RECREATION & PARK COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Avon Town Hall, Building #1
I. Call to Order - 5:10 p.m. – By Chairman, Peter Ponziani
A. Attendance
1. Members & Staff Present
Glenn Marston, Director, Sharon VanDeusen, Admin. Coordinator, Peter Ponziani, Peggy Roell, Paul Marioni, Michael Trick, Kathy Thompson.
Also present were Town Manager Brandon L. Robertson, Assistant to the Town Manager, Steve Bartha, Assistant to the Town Manager and Michael Cegan of Richter and Cegan Architects.
2. Members & Staff Absent
Donald Droppo, David Jadovich
II. Minutes – January 27, 2010
After reviewing the minutes from January 27, 2010, Michael Trick motioned to accept the minutes as presented and Kathy Thompson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
III. Public Comment –
A. Introduction of Brandon L. Roberston, Town Manager and Steve Bartha, Assistant to the Town Manager
Glenn Marston introduced Brandon Roberston, Town Manager and Steve Bartha, Assistant to the Town Manager to committee members and gave a brief background on Brandon and Steve. Mr. Marston then gave a brief overview of the Recreation and Park Committee.
IV. Director’s Report
A. Summer
Director reported to the committee that the summer was both good and bad. Sports camp registrations were down and day camp registration were down. The department will not offer the afternoon Little Tykes Camp program next summer because the numbers for that program were down last year and this year only 3 people registered between the four sessions offered this summer.
The pool did very well this year and attendance was 14,759 compared to 10,593 last year. Swim lessons were shut down for one day so that pool staff could attend the funeral for Melissa Andrews, an Avon high school student that was killed in a car accident. Camp was not shut down for that day because the residents use the camp for daycare.
B. Fall
Glenn Marston told the committee that registration for fall programs began on September 15. He said it is too early to tell how that is going, but registrations continue to come in on a daily basis. The girls Volleyball League ended up with one more girl then last year and there are very few 7th graders signed up for that program.
IV. Correspondence - None
VI. Committee Communication – None
VII. Old Business
A. Fisher Meadows Field Project Update
Michael Cegan from Richter and Cegan was present at the meeting and gave a quick update on the project and suggested that the Town should start the permit process on the project. Glenn handed out a sheet showing the Soft Costs/Professional Fees thru Local Permitting. Mr. Cegan said the surveys that need to be done are the Topographic Survey and the Up to Date A2 Survey. The Town has in house personnel in Engineering that can perform the survey work.
Glenn suggested going to the Town Council to ask for a release of money from the Fisher Fund which currently has +/- $156,000 in it, to start the permit process. Peter Ponziani asked Mike Cegan if there was a time frame to get the project completed once the permits are issued. Mike Cegan said there is a timeline, but he was not sure what that timeline is. Mr. Cegan will check on the timeline and get back to Glenn.
Mr. Cegan told committee members that once local approvals are done, then the project would have to have state approval. Mr. Cegan said that he would have a better idea next spring as to what the project would cost to complete. He said having the permits done might help to get grants or other monies that might be available to help fund the project.
Peggy Roell suggested going to the October Town Council meeting to request a release of funds. Glenn said he would go to the council to ask for $80,200 for the permit process.
B Review of Fees – Update
1. $5.00 per registrant fee for all leagues
Glenn reported to the committee that all leagues are paying their $5.00 per registrant fees with very little opposition. He did get a little pushback from the Avon Soccer Club, but they did pay their fees.
2. Senior Center – Building Use & Supervisor Fees
Groups are paying the building use and supervisor fees for use of the Senior Center, however, there are not as many permits being issued since the fees are being charged.
VIII. New Business
A. Capital Improvement Program – draft to be provided under separate cover. Review and prioritize.
Glenn gave committee members a copy of the Capital Improvement Program Project Proposal and asked them to review it and email him their thoughts on the order of the projects.
B. Vending Permits in Town Parks
Glenn reported to the Committee that several vendors in town that want to be allowed to sell their goods in town parks. Ordinance #49 does not allow vendors to sell anything without a permit. Glenn thought that a policy needs to be developed in order to deal with all the vendors that want to sell their goods in the parks. Glenn said there is one itinerate vendor in town that gets a permit every year and last year there were 4 ice cream vendors and 3 food vendors selling goods in town and some of the vendors were arguing with each other when they were in or near the parks at the same time. Glenn suggested not only coming up with a policy, but also charging a permit fee. Peter Ponziani asked Glenn to gather information from other towns to see what their policies are and report back to the committee.
C. Set Next Meeting Dates
The next meeting date for the Recreation and Park Committee was set for October 27 at 5:00 pm at Town Hall.
1. IX. Adjournment
A. Peggy Roell motioned to adjourn the meeting at 6:10 pm. Kathy Thompson seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted by
Sharon VanDeusen
Sharon VanDeusen
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