Greenfield Recreation & Facilities Committee
March 25, 2009
DRAFT Minutes
Committee Members Present: Conrad Dumas, Neal Brown, Lori Weeks, Lee LeBlanc, David Buchanan, Lisa Hall
Absent: Melissa Champagne, Rhonda Cilley, MaryAnn Grant
Chairman Dumas called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm
1. Chairman’s Resignation
Conrad notified the BOS through a letter that he was resigning as Chairman of the Recreation Committee, in which he cited that his designated task of organizing a Rec Committee and drafting a job description is complete. He will devote most of his volunteering to the Blueberry Jamboree Committee and will participate in the Recreation Committee as his time allows.
The Rec Committee discussed the prospects of designating a new Chairman. It was agreed that it would be premature to vote on a new Chairmen until it is clear how the Rec Committee will be utilized in the future.
2. The Role of the Rec Committee
Lisa pointed out that it is very unclear what is expected of the Committee by the Selectmen.
Neal suggests that maybe the Committee should be inactive till notified by the Selectmen or the Coordinator to meet.
Lori shares Lisa’s perspective and that recent BOS initiatives regarding town recreation have been carried out without any communication with the Committee; even in the form of simply informing the Committee of the BOS intentions/plans.
Those in attendance agreed that the BOS seems to have had their own plan to handle the Parks and Recreational dilemmas on their own, without regard to the Committee.
Discussion continued about recent recreational decisions and potential Rec Committee contributions:
- The Rec Committee should play a support and advisory role for anyone making recreational decisions
- The decision to zero out a Director position and replace it with a Coordinator was never presented to the Committee; the BOS never alluded to the fact that they rejected the Committee’s recommendation to secure at least a 15 hour position
- The BOS made the independent decision to appoint coordinators for the Blueberry Jamboree; disregarding the Rec Committee, not seeking its efforts in the decision
- The Committee agreed that there should be an effort to unify all recreational-based committees such as the Oak Park Committee, the Rec Committee, and the Blueberry Jamboree Committee – the Rec Committee’s mission aims to serve that purpose
- The Rec Committee should be regarded as a representation of the town’s legislative body (the voters) and therefore consulted; legitimate concerns surrounding recreational affairs could be addressed by the Rec Committee through deliberation and majority vote, such as:
- Is it justified to hire non-resident teenagers as lifeguards (Peterborough won’t hire Greenfield teens; however, Peterborough teens lifeguard for Greenfield)?
- The Rec Department could generate its own funds to support its operations: the concession stand at Oak Park (the Monadnock Mountaineers shouldn’t be profiting running concessions during games, the town should); there’s talk of a huge demand for a before and after school activities program – charge tuition to pay the salary of caretakers AND collect additional revenue for the Rec Dept
Those in attendance agree that the BOS must foresee a role for the Rec Committee sometime, perhaps when there is a Coordinator; therefore, it will wait for a call to action
It is agreed that since the Rec Committee is not expected to follow a meeting schedule, it will not meet unless solicited
A motion to write a letter to the BOS is approved; it reads:
MEMO
TO: Town of Greenfield Board of Selectmen
FROM: Greenfield Recreation Committee
DATE: March 25, 2009
Please be informed that the Greenfield Recreation Committee has decided to not meet regularly unless solicited by the BOS or a future Recreational Coordinator.
We are not disbanding, and we stand ready to advise and support the BOS (or a Coordinator) as you may deem appropriate.
We remain committed to the recreational activities and volunteerism for the town and look forward to future action.
Thank you for consideration,
The Greenfield Recreation Committee
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
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