HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-11-17-REC-min `o' MOgk'Y
0ins QO
Town of Lexington
tigym le =W, Recreation Committee
s l�
APRILI9'"
FXIN6 0
Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel. (781) 862-0500 x262
Richard Thuma, Vice Chairman Fax. (781) 861-2747
Wend` Rudner
Sandra Shaw
Howard Vogel
RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING
November 17, 2009
Selectmen's Meeting Room
Members Present: Rick DeAngelis(Chairman), Wendy Rudner, Sandra Shaw Howard Vogel
Staff Present: Karen Simmons,David Pinsonneault,Peter Coleman and Sheila Butts
Others Present: Patrick Maguire and Megan Buczynski, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.
The meeting of the Recreation Committee came to order at 7.03 PM. The following items were topics of
discussion.
1. Citizens and Other Boards:
No citizens or other boards were present.
2. Meeting Minutes from October 21,2009•
Wend` Rudner made, and Howard Vogel seconded a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes of
October 21 as written. There was no discussion. The motion was unanimously approved (3—0).
3. Park Improvements/Athletic Field Capital Article:
An updated FY 2011 Capital Project Request was distributed b\ Mr Pmsonneault. He noted that the
Recreation Committee voted on September 16th to move the next Athletic Field Improvement project
from FY 2011 to FY 2012 The Park Improvements -Athletic Fields article had been removed b`
DPW and placed within their Capital Plan because he wanted to keep his Athletic Field Improvement
Plan moving forward. Mr Pmsonneault provided the Recreation Committee with some background
about the Park Improvements Article, and the work recentl` completed on the Bowman and Bridge
Fields Mr Pmsonneault reported that he had spoken with the Finance Director who told him that if
a project is considered important it should be brought to Town Meeting for discussion. Mr
Pmsonneault told the Committee that he does indeed believe that continuing to renovate fields
throughout the Town on a vearl` basis is ver. important. The FY2011 Article is for renovations to
the Hastings field. Karen Simmons reviewed the historn of the FY2011 request.
Members of the Recreation Committee inquired about previous projects Mr Pmsonneault explained
that in FY2008 $50 000 was appropriated to renovate the Bowman School field, and in FY2009
$100 000 was appropriated for the Bridge School field. Both projects have been completed.
Mr Pmsonneault requested that the Recreation Committee reconsider their September 16 2009 vote
to postpone the Park Improvements/Athletic Fields Article until 2012
Sandra Shaw moved and Howard Vogel seconded the following
1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE•LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS 02420
The Recreation Committee has reconsidered its original vote of September 16 2009 to postpone the
Park Improvements - Athletic Fields Capital Article and will resubmit its request for $50 000 to
address the ball field at the Hastings School in FY2011
The motion passed by a vote of 4—0.
4. Park Report:
Dave Pmsonneault provided the Recreation Committee with information on the following:
• The Town has received prices for the fencing project at the Old Reservoir Mr Pmsonneault
is waiting for the purchase Order to be finalized, and is hopeful that the project can be
completed this fall.
• Approval has been given to fix the new backstop at the Fiske School. The backstop was
installed as part of the school building project, but was not purchased and installed according
to the specifications provided b` the Parks Department. Funding for the repairs and
reinstallation will come from the School Project account.
• Town Engineer John Livse` has met with Bernward Ha` of The Louis Berger Group Inc to
discuss moving forward with the Old Reservoir Stormwater Management Project. Mr Ha` is
submitting a proposal to the Engineering Department for completion of Phase One, which is
funded bCommunit\ Preservation funds Phase one includes work on three catch basins
and the retention pond area. The Gate Structure project at the Old Reservoir has been
completed.
• Peter Coleman and Dave Pmsonneault are working with the adult soccer group responsible
for extensive damage to the Harrington field on October 18 to assure that repairs are made
Mr Pmsonneault provided the group with specifications for work required and materials to
be used. The group has followed the specifications and aerated, slice seeded and raked the
field. Dave Pmsonneault and Peter Coleman are inspecting the work on November 18 and
will contact the soccer group should additional remediation be required.
5. Center Field Drainage Report—Joint Meeting with Conservation Commission
The Recreation Committee joined the Conservation Commission in Room G15 for a presentation b`
Stantec on the Center Drainage Project. At the conclusion of the presentation the Recreation Committee
reconvened in the Selectmen s Meeting Room at 7 55 p.m. to discuss the project and have an informal
question and answer period with Megan Buczvnski, Project Manager and Patrick Maguire of Stantec
Consulting Services, Inc
• Wend\ Rudner asked about the possible camera investigation of the existing drainage system
at the center play Ms Buczvnski responded that she thinks it is important to the
project, allowing us to see current conditions before possibl` abandoning the existing system.
She also noted that a camera inspection would be a proactive step prior to future meetings
with the Conservation Commission.
• Howard Vogel asked if there was a wa` to put a metric on how the proposed changes will
affect field play at the conclusion of the renovations Mr Maguire indicated that the
work would most certaml` decrease the downtime due to rain for all of the fields at the
Center
• Dick Thuma, who was unable to attend the Recreation Committee meeting, had read the
Center Play gelds Drainage Study and submitted the following comments through Karen
Simmons
o `Costs characterized in the report as CPC funded and non-CPC funded feels
awkward and somehow inappropriate to me I would characterize them as drainage
related costs and non-drainage related costs I don t think an of the budgets needs to
change, but b` changing the names, Stantec gets out of the business of suggesting to
Lexington how it should fund improvements and focuses rather on what those
improvements ought to be
o The drainage improvements budget should be increased to include camera
inspection and repairs to the existing field drainage system. I understand that Stantec
doesn t know how much that will cost, but it s not zero and their informed opinion is
as good as we 11 get for now even if it s a ver. qualified guess
o The non-drainage improvement budget should be increased to include ADA
compliance at fields 1 — 4 for such items as accessible bleachers (baseball & softball
fields) access paths and signage As each field is done it should be made compliant,
which doesn t seem to be in the budget.
• Rick DeAngelis suggested that the Recreation Committee read and stud\ the written report
provided bStantec and compile a list of questions
• Karen Simmons requests that all questions and comments be submitted to her She will then
forward them to Ms Buczvnski at Stantec
6. Recreation Report:
• Karen Simmons welcomed Peter Coleman, Recreation Supervisor to the meeting. Mr
Coleman provided the Recreation Committee with an update on the Youth Sports Council.
To date the Council has met five times Representatives of all youth sports organizations,the
LHS Athletic Director two student representatives, Wend` Rudner (Recreation Committee
Liaison) and Hank Manz (Board of Selectmen liaison) are members of the Youth Sports
Council. Mr Coleman told the Recreation Committee about plans for a Youth Sports
Summit in March 2010 Parents, coaches, athletes and interested residents will be invited to
attend. Included among the topics will be a session on brain injuries, CPR and First Aid
training, a presentation b` Bruce Brown about character through sports and The role of
parents in athletics Mr Coleman is meeting with the LHS Athletic Director Naomi martin
on November 18 to discuss and plan the Summit. The next Youth Sports Council Meeting is
scheduled for December 2 Mr Coleman will continue to provide updates to the recreation
Committee
• Rick DeAngelis suggested that an additional Youth Sports Summit topic should deal with
Physical Therap` for both serious athletic injuries and the prevention of injuries
• Howard Vogel and Rick DeAngelis both complimented Peter Coleman on the excellent job
he is doing with programs, leagues and fields
• Wend` Rudner and Rick DeAngelis inquired about the surve` Mr Coleman was compiling
regarding field use policies on weekends Mr Coleman explained that he had sent a surve`
to approximatel` 15 communities, and although he had received some information back, the
surve` was incomplete He will provide the results at the December Recreation Committee
meeting.
• Ms Simmons reported that the Town has been notified that is did not receive the 319 Grant
for the Old Reservoir
• Pine Meadows is still open reported b` Karen Simmons It should remain open for a few
more weeks if the weather cooperates
• The Recreation Department is ordering more covers to protect the greens at Pine Meadows
• The newl\ reconstructed 8th Green is coming along ver` well, and should be open b` Ma`
2010
7 New Business
Rick DeAngelis requested that the Center Playfields Drainage Study be included as an agenda item for the
December Recreation Committee Meeting.
The next meeting of the Recreation Committee is scheduled for 7 PM in Room G15 of the
Town Office Building on Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The November 17 2009 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 8.27 PM.