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Antrim Parks & Recreation Commission
Minutes
April 5, 2018
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Attendance
Parks & Rec Commissioners: Isaac Lombard, Mike Genest, Joan Gorga, Robert Wood and Chris Morris
Recreation Director: Celeste Lunetta
Antrim Town Administrator: Donna Hanson
Minutes
The minutes from the February 11, 2018 meeting were approved with amendments.
Town Gym
ConVal agreement. Jim Fredrickson met with Donna as a follow-up to his meeting with the Commission on February 11. Jim said ConVal has three issues they would like to address regarding the Antrim Memorial Gym—the Access Control Agreement, gym utility cost sharing (including field fertilization costs) and gym floor maintenance and repair.
- Access Control Agreement. The Commission recommended modifications of certain sections of the agreement to reflect the fact that Antrim Recreation staff are not agents of the SAU and to adjust wording. Donna will make the revisions.
- Utility cost sharing and field maintenance costs. Jim said he had an analysis of gym heat and electric costs, but he has not shared that information with us. Celeste will put together an estimate of utility costs for the Town. The Commission reiterated that because of past experience, if we are to pay utility costs, we also will need to have separate meters and have the ability to control both heat settings and lighting.
Celeste will provide a summary of all field maintenance costs for the past two years to Donna, to include mowing, extra striping and water costs, as well as infield leveling, turf repair and drainage upgrades. We will request removal of the line in the agreement that says field maintenance “includes over seeding, fertility and weed control applications,” as these were meant to be examples, not limits.
- Gym floor maintenance. Donna forwarded an email in which Tim Grossi said he needs to know whether the Town wants his crew to perform the floor screen and recoat this summer for $1200. ConVal blocked TOA from a scheduled full sand and repaint in the fall of 2016, and TOA agreed to let Tim’s crew screen and recoat in the summer of 2017 to give them the opportunity to show how they would take care of the floor issues. Since the floor is now peeling in new areas and two flooring professionals recommended a full sanding, the Commission recommends that TOA arrange for a full sand and paint, rather than paying ConVal to screen and recoat again. Celeste will request a fresh estimate from NE Flooring, and the Commission will present the proposal to the Selectboard at 7 pm on May 14. Although we will ask ConVal to pay part of the costs, we will be
prepared for the Town to be forced to pay the entire bill.
Shea Field
ConVal agreement. Although ConVal appears to be pushing to include Shea Field in the Gym agreement, the Commission believes the agreements should be kept separate because of the different status of the two facilities. (See discussion above regarding field maintenance costs.)
Ice Skating. New plastic will be purchased for the ice rink next year. The old sheet will be repurposed for slip-n-slides. Skating was held under the lights twice this winter, but the weather did not cooperate too well. Overall, the skating rink has been a success and people have enjoyed it.
Other. Celeste will ask some professionals to evaluate erosion problems on the slope leading down to the field. The fence still needs to be repaired. The ice rink tarp is helping to keep the infield dry. The Air2G2 deep tining and air injection appears to have made a big difference, and the field is draining well.
Pete will return to help with the field on Saturdays. Celeste may request that GBS stay off the field between 1 and 2 pm on weekdays during baseball season to enable the Rec Dept to perform maintenance. ConVal has submitted a use-request schedule for softball, but may not have a baseball team this year.
Rec Dept.
Policy Reviews. The Commission reviewed updates to the Antrim Town Gym User Agreement for people coming in independent of a Rec Dept program. Celeste will set this up in a new style, in which the user will sign the agreement and go home with a copy for reference.
Senior Center Collaboration. Celeste is still in touch with the Senior Center. She is thinking of sponsoring a trip to the Tea Party Museum in Boston.
Other Updates. Registrations are coming in. There will be no lacrosse teams this year, although Celeste may try some summer programs. We have enough registrations for two softball teams, but baseball will again be combined with other towns.
Summer programs are taking shape. All beach staff from last year have been rehired, and there is a new applicant for beach attendant. Celeste is hoping to keep camp and beach staff separate this year, as juggling both was too much for the staff last year. Celeste has lined up most of the Antrim In The Evening programs for the summer, with a couple of music events and four family events. Celeste is thinking of trying a new program of summer soccer for adults and high school teams, and is also considering an archery program for kids &/or adults.
Memorial Park
Cleanup. A cleanup is scheduled at Memorial Park for April 15 from 1-3 pm. The Boy Scouts might help. Jim Plourde said the Highway Dept will pick up any piles that are left on Monday.
Youth Fishing Derby. Bob Bethel has order fish and prizes for the Youth Fishing Derby, to be held on May 5 from 8-10 am. They’ve ordered some extra fish, including some large ones, and have some special sponsors this year.
Scott Dunlap Memorial Skate Event. Mitch Reynolds has organized the skate event for Saturday, August 4. They plan to include in all marketing that the event is to be free of alcohol, tobacco products, etc. They will unveil the bench that was purchased with the money raised last year. Celeste will ask Mitch to show us where the bench is intended to go.
Other. The sidewalk bridge from West Street will not be moved until next summer. Celeste will check with Jim Plourde about a more frequent mowing schedule this summer and will again make requests for repairs to the buckling bandstand floor. Bartlett Tree informed Celeste that pest pressure on the ash tree is increasing and they will have to do the pesticide injection this year. As we have noted for several years, the pines of Cram Grove are not in good shape, and we’d like to replace them with deciduous trees. The aim to establish a new grove in 2019. For 2018, Bartlett will be giving away seedling trees. There are also a number of invasive plants in Memorial Park that should be removed. Joan will
consider getting licensed to apply herbicides.
Gregg Lake
Beach. The Boy Scouts will paint the bathhouse floor and ramp for us. The Lake Host grant is in.
Watershed Plan. Progress continues on the Gregg Lake Watershed Management Plan. Two well-qualified companies submitted responses to the Request for Qualifications for hiring a consultant.
General
Invasives program. Interest was strong and attendance was good at the jointly sponsored program on invasive plants.
Other. We will invite Marshall Gale to walk through the possible site for a town-accessible trail, a disk golf course and a pump track on the Fire Station land on April 15 from 11-12:30. We will also try to talk to Peter Moore about the idea.
The next regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting will be Thursday, May 10th at 7:00 pm at the Rec Office.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 pm.
-Joan Gorga, Chair and Secretary
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