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Frederick DeAngelis, Chairman Tel: (781) 862 -0500 x262
Wendy Rudner Fax: (781) 861 -2747
Sandra Shaw
Howard Vogel
Lisah Rhodes
Recreation Committee
Minutes of Meeting of September 21, 2011
A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in
Room 111 of the Town Office Building
Members Present: Wendy Rudner, Sandra Shaw, Rick DeAngelis, and Howard Vogel
Members Absent: Lisah Rhodes
Staff Present: Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, and Sheila Butts, Assistant Director of
Recreation
Others Present: Marilyn Campbell. Council on Aging, and Hank Manz, Board of Selectmen
liaison
The Recreation Committee meeting began at 7:02 p.m. The meeting acted on the following items:
1. Citizens and Other Boards — None
2. Meeting Minutes from August 17 & 30, 2011
Wendy Rudner moved and Howard Vogel seconded acceptance of the Recreation Committee
Meeting Minutes of August 17 and August 30, 2011 as written. The motion was approved by a
vote of 3— 0.
3. Busa Update
Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, reported that the Board of Selectmen review of the
Recreation Committee's Busa Farm Proposal took place on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 8:30
a.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. Rick DeAngelis spoke on behalf of the Recreation
Committee. The meeting provided an opportunity for the Recreation Committee to present
information to the Selectmen about current field usage, needs for additional field space to
accommodate the individuals and groups who have been denied field permits due to lack of
appropriate space. Sandra Shaw and Wendy Rudner were also in attendance from the Committee.
The Board of Selectmen has set a tentative date of October 11, 2011 to meet with the Busa Land
Use Proposal Committee.
Howard Vogel asked Mr. Manz if the Board had extended the current lease of the land. Mr.
Manz reported that the Board of Selectmen had extended the lease to Dennis Busa for one
additional year.
1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420
4. Recreation's 5 -Year Capital Plan
Ms. Simmons reported that the 5 Year Capital Plan, which was discussed at the August 17th
meeting, and sent to Committee members, was finalized and submitted to the Town on September
15th. She noted that the feedback from the Recreation Committee had been incorporated into the
• Priority 1: Hard Court Resurfacing — Recoating the existing Center Track surface
• Priority 2: Phase III — Center Drainage Project
• Priority 3: Park Improvements — Athletic Fields — Installation of irrigation at Garfield and
extension of exiting irrigation lines at Clarke and Diamond
• Priority 4: Pine Meadows Equipment — replacement of a Fairway Mower. Ms. Simmons
is meeting with the Assistant Town Manager of Finance in the near future to determine
whether the mower will be purchased with cash or leased.
• Priority 5: Park and Playground Improvements — Adams Playground. Ms. Simmons
explained to the Committee that the Department hopes to partner with the Waldorf
School in an effort to purchase and install more equipment that the $65,000 tax levy
request will allow. The new equipment will be designed for ages 5 — 12.
Ms. Simmons also made note of the Priority # 7 and Priority # 10 projects planned for FY 2017.
The first is the major renovation of Town Pool, which will require an addition to the existing
building to accommodate new filters. Current code requires each pool to be on its own filtration
system. The project is recommended for FY2017 because the Lincoln Park Debt service will
expire in FY2018. The second project that year will be a renovation of the Center Track and
installation of synthetic turf and lights on the inside of the track field.
Sandra Shaw moved and Wendy Rudner seconded a motion to accept the Recreation 5 Year
Capital Plan as presented by Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation. The motion was approved
unanimously (3 — 0).
5. Recreation Report - Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation informed members of the
Recreation Committee about the following:
• There has been a glitch with the distribution of the recent Recreation Brochure by the Post
Office. It is estimated that 40 -50% of the program brochures were not delivered to residents.
Sheila is looking into the reason for the problem, but Recreation staff has been proactive in
emailing information about fall programs to Recreation customers. The undistributed
brochures are in the Recreation office. The brochure is available in various locations about
town (Library and Senior Center), on the Recreation website, and online in the Lexington
Patch.
Recreation staff is currently compiling the FY2011 Performance measurements and
developing the FY2013 Recreation Budget. The final budget proposal must be submitted by
October 14, 2011. Pending internal reviews, the performance measurements and budget will
be provided to the Recreation Committee at the November meeting.
Phase 1 of the Center Drainage project has begun. The drainage pipes are scheduled to be
installed the week of September 26. The Town agreed to extend the length of the project by
10 working days, due to the extended baseball season. The construction start date changed
from August 22nd to August 31St, and there were three continuous days of substantial rain.
Bid documents for the upcoming phase of the Pool Renovation project (approved at the 2011
Town Meeting) are being compiled. Karen Simmons and Sergio DiMango (Facilities) have
met with the consultant. The roof skylights were damaged over the winter due to the snow
load and will be added to the project. The cost estimate to repair them which must be done
before winter is $10,000.
2
• Bid documents for Phase II of the Center Drainage project will go out in early January, with
an anticipated start date of March 2012. Because of the high peat layer in the football and JV
baseball field location, the Town has decided to stay with natural grass on these fields.
Installation of synthetic turf would be a very high risk venture for the Town due to the thick
organic peat layer. Two major issues that would be the most problematic on the football field
are Differential Settlement and Stormwater Runoff.
• Karen. Simmons and Peter Coleman, Supervisor of Recreation, met recently with the LHS
Varsity Softball and Soccer coach, Frank Pagliuca at Lincoln Park. He has requested
permission to install a small storage shed at the facility to hold athletic equipment. After
walking the site it has been determined that the best location for this shed is near the Little
League field. Ms. Simmons has strongly suggested to Coach Pagliuca that he contact David
Williams, Lincoln Park Subcommittee to let the committee know of his request.
• On Tuesday, September 20ffi, the Assistant Superintendent of the Pine Meadows Golf Club
passed away suddenly.
• The USGA Walking Tour of the Golf Course will take place on Thursday, September 22.
The Recreation Committee will receive the written USGA report when it is completed.
• The current Golf Cart lease expires this year. Karen Simmons is working on the development
of new specifications, including the addition of 2 more carts year round.
• The Town has extended the New England Golf Corporation contract through 2012. The
Town has the option of extending the contract for one more year.
• Participant numbers for the Pine Meadows Golf Course have been good overall, considering
the golf market overall. The rounds played on average are between 36,000 and 37,000 each
year, and we are on track to continue this trend in 2011.
• The Storm Water Mitigation project at Pine Meadows will begin in mid - October. The project
requires that all irrigation be turned off, which is the rationale for pushing the construction
start date back.
• The Old Reservoir Storm Water Mitigation Project is moving along as well. Construction
will begin in March 2012. The project will be out to bid this fall. The town has been
approved to receive a $300,000 grant towards the project.
• The Recreation Department in conjunction with other town departments is partnering with the
League of Women Voters to sponsor and facilitate a "Community Conversation" on
September 27, 2011.
• The Youth Flag Football program, run in partnership with the NFL, began on Sunday,
September 18. Peter Coleman has down a wonderful job promoting, expanding and running
this program.
• The Department is also partnering with the Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance (BUDA) to begin
a youth Ultimate Frisbee program in Lexington. The program is scheduled to begin on
September 27 at Fis_ke.
Parks Report
Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds, was unable to attend the Recreation
Committee meeting. Karen Simmons, Director of Recreation, reported in his absence:
• The Franklin Field renovation project has been awarded. Work should begin in October
and continue through the end of November.
• The Parks Division of DPW has hired a landscaper to weed & trim, edge and mulch the
tree beds at Lincoln Park. The poor condition of the park was questioned by a
committee member. Ms. Simmons reported that she had received 5 complaints about
the condition of Lincoln Park in the last week and has noticed the maintenance has fallen
below standards. She spoke with Chris Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds. He
will be compiling a maintenance plan for the park, which he will present to the
Recreation Committee at the October meeting.
7. Other
• Wendy Rudner, Lincoln Park Subcommittee liaison, distributed a copy of the minutes of
the recent LPDC meeting (attached).
• Ms. Rudner_ also _reported - -that she -- had -- requested a -map detailing _the -- locations of the
memorials in Lincoln Park. Hank Manz indicated that he would speak with the Town
GIS administrator about the use of one of the portable GIS machines by a member of his
Boy Scout Troop who needs to do a project. This would be a win -win situation.
• Howard Vogel, Lexington Greenway Committee liaison, reported that the Greenway
Committee will present their plan in the near future, but due to the high cost estimates
they do not anticipate acceptance of the proposal. They will also be submitting a funding
request to the Community Preservation Committee.
• Sandra Shaw noted that she had recently informed Dave Pinsonneault, DPW Operations
Director, that there is serious root damage on the Minuteman Bike path towards the
Bedford line. She also expressed dismay that the rehabilitation of the bike path between
Middleby Road and Worthen Road had not been done as promised in July. The tree that
fell across this bike path recently was removed in a timely manner. Karen Simmons
recommended that the Bike path issues be discussed with Chris Filadoro at the October
Recreation Committee meeting.
The next meeting of the Recreation Committee will take place on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 in the
Town Office Building —Room 111 at 7:00 p.m.
The September 21, 2011 meeting of the Recreation Committee adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
The following documents /exhibits distributed at the meeting are attached:
• FY 2012 — 2016 Department Summary of Capital Improvement Projects
• Lincoln Park Subcommittee meeting minutes
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Butts