memo(attachment b).
Sincerely,
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Kim Katzenback
Executive Clerk
1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE• LEXINGTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02420
e-mail selectboard@lexingtonma.gov
attachment a
BOARD OF SELECTMEN REGULATION
PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
Date Approved by BOS: Signature of Chair:
June ?7, ?011 2l ,,94'??til.
The Board of Selectmen for the Town of Lexington, by virtue of its authority to make rules for
the use and government of the Public Parks and Recreational areas of said Town, and for
breaches of such rules to affix penalties, hereby ordains that within the limits of the Public Parks
and Recreational areas, except with the prior written consent of the Board or its designee, it is
forbidden:
1. To be in or on Park or Recreation Property from one-half hour after sunset to one-half
hour before sunrise except while open for public skating or any other lighted recreational
use.
2. To use playing fields except as allowed by the Recreation Department Field Use Policy.
3. To cut, break, injure, deface, defile, or ill-use any building, fence or other construction or
any tree, bush,plant or turf, or any other thing or property of said Town.
4. To have possession of or consume any alcoholic beverage, or play any game of chance,
or commit any disorderly or improper action; or disturb the peace in any way, or conduct
oneself in such manner as to interfere with the rightful enjoyment of the public upon
these grounds.
5. To refuse to obey the orders or requests of either the Selectmen or the Police, or other
agents of the Selectmen, and to refuse to assist them when required.
6. To make a fire except in designated fire places with permission of the Fire Department.
7. To have possession of or discharge any destructive weapon, firearm, firecracker, torpedo,
or firework; to hunt, trap or shoot; injure or have possession of any wild animal or bird;
to injure or disturb bird nests or eggs.
8. To post,paint, affix, or display any sign,notice,placard, or advertising device; or engage
in business, sell, or expose for sale, or give away any goods, wares, or circulars.
9. Dumping of any kind shall not be permitted within any park grounds, school grounds,
and recreation areas.
10. The playing of golf is strictly prohibited, except at Pine Meadows Golf Course during
scheduled hours of operation.
11. To operate or park a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to any car, truck, bus,
motorcycle, motor bike or snowmobile on park grounds, school grounds and recreation
areas, other than in the official use of the Town, or in designated parking areas.
12. To allow any domestic animal, other than dogs on leash to go upon these grounds. All
animals, including dogs, are expressly prohibited from school grounds,playgrounds, and
playing fields. The exception is a service animal as designated by the American with
Disabilities Act.
13. Smoking is strictly prohibited.
Compliance with the foregoing regulations is a condition of the use of these premises. Any
person willfully doing any of the things above forbidden shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding one hundred dollars.
Adopted February 9, 1981
Section 12 added June 16, 1997
Revised by Policy Manual Committee 6/27/11.
attachment b
Town of Lexington
Economic Development Office
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MEMORANDUM
Date: July 14th, 2020
To: James Malloy, Town Manager
CC:
From: Sandhya Iyer, Economic Development Director, Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation
& Community Programs, Casey Hagerty, Economic Development Coordinator
Re: Recommendations for Special Use Permitting of Parks & Recreation Outdoor Space
The Recreation and Community Programs Department has a permit policy in place that allows
for organized use of Parks and Recreation Outdoor facilities. In response to the Covid-19
Pandemic, the requests for special use has become a priority to several Lexington businesses.
Economic Development and Recreation staff recommend that utilizing the existing policy can
support the local businesses during Phase 3 and beyond.
Locations recommended for this use includes
• Center Recreation Complex
• Lincoln Park
Both parks have public parking,provide ample physical distancing, and are in close proximity to
Lexington Center. The Town open spaces that may provide an adequate location include Fletcher
Park, Depot Square, and Tower Park are currently designed and maintained for passive or special
event use, not active Recreation.
List of Suitable Locations:
1) Hastings Park
2) Fletcher Park
3) Depot Square
4) Tower Park
5) Center Field
6) Lincoln Park
7) Bow Street Park(East Lexington)
We do not recommend using other parks and grounds as that will raise issues such as parking and
booking times for the use of the space. We also recommend using properties that are currently
permitted through the Recreation Department at this point. Moving forward, we can consider policies
for permitting other Town Land.
Permit Policy:
The Recreation Committee will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15Th, at 6:30 pm and one
of the agenda items is to review the current Permit Policy. Melissa is recommending to remove
the word"Sports" in Tier 5 section that reads as below:
Private Clinics, camps, tournaments, or other special uses shall not be eligible for a playing field
and/or related facility use permit unless such use is sponsored by the Recreation and Community
Programs Department, Lexington Public Schools, or on a case-by-case basis for a recognized
Lexington Based Sports Organization.
This change will help extend the use of Parks that are permitted by the Recreation Department.
hllps://www.lexin onma.gov/sites/lexingionma/files/uploads/field hermit policy_fpdf
Application:
Recreation already has an application that is available on the website. As the request is under
Tier 5 Priority Use, the applications will be assessed and considered on a case by case basis.
Several factors determine the usability of the location. Some of the factors that we discussed are
listed below:
1) Parking Availability
2) Easy accessibility to the park under consideration. For instance, the Bow Street Park
located in East Lexington is not easily accessible but is a good location for conducting
Yoga.
3) Preference according to the activity specified in the application. For example, yoga and
other physical activities may be conducted on natural grass or synthetic grass. Whereas
activities such as painting can be conducted on flat or a gravel surface.
4) Requested schedule/times for conducting classes.
https://www.lexin onma.gov/field-reservations/webforms/field-permit-application
Fees for using the Parks:
The current rate for using the Park as determined by the Recreation Department is $75 for grass
fields and $150 for the synthetic filed. There is an additional charge of$35 for using the facility
at night for the lights. The Lexington Retailer's Association reached out to the Recreation
Department to subsidize the fees during COVID 19 for this special use purpose. The consensus is
that the fees should not be subsidized as it is an important revenue stream for the department.
hllps://www.lexin onma.gov/sites/lexingionma/files/uploads/field hermit fee_schedule_-
2020.pddf
Current State Guidelines:
Parks and Open Space Walking, hiking, biking, running, land stewardship events (clean-up
events, community service projects, volunteer programming), and other activities (yoga, tai chi,
etc.,) are allowable activities during Phase III, Step I in parks and other designated areas such as
rail trails, multi-use paths, and bike paths in_,accordance_with,C,O,VID-19_„guidelines which_,are
enforced,locally,b_.y_,staff in the,Lexlnaon_Office,_of,Public,_Health as,nents,of the Lexln ton
Board of Health.
Parks and Open Space Guidelines:
Visitors must practice social distancing by remaining 6 feet away from others and adhering to all
site-specific rules, regulations, and posted signage regarding permitted uses.
Face coverings are required for visitors to parks and open spaces in accordance with COVID-19
Order 31: Order Requiring Face Coverings in Public Places Where Social Distancing is Not
Possible,to prevent against the transmission of Covid-19.
Managing entities may offer or allow third parties to coordinate group hikes, nature walks, and
land stewardship activities, such as clean-up events and community service projects only_,if_the
program doe_s,notrequ re_Ind v dual part icipa_nts_to_,make vhvsi,c_al_conta_ct_in_,order to,m4age,in
the_activity__Outdoor education pK9grams shall be consistent with adeduate social distancing and
limited to groups of 12 or fewer including participants, staff, and instructors. In larger_areas_,there
may be more than one group of 12 at one time, provided that adequate social distance and group
separation of at least 20 feet can be maintained.
Rest of the State Guidelines can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/safety-standards-for-
parks-open-space-and-outdoor-education-programs-phase-iii-step-1-0/download.
The_Lexinaon_Offlce,-of-Public-Health-is-available-to-answe _Ions,_ab_out,the"idelines,_and
promote_understandinof the_guidelines
Sincerely,
Sandhya Iyer, Economic Development Director
Melissa Battite, Recreation, and Community Programs Director
Casey Hagerty, Economic Development Coordinator