Colchester Parks & Recreation Commission
January 5, 2009
Town Hall
7:00 p.m.
Members Present: Chairman S. O’Leary, J. Barr, N. Kaplan, E. Kundahl, L. Dimock
Members Absent: Clint Williams, S. Ashe, L. Stephenson, C. Ferrante
Others Present: Greg Cordova (BOS Liaison) , J. Cohen, Park and Rec Director
1. Call to Order: Chairman O’Leary called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. Citizen’s Comments: None
3. Acceptance of Minutes: December 1, 2008 Meeting: N. Kaplan motioned to accept the minutes of the December 1, 2008 meeting minutes correcting item 11, last sentence to read: Due to the size or space needed for a baseball field fall might be the better time to close a field. The motion was seconded by E. Kundahl. All members voted in favor with J. Barr abstaining. MOTION CARRIED.
4. Reading of Correspondence: An application for endorsement was received from the JC Courant sports league. E. Kundahl motioned to endorse the JC Courant sports league, seconded by N. Kaplan. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
5. Committee Reports
- Facilities: No report. Chairman O’Leary requested a discussion be held on the new school facility scheduling policy. The discussion would become a new item 8 on the agenda with the remaining portion of the agenda to be renumbered accordingly. N. Kaplan motioned to add Discussion of New School Facility Scheduling Policy as item 8 on the agenda, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
- Finance/Administration: Chairman O’Leary said that S. Ashe will be resigning from the commission. No formal letter or resignation has been received at this time. There will now be openings for both an alternate and full member.
- Programs: L. Dimock reported that the ornament sale and the tree lighting had been a success. All the ornaments were sold. N. Kaplan motioned to accept the Programs report, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members presents voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
- Skate Park: None
- BOS Liaison : None
- Dog Park: J. Cohen reported that the BOS has approved the dog park plan and location. The committee will now be working on refining the plan and start fundraising. N. Kaplan motioned to accept the Dog Park report, seconded by J. Barr. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
6. Discussion and Possible Action on Dave Shea Facility Request: Mr. Shea spoke on behalf of his program. The cost of using the fields at the Rec Complex has increased dramatically. Prior to 2006 the program was not charged a fee for use of the facility. Beginning in 2006 the Tri-County Baseball was charged a $100 fee per summer. Last year the BOS reduced the special event fee for his program making his cost $550. Based on the fees set forth by the Park and Rec Commission his cost this year would be $875. The clinic is to help kids increase their skills of the game. Chairman O’Leary said that fees were increased partially because the BOS had asked the commission to increase revenue. He had been concerned over pricing people out of programs by making the increase. Mr. Shea was presented with three options for operating the camp that would reduce the fee he would need to pay. The first option was to pay the special event and rental fees allowing him to operate the
program as he has been. The second option was to contract the program through Park and Recreation. The option would allow Mr. Shea to operate the program as he would like, there would be no facility use fee, insurance would be required, a per-child fee would be charged, and the Park and Recreation would add on an additional charge for administrative costs. The third option would be for the program to be operated by Park and Recreation with all program staff being employees of Park and Rec. N. Kaplan presented a forth option that the program could be run under the Colchester Youth Baseball League the way MLS Camps are held under the soccer league. Mr. Shea would be paid by the baseball league as a contractor. Mr. Shea was not in favor of any of these options. He would like to remain in full control of the program but not be charged the large usage fee. Commission members, in reviewing the Reservation Request and charges questioned if
Mr. Shea was being charged twice for use of the same facility by being charged a
special event fee as well as a facility rental fee. Chairman O’Leary said he would like the commission to review the special event and field rental policies to determine if indeed Mr. Shea was being charged twice and a determination be made on what constitutes a special event. The commission agreed to hold a special meeting on January 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. to review these policies.
7. Discussion and Possible Action on Concession Bid Review: Teri Damato of Subway and John Sawchuck both spoke on behalf of their bids on the concession stand. A vote was taken to award the concession bid.
L. Dimock, S. O’Leary, and E. Kundahl voted in favor of awarding the bid to Subway. J. Barr and N. Kaplan motioned to award the bid to John Sawchuk. The 3:2 vote was to award the bid to Subway. BOS will need to approve the awarding of the bid.
8. Discussion of New School Facility Scheduling Policy: N. Kaplan spoke on behalf of youth soccer in regards to the use of the schools. The school is requesting that use of the gym be paid in advance. The youth soccer league received a bill for over $14,000, over twice the amount the league has ever paid in the past. The janitor was unaware soccer was starting on January 3, 2009 and the school would not have been open had Mr. Kaplan not called the janitor himself. He questioned why the school was now doing the scheduling of the schools instead of the Park and Rec Department. J. Cohen said that the school wanted to simplify the process handling the scheduling of their facilities directly. They want to be paid in advance for the use of the facilities due to the fact that there have been instances in
the past when groups have not show up yet the janitors were there and still needed to be paid. Members of the commission, as well as league representatives that were in attendance, said that it can be difficult to get confirmation on use of one of the school facilities. Chairman O’Leary requested a joint meeting with the Director of Facilities, Superintendent of Schools, league officials, and the Park and Rec Commission to discuss the process further. The discussion will be added to the agenda for the special meeting to be held on January 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
9. Discussion and Possible Action on Sponsorship Opportunity – Lunchtime Concert Series: A brief discussion was held on how the sponsorship opportunity would work. J. Barr motioned to recommend to the BOS the approval of a sponsorship opportunity for a lunchtime concert series, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
10. Discussion and Possible Action on Sponsorship opportunity for 3 on 3 basketball tournament: Chairman O’Leary expressed concern that the Park and Rec department is asking for too many sponsorships. He fears that the continuous seeking of sponsorships will hinder the already established sponsorships and events. J. Cohen said that when soliciting sponsors specific groups are targeted base on those who would benefit, based on the type of event, from the sponsorship. L. Dimock motioned to recommend to the BOS the approval of a sponsorship opportunity for 3 on 3 basketball tournament, seconded by J. Barr. L. Dimock, J. Barr, and N. Kaplan voted in favor with
S. O’Leary and E. Kundahl opposed. MOTION CARRIED in a 3:2 vote.
11. Strategic Plan Status Review: The goals and strategies for the 2008-2009 fiscal year were reviewed. J. Cohen outlined areas where progress has been made, areas that have been halted due to lack of funding, and highlights of the year.
12. Director’s Report: J. Cohen gave the Director’s Report which included staff update, upcoming events, facilities update, and refunds. N. Kaplan motioned to accept the Director’s report, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
13. Recreation Supervisor’s Report (Quarterly): The Recreation Supervisor’s Report was reviewed as submitted. N. Kaplan motioned to accept the Recreation Supervisor’s report, seconded by E. Kundahl. All members voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
14. General Comments: The commission discussed their attempt to make the BOF aware of the strong desire for and support of a town-wide approval of increased financial funding for recreational facilities. The commission has consistently been told to be more vocal to the BOF yet this time was told that they needed to go to the BOS before the BOF. Chairman O’Leary made several calls in attempt to find out why this was what they were now being told to do. He was unable to obtain any answers.
15. Adjournment: E. Kundahl motioned to adjourn, seconded by N. Kaplan. All members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman O’Leary adjourned the meeting at 9:11 p.m.
Dawn LePage, Clerk
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