Town of Bolton, MA - Parks and Recreation Committee Minutes 3-19-10

Parks and Recreation Committee Minutes 3-19-10

Bolton Parks & Recreation Commission

Date:	Friday, March 19, 2010
Time:	2:45 p.m. ET
Location:	Bolton Town Hall, Downstairs
Next Meeting:	Wednesday, April 7, 2010, Bolton Town Hall, Downstairs

Invitees / Attendees

* In Attendance # Unexpected Absence @ Expected Absence + Visitor
*	Karen Regan, chairperson, P&R
*	Joyce Sidopoulos, P&R
*	Tom Wildman, P&R
@	Tom Pokorney, P&R
@	Susan Greene, P&R

Decisions

No.	Decision Description	Approved By
	Establish a set schedule for portable bathroom service at the town fields from April 1 – December 1. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Regan	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Limit the number of town supported portable bathroom units at Forbush and Memorial to one (1) for April, May and June. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Regan	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Change start-date of portable unit service at Town Beach to June 1 vs. May 1. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Regan	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Add horseback riding from Century Mill Farms to the spring /summer program schedule. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Wildman	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Set tentative reschedule date of April 25 for chili cook off. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Wildman	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Move forward with road race and community festival in September 2010. Motion: Wildman Seconded: Sidopoulos	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Declined field request from Brother Anthony Marie from the Immaculate Heart Church for Memorial Field. Motion: Wildman Seconded: Regan	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Approved field request for Wednesdays at Derby for Nashoba United if Nashoba Lacrosse president agrees to relinquish date from his approved calendar. Motion: Wildman Seconded: Regan	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Reviewed and approved Nashoba Lacrosse’s request for additional field time. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Wildman	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Agreed to move forward with revolving account article. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Wildman	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman
	Agreed to include an oversight in the revolving account article that would maintain that the Parks and Recreation Commission would need to provide the Town Administrator with a monthly report on expenditures and funds received within the revolving account. Motion: Sidopoulos. Seconded: Wildman	Regan, Sidopoulos, Wildman

Action Items

No.	Action Item	Owner	Due Date
	Submit all expenses to Wildman by April 7 meeting.	TEAM	4/6/10
	Contact league presidents from BYB and BYSA and inform them of cutback on portable toilets and offer opportunity for the leagues to cover cost of second unit, if interested.	Sidopoulos	3/22/10
	Contact Nashoba Lacrosse to secure their desired portable toilet schedule for the spring season.	Sidopoulos	3/22/10
	Place portable toilet order with Dave’s Septic.	Regan	3/23/10
	Add information on horseback riding program to P&R website.	Regan	3/22/10
	Contact Ellen Peck, Century Mill Stables and inform her that the Commission approved adding their horseback riding program to the spring/summer schedule.	Regan	3/22/10
	Draft letter for team’s review to be sent to the town’s boards, committees and commissions to encourage involvement in fall festival.	Regan	4/7/10
	Contact Brother Anthony from the Immaculate Heart Church and inform him that his field request for Memorial was declined.	Regan	3/19/10
	Contact Nashoba Lacrosse and ask if they could relinquish their Wednesday slot to Nashoba United.	Sidopoulos	3/24/10
	Contact Nashoba Lacrosse and inform them that their request for additional field use at Derby was approved.	Commission email/ Regan	3/24/10
	Email friends and family to help encourage yoga registration.	TEAM	3/19/10

Agenda/Minutes

Budget

Status

Reviewed the budget and committed expenses. The Commission discussed limiting the number of portable bathroom units to one (1) at Forbush and one (1) at Memorial for the spring season to correct the budget.

Need more money for Easter (Trying to solicit donations).

Commission will run about $200 over budget to meet the expected demand for the Easter event on April 3. Given the growing popularity of town events and the number of people who have already RSVP’d, the Commission did not feel that the money allocated toward the event would cover the actual expenditures. The Commission plans to solicit funds from local businesses to help cover the event expenses or request funds from Advisory.

Need outstanding expenses (opening day, pond park maintenance, chili cook off, Easter)

Regan asked that all commissioners submit outstanding expenses before the April 7 Parks and Recreation meeting so Tom Wildman, commission treasurer, could run a report showing our actual remaining budget.

Portable Bathrooms

Schedule – vote on April 1 – Nov. 1 standard town supplied timeframe. Vote needed.

The Commission discussed establishing a regular town schedule for the portable bathroom units to minimize the associated administrative effort. The original suggestion was an April 1 – Nov. 1 schedule, that would work within the vendor’s 28-day billing cycle. With several leagues still playing into November in addition to public use of the fields (well-into the late fall), the Commission decided to change the schedule to April 1 – Dec. 1 to ensure that there is service through the end of the season.

Decide if we want to cut back on units at Forbush and Memorial (from 2-1 for the spring season). Also, change date for unit delivery at Little Pond from May 1 – June 1. Vote needed.

The Commission decided that to correct the budget, they would limit the number portable bathroom units to one (1) at Forbush and one (1) at Memorial for the spring season. Sidopoulos to contact the league presidents and inform them of the cutback and offer them the opportunity to cover the cost for the second unit, at the Town rate. (Note: Sidopoulos contacted the league presidents for baseball and soccer on March 22 and informed them that if they needed the second unit, the Commission would order it for them at the Town’s rate. The Lacrosse president was also contacted to confirm the dates for the units he requested at Derby and Tower. The FY10 budget did not allocate funds toward portable bathrooms for Lacrosse, so it was already understood by the league president that if they wanted service at their fields for the spring, they would be responsible for the expense). The Commission also agreed to start service at Little Pond on June 1 vs. May 1.

Need to order portable bathrooms

Commission agreed that Regan would order the units per the agreed upon schedule. The spring schedule would be:

Forbush – one (1) unit

Memorial – one (1) (Note: Bolton Youth Baseball agreed to pay for second unit)

Derby – one (1) unit (to be paid for by Nashoba Lacrosse who requested a unit for April and May – league already agreed to pay since FY10 budget did not allocate funds toward portable toilet)

Tower – one (1) unit (to be paid for by Nashoba Lacrosse who requested a unit for April and May– league already agreed to pay since FY10 budget did not allocate funds toward portable toilet)

Town Beach – Place unit on June 1 vs. May 1.

Commission also agreed that Regan would order the units through the fall season, per the schedule agreed upon and reflected in the Parks and Recreation FY11 budget. Regan said that the Commission can always adjust the portable bathroom schedule for the summer/fall if we feel there is more or less demand. The Commission will resume responsibility for two units at Forbush and Memorial for the fall season when operating under the FY11 budget. Additionally, the Commission discussed how the FY11 budget accounts for a portable bathroom for lacrosse, which the FY10 did not. This will ensure that going forward the service the town provides is fair across the different sports leagues/fields.

Horseback riding program

Do we want to add and how much should we charge for a sponsorship fee? Vote needed.

Commission voted in favor of adding a horseback riding program to the spring/summer schedule. Regan to post the horseback riding information on the P&R website. The Commission voted to not charge a sponsorship fee since the Town will not be responsible for facility, equipment or registration.

Should we invite Century Mill Stables to the April 12 registration day?

Commission agreed to invite Ellen Peck of Century Mill Farms to attend April 12 registration day at the Town Hall. Regan to contact Ellen.

Chili cook off

Finalize date/time (suggested date of April 25).Vote needed.

Commission voted to move forward with Chili Cook Off on April 25. Date contingent on BYB schedule as the Commission would like the cook off to coincide with baseball’s game opener.

Road race

Determine date and early logistics for road race. Vote needed.

Commission voted to move forward with a road race in late September (third week). The Commission agreed to create a road race committee to help organize the event. The Commission also agreed to have the road race followed by a community event at either Horse Ring Field or Memorial Field. The Commission plans to outreach to local non-profits, community groups, Town boards and commissions to gauge their interest in participating in the event. Regan to draft letter for team’s review to be sent to the town’s boards, committees and commissions. The proposed course was:

Adult’s Race –

Library/Main Street Wattaquadoc Old Bay Berlin Wattaquadoc Across Memorial Behind Florence Sawyer to dirt road that leads back to Horse Ring

Kid’s Race –

Library/Main Street Mechanic Behind Florence Sawyer to dirt road that leads back to Horse Ring

The Commission agreed that it would be necessary to connect with experienced runners to help map out the route to ensure it is suitable and safe race.

Requests

Brother Anthony – Memorial Request

The Commission voted to decline the request from Brother Anthony Marie from the Immaculate Heart Church in Harvard for the use of Memorial Field during April and May. The baseball schedule he submitted conflicted with both the BYB and Florence Sawyer schedules.

Nashoba United Soccer – Derby Request

The Commission reviewed the request from Nashoba United for Derby on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the spring 2010 season, which will run March 29 – June 12. The request conflicted with the Nashoba Lacrosse schedule. Sidopoulos offered to call Nashoba Lacrosse president, Dave Elkins, to ask if he would consider relinquishing the Wednesday slot to Nashoba United. The Commission voted that if Elkins agreed to give up the Wednesday date that we would give that field time to Nashoba United. The Commission agreed that since we designated Derby as Nashoba Lacrosse’s home field, that they would have field priority at Derby. The Commission felt that since we grant this level of priority to baseball for Memorial and Forbush for soccer, it would only be fair to do the same with Nashoba Lacrosse.

NOTE: Since the March 19 meeting, Sidopoulos contacted Dave Elkins and he did agree to give up the Wednesday slot to Nashoba United. The Commission notified Nashoba United on 3/24/10.

Nashoba Lacrosse – Derby Request (additional field time)

The Commission reviewed and approved Nashoba Lacrosse’s request for additional field time. The field times included:

Tuesdays and Thursdays

4:30 p.m. to dusk

Fridays

4:00 p.m. to dusk

Saturdays

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Sundays

10:00 a.m. – dusk

NOTE: The Commission emailed Nashoba Lacrosse the application approval notice on March 24.

Revolving account

Formalize decision on whether or not to move forward. Vote needed.

The Commission voted to move forward with the revolving account.

Finalize oversight (reporting once a month to be issued to Town Admin). Vote needed.

The Commission voted and approved adding an oversight statement to the revolving account article. The Commission voted on and agreed to submit a monthly report to the Town Administrator for oversight on the revolving account.

Yoga

Email friends and family about intro courses next week.

Commission to send an email out to friends and family to help promote intro courses.