Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
January 9, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Mike Genest, Joan Gorga, Peter Lamb, Sam Harding, Isaac Lombard and Tim Smith
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Road Agent: Chip Craig
Minutes
The minutes from the December 12, 2013 meeting were approved as written.
Budget
CIP. Mike reported that the Selectboard will recommend adding $25,000 to the Capital Reserve Fund this year, to bring it to a total of $70,000. However, there appears to be opposition on the Selectboard to our request for funding for lights at Shea Field. One suggestion that came from Town Hall was that we could rent lights for, for instance, two months, to assess their usefulness. Portable lights with diesel motors can be rented for $675/month, with a $200 delivery fee, which we can avoid if we drive to Manchester and tow the trailer to the site ourselves. We expressed some concerns about the space taken up by, and accessibility of, light trailers placed on the field, as well as the noise made by the diesel motors, especially if the required four or five lights were used. At the quoted rate,
renting four lights for two months would cost $5400 to $6200, depending on whether or not we paid for delivery. After some discussion, we decided to try to take the case for permanent lights before the Selectboard at their January 21st meeting. We were advised to also bring a rough draft of an ordinance prohibiting use of the lights after 9:00 pm. We decided that each of us would gather as much supporting information as we could, and that we would continue to discuss our strategy for presenting the funding requests for lights at Shea Field and improvements at Memorial Park on Saturday, January 18, at 3:00 pm (see minutes below).
With Chip Craig, we discussed sharing the cost and use of a new mower with the Highway Department. Chip and Peter will work together to look for a commercial mower with a bagger, either new or used, at a cost not to exceed $12,000, with the goal of finding the best piece of equipment for the least money.
Shea Field
Nets. The nets still have not been ordered. Peter will get a quote for light packs.
Dead trees. Andy Robblee successfully removed the dead ash trees at the edge of Shea Field in late December. With the low temperatures and good snow pack, the trucks managed to access the trees without causing any field damage.
ConVal Agreement
ConVal/Antrim Agreement Subcommittee. After some scheduling challenges, all members of the ConVal/Antrim Agreement Subcommittee finally managed to get together for a mutually constructive meeting on December 19 at the Rec Office. Committee members were Celeste Lunetta, Isaac Lombard, Mike Genest and Joan Gorga representing Antrim, and Ann Allwarden, Rich Cahoon and David Martz representing ConVal. Tentative agreements were made concerning sharing utility costs, defining school hours and maintenance. We plan to meet again after David Martz takes some of the issues back to the School Board for discussion. Celeste will contact O’Sullivan Flooring for an estimate on replacing the failed gym floor.
Gregg Lake
Dog and horse waste. Celeste ordered dog waste signs to be posted in Memorial Park and at the Public Beach.
Open electrical box. The cover missing from an outside electrical box on east end of the bathhouse was replaced. A quote for the upgrade to 100 A service will be obtained.
Memorial Park
New ordinances and park rules. We will aim to have drafts of proposed new ordinances prepared in time to present them at the February 18 Selectboard meeting.
Tennis Court. A new tennis net and posts have arrived.
Recreation Department
Celeste enjoyed a visit from Mark Swasey, the new ConVal Athletic Director, who came to discuss various programs feeding into high school sports programs and made an effort to explain youth athletics in the region, as well as seeking input from the perspective of those running the Antrim recreational programs.
We discussed ideas, such as a Soap Box Derby, for events to run during Home and Harvest Days, if the letup in skateboarders continues.
Winter recreational sports programs continue, with basketball round robin tournaments scheduled for February 8. There was a good turnout for the toddler program. The ski program starts this week. Celeste is beginning to set the Antrim in the Evening Schedule.
Jim Elder, GBS principal, has requested a meeting with Celeste and gym teacher Scott Baldwin to discuss the fact that GBS students are not changing shoes after walking across the parking lot to use the Town Gym. It is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21st at 10:15 am.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, February 13th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
Minutes from meeting continued on Saturday, January 18:
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Joan Gorga, Peter Lamb, Sam Harding, and Isaac Lombard
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
By January 18th, we had gathered a considerable amount of supporting material. However, while assembling it to put together a strong package, we realized that several important pieces of information were missing. None of these could be quickly or easily obtained, in some cases due to snow cover, which could easily last several more months. At that point the consensus was that we could wait another year to formally propose putting lights at Shea Field, when the CRF would contain nearly enough money to fund the entire project without the need for a loan. It was also decided that we should take the next year to finish fully developing a long-term plan for Memorial Park, so we will ask for funding only for essential repairs to maintain safety and for working with an engineer to develop detailed plans for
the park, with the intention of beginning drainage construction and other changes to the layout of the park the following year. At the same time, we can apply for grants, for instance, from the US Tennis Association, to support some of the desired park improvements. We will still try to present recommendations for ordinances concerning changes in park rules and limiting hours for use of lights at parks to the Selectboard in mid-February.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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