Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
May 12, 2016
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Joan Gorga, Peter Lamb, Isaac Lombard and Mike Genest
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Minutes
The minutes from the April 14, 2016 meeting were approved with amendments.
Shea Field
Maintenance. Peter repaired areas of turf damaged during the lights installation, but they still need to be seeded. Peter says the deep tining worked very well and the field is in good shape. He opened up the irrigation system, and it appears to be undamaged from lights installation. The replacement tower pads have arrived and the combo lock has been installed.
ConVal Agreement. We will push to move forward on the agreement, as it is needed. When Celeste tried to close Shea Field to line the lacrosse field, GBS students came out onto the field anyway and walked in the wet paint. We will not include the use of the lights in the agreement at the moment, since the field is not available to ConVal after daylight hours. We should also look into renewing the Gym Agreement.
Lights. The commission unanimously accepted the MUSCO quote for $30,261.00, which includes a single LED96 fixture mounted on pole A2. Installation and the upgrade to 400 A service will cost an additional $11,000, which will have to be paid in full ahead of time. Peter will get the PO to Celeste and Donna. We will use $30,000 allotted by the Warrant article to pay for the lights themselves. For the remainder, the Commission voted to use up to $5000 from the Richardson Fund and the rest from the Revolving Account. We may also be able to get some assistance from the Highway Department with the installation. Pete will be looking for volunteers to help dig the trench before the scheduled June 20th electrical work. A lot of hand digging is required, as the trench will cross the irrigation line five times.
Town Gym
Update. Celeste is still looking into dividers that roll up for the town gym. Jim Plourde will help put the sign back up on the gym wall. Celeste is looking into painting a mural as a community project.
Goodell Park
Eagle Scout Project. Joan is still working with Ian Johnson to get the informational kiosk completed.
Memorial Park
Life Scout Project. No more has been heard about the Life Scout picnic table.
Signs. The Commission voted expenditure of funds not to exceed $400 to Lisa Hennessey for a hand-painted sign saying “Welcome to Town of Antrim Memorial Park, Open Dawn to Dusk.”
Other. There has been a lot of trash thrown around Memorial Park. People have also been stuffing trash through the latticework under the bandstand. We will try to cover the back of the lattice with hardware cloth, as it is very difficult to reach in through the lattice to get the trash out. Areas of the bandstand where graffiti has been scratched into the paint need to be repainted. For the fishing derby, Pete removed the brush from the Summer Street dam, but there was once again a lot of water flowing over the dam and not many fish were caught. We’re unsure whether a board could be placed above the dam to slow down the flow for the derby in the future. This seems to have been a problem since the dam was replaced. A dead tree reaching over the footbridge should be removed before it falls and causes damage. Wood chips were spread
to fill the worn spots in the playground area. Joan tried again without success to contact UNH Extension Forester Karen Bennett for advice about trees, shrubs and other plantings at Memorial Park, but will look for more information. The park will be used for events on Memorial Day and Independence Day; we will work to get it spruced up before then.
Recreation Department
Update. Spring sports are under way, and seven weeks of summer camps are planned, along with some special events, such as a Velma Pope Memorial Bus Trip to Franconia Notch with the Senior Center. The bus is in the shop for rust removal. Kids will again be doing the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser for the American Heart Association. There are only two nights left to confirm for the Antrim in the Evening series, and several sponsors have stepped up. There have been lots of applications to work at the summer camp and the Rec Dept, but few new hires will be made since most of last year’s staff is returning. The Saturday hiking group continues to meet. There has been some confusion over changes made to the T-ball and Rookies leagues by the baseball league. Rick Davis has been helping with softball pitching clinics. Isaac will be
helping with the Bike Rodeo this Saturday.
Gregg Lake
Nesting Loons. Joan is still working on convincing Steve Schacht to preemptively lower the water level if heavy rain threatens to flood the loon nest.
Fishing Tournament. Celeste spoke with both NH Fish & Game and the Mohawk Bassmasters about the planned fishing tournament on May 14. Fish and Game appears to have parking for 15 boats in their data base. The Bassmasters will again do their best to park legally and be cognizant of avoiding spreading invasive aquatic species.
Beach/Boat Launch Issues. We received the Lake Host grant, and Celeste is again the Point Person. She will offer Lake Host training on June 25 and possibly June 11. Joan will register for the Volunteer Lake Assessment Program training on May 21 to learn to do the additional water testing. It costs about $120 for each round of water testing, and it is recommended that it be done three times this summer. Celeste is still working on getting bathhouse repairs done.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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