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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-16-REC-min ,°sOpiv, 9- 1775 4FG. o Town of Lexington 6 ii Recreation Committee t. APRIL19"' Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (7 81) 862-0500 x262 Richard Thuma, Vice Chairman Fax: (7 81) 861-2747 Wendy Rudner Sandra Shaw Howard Vogel RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING September 16, 2009 Members er Present: Rick DeAngelis(Chairman),Wendy Rudner, Sandra Shaw, Richard Thuma(Vice Chairman) Staff Present: Karen Simmons The meeting of the Recreation Committee came to order at 7:00 PM in Room C-15 of the Town Office Building. The following items were topics of discussion: 1. Citizens and Other Boards: No citizens or other board were present. 2. Meeting Minutes `r r June 17,2009 and July 15,2009: Rick DeAngelis made, and Sandra Shaw seconded, a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes of June 17, 2009 and July 15,2009 as written. There was no discussion. The motion was unanimously approved. 3. Recreation 5-Year Capital Plan: An updated FY 2011 —FY 2015 draft 5-year Capital Plan was presented by Ms. Simmons. The only change from the FY2010 — FY 2014 5-year Capital Plan was the reduction of Center Pool Complex capital items in FY2011 from $170,000 to $75,000 due to Town-wide fiscal constraints. Ms. Simmons noted that in FY2009 approximately $5,000 had been expended to replace a failed pump on the main filtration system at the Center Pool Complex and so far in FY2010, approximately $1,800 had been expended to replace a failed pump on the wading pool filtration system. There was a discussion about postponing capital projects to be funded from the Recreation Enterprise Fund and from the Tax Levy until FY2012 or beyond. Mr. Thuma made, and Mr, DeAngelis seconded, a motion to postpone Center Pool Complex Renovation ($75,000) and Park Improvements ($50,000) to FY2012. Ms. Simmons commented that the ventilation improvements to the bathhouse could not wait until FY2012 and that she would make a separate request to the Town Manager for a Program Improvement of$10,000 to pay for the ventilation upgrade in FY2011, After discussion of the issues surrounding the projects, the motion was amended to postpone the FY2011 Center Pool Complex capital project until FY20 12 and to increase the budget from $75,000 to $160,000 and to postpone the FY2011 Park Improvement from FY2011 to FY201 (thereby increasing the FY2013 Park Improvement capital budget from $50,000 to $100,000. The motion was not approved;the members present voting 2 in support and 2 in opposition. After continued discussion Mr. DeAngelis made, and Ms. Shaw seconded, a motion to reduce the FY2011 Center Pool Complex capital budget to $25,000 and to increase the FY20 12 Center Pool Complex capital budget to $150,000 and to postpone the FY2011 Park Improvement budget to FY201 . Ms. Shaw commented that it should be made clear that the adjustments were only being made because the Recreation Committee recognized the difficulty that the current fiscal conditions placed on the Town. The motion was approved; the members present voting 3 in support and 1 in opposition. 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE#LEXINGTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02420 Ms. Simmons indicated that she would distribute a revised FY2011 —FY2015 Capital Plan to the members of the Recreation Committee and would submit it to the Town Manager on its behalf, 4. Center Playground Bird Houses: Leslie Ghorbani, a Lexington Resident, wrote a letter to the Recreation Department requesting permission to install birdhouses at Center Playground. The Recreation Committee was not supportive of the idea. Mr. Thuma commented that he had worked on projects where many thousands ofdollars had been expended to relocate bird nests as well as the much-publicized impact of nesting birds on recreational activities near Monomoy Island in Chatham, MA. He suggested that conservation land in Lexington would be a better location for birdhouses, as they would not impact active recreation activities there. It was also suggested that the boardwalk area of Lincoln Park, adjacent to Worthen Road might be a suitable location. Ms. Simmons will respond to Ms. Ghorbani's letter. 5. Scholarship Policies: Ms. Simmons distributed an update to the April 21, 199.E Lexington Recreation Department Scholarship Aid Policy. Mr. Thuma asked if there was a similar policy that was used by the School Department for similar requests. After some discussion Ms. Shaw made, and Ms Rudner seconded, a motion to amend the Lexington Recreation Department Scholarship Aid Policy as presented. The motion was unanimously approved. 6. Park Report: Dave Pinsonneault, of the Department of Public Works, was not present due to a conflict with department training. No Park Report was made. 7. Recreation Report: Ms. Simmons reported the following: • Wes Worth, a landscape architect engaged by the Lincoln Park Subcommittee, wrote e-mail on August 14, alleging that drainage from Lincoln Park fields is causing erosion to the stone-dust path near Field 1 and Lincoln Street. The e-mail was widely distributed to the Lincoln Park Subcommittee, other citizens of Lexington, and some Lexington elected officials. Ms. Simmons does not believe that the erosion is being caused by field drainage, as the area of erosion is not near any field drainage outflow. She also commented that the Lincoln Park Subcommittee using an on- stabilized stone dust, which is not the correct material, had repaired the stone-dust path. The Recreation Committee unanimously encouraged Ms. Simmons to respond to Mr. Worth's allegations in a manner that made all recipients of his original e-mail aware of her view and the facts, as she knows them. • The Methane barrier at Lincoln Street is complete. During the project, soils from the excavation were allowed to contaminate the gravel-pave parking area adjacent to the entrance driveway to the Lincoln Park central parking area. Ms, Simmons and Mr. Pinsonneault will meet with the Town Engineer,John Livsey,to learn what mitigation measures will be undertaken to correct the situation. • The contractor repainted the Center Basketball Court and the Valley Street Tennis Courts without additional cost to the Town. In addition, without cost to the Town, the warranty for the work was extended from June 2009 to June 2011 through the contractor's bonding company. • An RF'Q to reconstruct a sand bunker on Hole 7 and to reshape the 8th Green at Pine Meadows is closed on 9/16/09, The submissions are currently being evaluated. The work the 86 green must begin no later then October 1st in order to salvage the sod. The work on the bunker should begin by the end of October. • An RFP for the Pine Meadows drainage project, approved at 2009 Annual Town Meeting, is being prepared with the support of the Engineering Department. • The Busa Farm Preliminary Site Assessment showed chemical levels above the DEP reporting thresholds. The closing has been postponed. • Karen jarna.a,Recreation Department Clerk,ha.s retired and been replaced by Cherie Robinson. The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled for 7 PM at Room G-15 of the Town Office Building on Wednesday, October 21, 200 9. The September 16,2009 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 9:00 PM. Leslie A. Ghorbani 3 Juniper Place Lexington, MA 02420 (781) 861-652 Email: 3,tibLf ''1- ''- June 21, 2009 Karen Simmons, Recreation Department 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington., MA 02420 RE: L in t o Center Pl y r and Birdhouses Dear Karen, Pursuant to our recent telephone conversation, 1 am writing to inform you that I have twelve(12) birdhouses I'd like to donate to be installed on various trees through the Center Playground. I have tried to download a map the playground via Goggle Satellite Maps,but have been unsuccessful. I would be happy to meet with someone at the park to discuss various locations for the houses to be placed. I am requesting that they be maintained by the town,which would involve an annual cleanout. These birdhouses have hinges allowing for easy cleaning,which is usually done in the fall. I am happy to work with Dave Pinsonneault to appropriately place these homes in the trees. I am an enthusiastic walker around the track and recognize the vibrant number of birds in the area. Unfortunately, some have had to make their homes in unseemly and dangerous spots, like the electric box next to the water fountain. The future of this family of birds is in peril once the carnival comes to town, unless something can be done to redirect the energy needed for the event. I know these homes will add beauty to the playground and provide interest and dwellings for many birds to raise families. Please feel free to contact me to let me know where I can bring the birdhouses. I am happy to help out in any way to see this through. Thai you, in advance, for your consideration and time in this regard. Sincerely, .t dv,* cd, / /-51141'7 4°, „J1, c A fi 17