Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
May 9, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Mike Genest (Selectboard ex-officio), Joan Gorga, Sam Harding, Peter Lamb, Isaac Lombard, and Tim Smith
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Minutes
The minutes from the April 11, 2013 meeting were approved.
Miscellaneous
Community supper. The Parks & Recreation Commission was well represented at the April 18 community supper.
Rick Davis’ concerns. Rick Davis decided not to attend the meeting, but voiced his concerns about the drop off in baseball and softball registrations this year to several members of the Parks & Rec Commission. He explained that lower registrations had an economic impact on local businesses, and questioned whether the Parks & Rec Commission was making sufficient effort to recruit players to the programs. Celeste noted that baseball and softball registrations were down across the region this year, and explained that she had personally called a number of players from previous years, who simply said they did not want to play this year.
Shea Field
Update on maintenance issues. There were no new issues to report.
Scoreboard. Because the scoreboard will cost approximately $3,500, two additional quotes were obtained for a total of three. The request for the scoreboard purchase can now be taken to the Select Board, and Richardson Fund money will be used for the purchase.
Additional field space. Open land at the fire station was suggested as an alternative to the use of field space at Maplewood Cemetery for low-impact activities, such as archery, mountain biking, or a dog park.
ConVal Agreement
Update. Mike is starting with trying to get the property lines defined, so we can establish a set of facts for Shea Field and the Town Gym. Galen Stearns or members of the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee may have architectural drawings showings property lines. There is some pressure to establish ownership, as ConVal is moving forward with user fees.
Gregg Lake
Letter regarding fishing tournament. A letter was carefully drafted to the sponsors of the fishing tournament scheduled for May 11 at Gregg Lake. However, word came that Galen Stearns had apparently already contacted NH Fish & Game about the issue, but was out of town, and could not be reached for clarification. The letter was not sent, since we could not find out what had transpired through Galen’s contact. Celeste will warn the Antrim Police to expect extra vehicles at the beach that day.
Bath house. The Antrim Bennington Lions Club spent several days rebuilding the ramp to the bath house, using a generator and lumber donated by Antrim Lumber.
Rec Dept Staff and Programs
- There was a great turnout for the fishing derby.
- There was a relatively low turnout for the bike rodeo. Was this due to the fact that Greenfield put on a bigger, fancier one the day before? Or is this indicative of a trend? One idea was to offer a “Learning to Ride” program using pedal-less Strider bikes for small children. We could also include a bike swap using repaired used bicycles, and perhaps include other spring sports equipment. The commission voted to order two Strider bikes and helmets, at a cost of less than $100 each.
- The Lake Host program received a grant of $1300 this year. Marcel Kallanian will be returning as the paid Lake Host. The NH Lakes Association is spearheading a “Let’s Get the Lead Out, NH” campaign this summer, with literature to be handed out by Lake Hosts.
Memorial Park
Skate Park
Pyramid reconstruction. The wood for reconstructing the Pyramid was ordered, delivery was expected the day after the meeting, and construction was to start the following Saturday. The construction plans remain approximately the same, with the ramp being 4 feet smaller in width. As well as being safer, the new Pyramid will provide a fresh challenge.
Skate Park Subcommittee. The July 13th scooter competition is still on. Quite a few sponsors have been lined up, and prize materials have been gathered. The skateboard ramps appear to be holding up for now, and need only a few minor repairs.
Conflict with basketball. Another resident spoke to Celeste about having difficulty playing basketball. Galen Stearns suggested that we could move the hoops from the former girls’ shelter and put them at the tennis court. After some discussion, the consensus of the commission was that it would be better to safely install new backboards. Peter will make contacts about getting this done.
Bandstand
Stair reconstruction. Ken Drabble completed the bandstand stair reconstruction.
10-Year Plan
Plant survey with Karen Bennett. Karen Bennett has not responded to attempts to contact her.
Survey finalization. Final changes were made to the Memorial Park survey, in hopes of sending it out with the June issue of the Limrik.
Limrik article. At the suggestion of Lyman Gilmore, we discussed putting together an article on the history of Memorial Park to be included in the Limrik. Since we had only a few days before the deadline for the June Limrik, we decided to target the September issue, with an August 10th deadline, to have time to put together a well-written article.
Lights. There has been an issue with the lights at Memorial Park. Inspection revealed that there appeared to be a sensor conflicting with a timer, and the issue will be fixed.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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