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Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
December 12, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Mike Genest, Joan Gorga, Peter Lamb, and Isaac Lombard
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Smith Road Property Abutters and Neighbors: Donald and Wanda Seymour, David Boule, Jodi Jones, Robert and Linda French, Priscilla and Donald Shook
Minutes
The minutes from the November 14, 2013 meeting were approved as written.
New Park
Smith Road property. All of the Smith Road property abutters and neighbors in attendance, with the exception of the Shooks, said they were there in opposition to the proposed park. The Commission explained that, due to the opposition voiced during the abutters’ meeting on December 5, as well as budget concerns, we were not planning to go forward with the park. However, the abutters and neighbors were each given the opportunity to voice their individual concerns, which included worries over increased traffic and noise in the neighborhood, as well as accusations that the Parks and Rec Commission was trying to work behind their backs, destroy the value of their property and waste taxpayers’ money. Issues with finding meeting minutes on the town website were acknowledged, and we will try to work
with Town Hall to make them more easily accessible. However, it was pointed out that meeting minutes are always available at the Rec Office. A motion not to proceed forward with the Smith Road property was passed unanimously.
Memorial Park
New ordinances and park rules. At this point, we believe we have all the information necessary to draft the recommended new ordinances and park rules, and the goal remains to have the ordinances passed and the signs ready to be posted by spring.
Budget
Operating Budget. Joan and Celeste attended the Selectboard meeting on November 25, when the Rec Department budget was considered. An error in the proposed budget was detected and corrected, and the adjusted budget appears to have been successfully defended.
Capital Improvement Projects. After receiving the conceptual plan for the new park, Joan made adjustments to the CIP budget and send the updates to the CIP budget committee. Since the changes were made so close to the budget committee meeting with the Planning Board, Joan was asked to attend the Planning Board meeting to defend the budget. This meeting was held simultaneously with the Smith Road property abutters’ meeting on December 5. The vicious attack on the budget by a few members of the Planning Board was unwarranted, considering that the budget had been substantially modified according to the recommendations of the CIP budget committee. However, given the neighbor opposition to the idea of a new park on Smith Road, and the budget issues facing the town, the commission decided to remove the new park from the budget and focus instead on placing lights on Shea Field and improving Memorial Park.
After changes voted in last year, money available in the Capital Reserve Fund can be used for improvements, such as lighting for Shea Field. An updated quote from Musco Lighting, dated November 8, 2013, includes five light poles that will adequately light the baseball field, the U12 soccer field and the lacrosse field for a cost of $90,653, with installation estimated to be between $15,000 and $20,000, for a total cost of up to $110,653. This quote also includes maintenance costs for 25 years. Approximately half of the projected cost, $55,000 could be taken from the CRF, leaving the remaining approximately $55,000 to be financed. We should be able to get a 5-year loan with around a 2% interest rate, requiring yearly payments of approximately $12,500. Heaviest use of the lights would be in the fall; however,
they would also be used in the spring as soon as the field thaws. We also propose erecting a skating rink on the dirt infield, which could also be periodically lighted for evening skating during the winter. As has already been discussed with Shea Field neighbors, the lights would not be used past 9 pm, in accordance with the policy that all Antrim parks are closed after 9 pm.
For Memorial Park, the focus in the coming year will be on addressing safety and drainage issues and drawing up conceptual plans.
Shea Field
Nets. The nets will be ordered this year.
Dead trees. The removal of the dead as trees is in this year’s budget. The contract needs to be signed before the end of the year.
ConVal Agreement
ConVal/Antrim Agreement Subcommittee. Scheduling this meeting has continued to be difficult. At this time, most have agreed to the proposed time of 5 - 6 pm on December 19 at the Rec Office. Joan will email the two ConVal team members who have not responded, with the hope of finally getting the meeting scheduled.
Gregg Lake
Dog and horse waste. Dog and horse waste have been observed recently on the beach. The horse waste had been strewn across the beach toward the water. Both of these can lead to water quality issues. We discussed the possibility of trying to reach people through environmental education, such as an Eagle Scout project or a combined program with Jenn Sutton of the Harris Center, who coordinates the science club.
Open electrical box. The cover is still missing from an outside electrical box on east end of the bathhouse. We will try to get this replaced and the upgrade to 100 amp service completed before the end of the year.
Recreation Department
We have more basketball teams this year, with two teams each of 5th & 6th grade boys and girls. The jujitsu program has worked out in the gym. The Circus Arts tumbling program was lightly attended, but successful, and we will try to offer similar programs in the future. The after school programs have been well attended, and some issues have arisen with the high attendance. Children enrolled in the programs have been bringing friends who are not enrolled, and the number of unsupervised children hanging around the gym and the AES foyer has increased, causing safety concerns. The commission approved hiring a facilities attendant, whose duties would include opening the gym, monitoring it, and cleaning up the area after programs are finished.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:11 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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