Town of Holden 1204 Main Street, Holden, MA 01520
Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes
January 13, 2009
Starbard Building @ 7:00p.m.
Members Present: Carmelo Bazzano, Lisa Post, Susan Serewicz
Members Absent: Richard Anderson
Others Present: Denise Morano, Recreation Director and Wendy Nickel, Recreation Leader
The Recreation Committee meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Susan Serewicz.
MINUTES: A motion was made by Lisa Post and seconded by Carmelo Bazzano. The Recreation Committee minutes from November 19, 2008 have been accepted as written.
Director's Report
Programs:
Adult/Teen programs: Adult make-up dates have been posted on the Town of Holden website on the Recreation calendar. These dates have also appeared in "The Landmark", "The Flash" and on the Holden Channel. Guys and Gals and Rock your Bod are two of the new classes that we are offering this year. We are trying to reach out to teens with Rock your Bod, a fitness class open to young adults between the ages of 13 and 19.
Children's Programs: The Before and After School program is going strong. The accounting, due to school cancellations, has become a bit more challenging. In addition to school vacation week, I excused parents from payment the week after the ice storm. Consequently, those who paid in advance carried a credit. I distributed a letter to parents, via each school, informing them of the payment schedule for late December. This letter also expressed my concern for the difficulty many families may have had obtaining alternate child care during the storm. Ski Ward numbers are way down probably due to the high cost this year. We had interest on the day the program began, but it was too late to enroll.
Santa's arrival was a success as usual. There was an awesome turn out and the help of the Serewicz family was key. Thanks so much to Sue and her family for helping to make it a great day for all. Thank you cards have been sent to all contributors.
Miscellaneous: Carmelo asked if we had a co-ed volleyball program. Lisa and I told him that in the past the men have been too aggressive. We do not intend to offer that again. I am considering running three 2-week sessions consecutively this summer and renting a tent to eliminate program cancellations. Lisa suggested calling RJ Miln to get a quote on tent rentals. Lisa inquired about the CIT program. Teens between the ages of 13 and 15 can sign up and registration is free but they must come to a scheduled registration time in May to sign up. Sue suggested opening the pool the last week of school between the hours of 3 and 7. This is being considered. The pool is scheduled to open on weekends in June beginning the first full weekend. Carmelo asked about boards at the new tennis courts. Presently there are no boards however, this
is something to consider in the future. Sue suggested a "No Skateboarding" sign be posted at the Mountview tennis courts. All agreed this is a good idea. The ice skating rink in front of the Senior Center is up and running. If you want to use it you need to shovel it yourself.
Old/New Business:
Skate park: I still have not had my budget hearing so I am unable to say at this time if we will be putting $50,000 towards a skate park.
The Holden School District has adopted a new policy with regards to snow days. If it is a "close call", in an effort to eliminate additional school closings, a "No AM classes" policy will be put into affect. This means that Wachusett will be in session from 1 PM to 5 PM on such days. As a large portion of my staff either work at, or attend Wachusett, this leaves me with no choice other than to cancel the After School Program, as well as the Before School Program, on these days. I expressed my opposition to this plan directly to the Superintendent of Schools in Holden, Dr. Pandiscio. He assures me that this plan will be used as a last resort. A letter has been distributed to the parents of our Before and After School children explaining the ramifications of this new plan.
The next Recreation Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 10th at 7 PM in the Starbard Building.
Meeting adjourned: 7:45 pm
| 
