Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
February 14, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Joan Gorga, Sam Harding, Peter Lamb, Isaac Lombard, and John Robertson (Selectboard ex-officio)
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Minutes
The minutes from the January 17, 2012 meeting were approved.
ConVal Agreement
Report on BOS meeting. Celeste, Joan and John (a Selectman) attended the BOS meeting on 1/22/13. Celeste and Joan tried to make a case for clarifying the relationship between the Town of Antrim and ConVal regarding the use of shared facilities. It appears that little is likely to happen before the March elections and Town Meeting.
Budget
Update after BOS meeting and February 4 Budget Hearing. The BOS recommended cutting the funds that were to be returned to the Parks and Rec CIP fund from $25,000 to $20,000 due to extremely tight budgets this year. At the Budget Hearing there were no questions regarding the Parks & Rec budget.
Shea Field
Scoreboard. A permanently fixed scoreboard to be used for soccer and lacrosse will be purchased for $2600 using funds from the Richardson fund.
Maintenance. A soil moisture meter will be purchased to allow quantitative measurements to support closing the field when it is too wet to be played on without incurring significant damage.
Gregg Lake
Discussion of signage issues. Many of the signs posted around the beach parking lot and the boat launch were apparently blown down in the high winds experienced over the last few weeks. While gathering them up, Joan stopped a passing NH Fish & Game truck, and was kindly given a replacement “Anglers” sign. Plastic signs would probably have a longer lifespan, but most of the signs had served their purpose well through the summer months.
Memorial Gym
Snow removal. With several large snowfalls this winter, snow removal around the facility has been an issue, and dangerous conditions have resulted. Tim Grossi (ConVal) said he does not have the resources to go beyond snow removal with a snowblower. Celeste spoke to Galen, who said the town will mobilize resources to remove snow from the building.
Rec Dept Staff and Programs
- Winter youth programs are winding down. The 3rd and 4th grade girls are in the midst of a round robin tournament.
- Signups continue for spring youth baseball, softball, and lacrosse. A softball umpiring clinic will be held on March 9th. Umpires earn $30 a game. For Baseball, enough boys have signed up to field an Antrim minors team, but not a majors team. Last summer, Antrim, Francestown and Bennington combined to field a majors team. Lacrosse continues to be a struggle. We may not have enough boys signed up to have a team that is part of the state league. We have enough girls for one U11 team. Kids from six towns are involved, and we may be able to use a field in Francestown. However, if two fields are used, another set of goals at $600 apiece will be needed. Celeste will discuss funding this purchase with some of those involved in Francestown.
The after-school programs are mostly full, including the Wednesday Harris Center program. The after-school Swimming Club at Crotched Mountain will run again in March and April with transportation offered on the Community Bus.
The school track coaches are still struggling to get a Hershey track program going for younger kids.
In accord with archery making a come-back, a youth archery program will be offered this spring.
Women’s basketball is being offered for the first time.
- The annual Bike Rodeo will be held May 4th.
The Fishing Derby was cut from the Parks & Rec budget 5 or 6 years ago. It had been supported by the now-closed Place in the Woods. Parks & Rec was asked if we would pay for the fish ($250, with the state matching that amount), while those running the derby would cover the prizes. We voted to allot up to $250 from the revolving account to purchase fish for the Fishing Derby.
Celeste submitted a Parks and Rec summary for the Annual Report.
Celeste circulated information from the Vermont Recreation and Parks Association regarding the 2013 VT/NH Maintenance Workshop to be held in Claremont, NH, on Thursday, May 2. It could be useful for one or more of the Parks and Rec commissioners to attend.
- Lisa Hennessey will be going on maternity leave soon.
10-Year Plan
Discussion of information gathered so far. The land on the north side of Memorial Park formerly owned by Dorothy Robertson was left to Wayno and Betsey Olson and Bruce and Elaine Cuddihy, who donated the land to the Town of Antrim primarily for the purpose of constructing a town skating rink, as stated in a Town Meeting Warrant in the 1977 Annual Report. The 1978 Town Report will be checked for further references to the land.
Jon Nute, of the Hillsborough County Extension Office, put us in contact with Antrim resident Karen Bennett, who works for the UNH Cooperative Extension Service in Durham. Karen was unable to find a copy of the map that was produced when the 1994 study was done, but did manage to find a copy of written “Preliminary Site Plan” portion of the study. Karen also offered to walk us through the area to discuss landscaping and plant materials when we can see the ground again. We hope she will also be able to outline any wetland issues that we should consider, such as how much of the upper land area we can use.
After a discussion with Sam, David Laughlin, having a little time on his hands during the winter construction lull, kindly drew up a detailed map of the southern half of the park. We’re hoping he’ll find time to do the northern half, too. Sam brought the large drawing to the meeting, and Peter offered to get copies made.
Plan for next steps. Now that we have a fairly good understanding of the historical intentions for the area now known as Memorial Park, we can turn to drawing up a ten-year plan. Some ideas tossed around include starting a nature education program, separating the basketball court from the skate park, fixing all skate park obstacles in place, repairing or removing the tennis court, building a covered seating area, and replanting Cram grove with hardwoods. Our thought is to put together a short survey to ask town residents what they consider priorities for the park. The survey could be included as an insert in the June issue of the Limrik, as well as posted on the town website and handed out at strategic spots in town. Since the scheduled March Parks & Rec meeting conflicts with Town Meeting, we
will cancel that meeting, but communicate by email to ensure that we continue to make progress.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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