Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
May 8, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 7:09 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Mike Genest, Joan Gorga, Sam Harding, Peter Lamb, Isaac Lombard and Tim Smith
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Minutes
The minutes from the April 10, 2014 meeting were approved as written.
ConVal Agreement
ConVal Budget & Property Meeting Minutes. It was written in the B&P meeting minutes from April 15 that an agreement between Antrim and ConVal had been reached, with the details summarized. Joan sent an email pointing out that we had only received the ConVal proposal on April 15, and no agreement had yet been reached. David Martz responded that the minutes were in error and he would ensure that it was corrected.
ConVal Proposal. The Antrim delegation to the ConVal/Antrim Agreement Subcommittee, consisting of Mike Genest, Isaac Lombard, Celeste Lunetta and Joan Gorga, met on May 7 to discuss the draft of the agreement proposed by the School Board. The major obstacle remains ConVal’s apparent desire to reserve Antrim’s Town Gym, located at Antrim Elementary School, for use by the Great Brook School, which has its own gymnasium. Thus, the “school day” for which ConVal is requesting use of the gym encompasses the GBS school day, as well as the AES school day, and includes the use of the gym for GBS after-school sports. This schedule precludes Antrim’s use of
its gym for before- and after-school programs for elementary school students, as well as early morning adult programs, which would be completed well before the start of the AES school day, but not necessarily before the start of the GBS school day. Although ConVal did propose a “one campus” approach several years ago, the concept was not accepted by the Town of Antrim. In its counterproposal, the Antrim subcommittee proposed that Memorial Gym be available to ConVal for use from 8:00 am until 3:30 pm, with the gym also being available to the Antrim Recreation Department from 8:00 to 8:45 am and 3:15 to 3:30 pm for before- and after-school programs for students of the district.
After some discussion by the whole Parks & Rec Commission, a few additional changes were made to Antrim’s counterproposal to ConVal. It will be typed up and sent to Galen Stearns in the morning, with the hope of getting it on the agenda for the May 12 Antrim Selectboard meeting.
There was also some discussion regarding the apparent fact that AES is the only school in the district that is not equipped with an emergency generator. That, coupled with the fact that GBS has a generator with minimal capacity, leaves Antrim vulnerable in the event of a serious power outage.
Town Gym
Heat. The extreme heat in the gym has moderated in the last week or so, although there was no acknowledgement of the problem by ConVal facilities management. This issue underscores the need for us to be able to control the heat and ventilation in the gym locally.
Recreation Department
Update. The quarterly brochure will be out next week, and spring sports are off and running. The softball and lacrosse teams are enjoying a strong start to their seasons, and 25 kids are enrolled in Sporties for Shorties.
The bike rodeo was postponed until June 7, but the Strider bikes and helmets have arrived, and we hope the weather will cooperate on the appointed day.
Memorial Park
Signs regarding new ordinances and park rules. Tim found some catchy “No Smoking” signs, saying “Tobacco Free Zone, Clean Air for Kids!” The Commission voted to order two large signs and three smaller ones to inform the public of the new tobacco-free ordinance at Memorial Park and the Public Beach.
Cleanup. Celeste cleared some debris from the Mill Pond before the May 3rd Fishing Derby. Further brush-clearing around the pond edges still needs to be completed. About 60 people showed up for the Fishing Derby. There was some concern that many fish would be lost with the water pouring over the dam so fast. It is hoped that either Galen or Ben Pratt will be able to give us advice regarding future control of the dam boards at Fishing Derby time.
Ten-year plan. On May 7, Celeste and Joan met with Jamie Davis, a representative for New England Sealcoating, to get estimates for short-term and longer-term repairs to the tennis court surface. He will provide quotes for both a minimal repair to fill cracks to make the court safe for the summer and more extensive repairs that would likely last for about five years. However, he advised that the major issues with the court surface could only be addressed by removing the underlying tree roots and subsurface obstacles that are causing the surface to roll and crack.
Gregg Lake
Upgrade to 100 A service. Sam got a second quote that was half the cost of the first one; however, Sam is unsure of the quality of the work. Peter will take a look at a job currently being done. Sam will also try to get a third quote, and the Commission voted that the job should proceed with the middle of three quotes if there is any question about the low quote, since time is of the essence in getting the upgrade completed before the beach opens for the summer.
Shea Field
Scoreboard. The new scoreboard is fully installed and in use.
ConVal Agreement. Once the agreement with ConVal over the use of the Town Gym is completed, we will begin negotiations over the use of Shea Field.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 12th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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