Colchester Parks & Recreation Commission
December 1, 2008
Town Hall
7:00 p.m.
Members Present: Vice-Chairman C. Ferrante , J. Cohen, N. Kaplan, E. Kundahl, L. Dimock, L. Stephenson, Chairman S. O’Leary (7:02 p.m.)
Members Absent: S. Ashe, C. Williams, J. Barr
Others Present: Paul Scheibelein, J. Blakely
1. Call to Order: Vice-Chairman Ferrante called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Citizen’s Comments: None
** Chairman S. O’Leary arrived at this time and took over the meeting.
3. Acceptance of Minutes – November 3, 2008 Meeting: E. Kundahl motioned to approve the minutes of the November 3, 2008 meeting, seconded by N. Kaplan. All members present voted in favor with C. Ferrante and L. Stephenson abstaining. MOTION CARRIED.
4. Reading of Correspondence: None
5. Committee Reports:
• Facilities: None
• Finance/Administration: None
• Programs: L. Dimock reported that J. Faski has found a tree for the green at an old tree farm in town. L. Hodge is donating the lights. The ornaments to be sold should be in by Saturday. Usually the event is a non-profit but J. Cohen said that because the money made from the ornaments sale is for the tree decorating fund selling them at the event is acceptable. He also took this time to say that L. Stephenson and L. Dimock have went above and beyond what was their original assignment of obtaining a tree for the green. E. Kundahl motioned to accept the Programs report as presented, seconded by C. Ferrante. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
• Skate Park: None
• BOS Liaison: None
6. Discussion and Possible Action on Election of Officers: E. Kundahl motioned to nominated S. O’Leary for Chairman, C. Ferrante for Vice-Chairman, and L. Dimock for Secretary, motion was seconded by N. Kaplan. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
7. Discussion and Possible Action on 2009 Meeting Date Locations: N. Kaplan motioned to accept the 2009 meeting dates as:
January 5th, February 2nd, March 2nd, April 6th, May 4th, June 1st, No meeting in July, August 3rd, September 14th, November 2nd, and December 7TH @ 7:00 p.m. with Sports Council Meetings at 6:00 p.m. prior to the meetings in February, June, and September. All meetings will be held at Town Hall with the exception of the May meeting @ the RecPlex, August meeting at the Ruby Cohen Pond, and November meeting at Cragin Library.
The motion was seconded by E. Kundahl. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
8. Discussion and Possible Action on Winterizing RecPlex Status: Tarps will be put down on R8 if not already done so. The splash pad and bathrooms at that location have been prepared for winter shutdown. C. Ferrante said he did not believe the batting cage nets had been taken down yet.
9. Discussion and Possible Action on Concession Bids: The deadline was extended until December 15th. There has been some interest but none of which has been from any of the sports leagues. Culinary Delights does not wish to do it this year. Bids will be reviewed at the January meeting.
10. Discussion and Possible Action on Equipment Lend-Out Policy: The Park and Rec department currently lends out equipment such as the sound system to groups such as the CBA and Lions Club. The items are not lent out to individuals. The additional use is causing some wear on the equipment and occasionally something is returned broken and has needed minor repair. Chairman O’Leary said that the groups that it is being lent out to are groups that the department has a good working relationship with and he does not want that jeopardized. The commission agreed that the equipment will only be lent out to non-profit and civic organizations in the town of Colchester. The equipment will be inspected before being lent out and then again upon return. The group using the equipment will be given a copy of
the policy stating that if the item is damaged in anyway they will be held responsible for the repair cost. The town will also not be responsible for any injury that occurs while using the borrowed equipment.
11. Discussion and Possible Action on Field Closure Schedule: The facilities subcommittee needs to look at the fields and make a recommendation as to which field should be closed next. R2 is scheduled to be next but others might be in worse shape. The time frame for closure and the affects on sports leagues was discussed. Baseball would be affected more in spring with soccer being affected more so in fall. Due to the size or space needed for a baseball field spring might be the better time to close. No decision was made.
12. Discussion and Possible Action on Bacon Academy Field Repair List: BOF, BOS, and BOE members met at Bacon Academy to view the condition of the track. They are considering a referendum to repair the track. While at Bacon Academy they also looked at the rest of the property. They questioned the condition of the baseball field which J. Cohen pointed out was the lack of man hours. Members began to discuss the Athletics Facilities Task Force that developed a recommended plan for additional facilities. Sports leagues as well as the Cody Camp Foundation donated the additional money needed to complete the plan. Nothing has been done with this plan due to the town’s financial state. There continues to be a growing need for additional recreational facilities. The commission will ask all Sport’s League presidents to join them in attending the BOF meeting on December 17, 2008 to make aware the strong desire for and support of a town-wide approval of increased financial funding for
recreational facilities.
13. Director’s Report: J. Cohen gave the director’s report. The Dog Park has been approved by the BOS. The $5,000 grant to develop a plan for trials on the White Oak property is being worked on by a landscape architect. No refunds were given last month. The policy is working very well. Homecoming will be held this Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 4:30. Hot Shots will be held on December 23rd. C. Ferrante motioned to accept the Director’s Report as presented, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
14. Recreation Supervisor’s Report (Quarterly): None. Will begin reports in January.
15. General Comments: None
16. Adjournment: E. Kundahl motioned to adjourn, seconded by C. Ferrante. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman O’Leary adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
Dawn LePage, Clerk
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