Town of Holden 1204 Main Street, Holden, MA 01520
Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes
October 9, 2012
Starbard Building
Members Present: Lisa Post, Erin O’Neil Bradbury, Melissa Staiti, Robin Grady
Members Absent: Nancy Owens
Others Present: Denise Morano, Recreation Director
Dee Anne Grebinar, Recording Secretary
Lisa called the Recreation Committee meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
MINUTES: A motion was made by Melissa and seconded by Erin to accept
the minutes of the September 11, 2012 meeting.
The minutes of the September 11, 2012 were accepted as written.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Programs:
Before/After School Programs
Denise went over the numbers for the Before & After School Programs. We currently care for 262 children each day.
Davis Hill – 52 AM and 52 PM (both sessions have waiting lists)
Mayo - 48 AM and 52 PM
Dawson – 25 AM and 33 PM
Each site is licensed for 52 children. Denise commented about how pleased she is with the staff this year. We have a couple of older women with us, who as grandparents, have a real understanding of the children. They seem to be able to “sense” how the children are feeling and what their needs are. Denise said the student to staff ratio must be 13:1 according to the rules of the Department of Early Education and Care, but she tries to have it at 10:1 in case of staff absences. The licensor from the Department of Early Education and Care spent 10 hours with us on September 11th and 13th, and visited both Dawson and Davis Hill Schools. He is a new licensor to our programs and was very meticulous. There were very few non-compliances that he identified. They have been corrected and Denise expects to get the licenses for the programs within a week. Lisa asked what the non-compliance issues were. Denise said one was in regard to a staff member not having a date for her medical
physical in her file, but there was a dated note from her doctor giving her permission to work. Also, there was a staff member who had her current college schedule in her file, but no high school diploma. The licensor cited both of these as non-compliances.
Denise has made the playground equipment off limits for the program because there is not 9” of landing impact material around the equipment. Erin asked why the children are allowed to play there during the school day and Denise said that the schools are under the guidelines of the Department of Education and the Before and After School programs are licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care which requires us to have 9” of landing impact material on the playgrounds we use.
Adult Programs
Denise went over the updated registration numbers for Session 1 classes. Classes include Hatha Yoga on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with a total of 31 participants, Zumba has 18 participants, Zumba with Pilates has 23 enrolled, 3CPYo 17 enrolled, Yoga for Every “Body” 9 participants, Flip it for Fat Loss 6 participants, Boot Camp 3 registrants and Melt It (this class combines both Boot Camp and Flip It) has 4 enrolled. Men’s basketball welcomes about 20 gentlemen each Thursday evening, and Women’s volleyball has 12-15 drop-in visitors. The drop-in classes tend to draw more participants during the winter months. Erin commented that she takes Marty’s Boot Camp class, and though it’s a little tough she is enjoying it. The next session will probably be a six week session for most
classes due to the holidays.
New Classes
Cross country skiing lessons will begin in January (weather permitting) at the Davis Hill field complex. There will be two age categories (5-9 years old, and over 10 years). Each session will be held on Saturday mornings for a ½ hour. The cost is $28.00. Karl Makela will be the instructor and he plans on making tracks with a machine he owns. He has assured Denise the machine will not damage the fields. People must have their own equipment to participate.
A creative sweatshirt jacket class for people who enjoy sewing will be taught by Cindy Janik. Participants will design a jacket using a crewneck sweatshirt as the base. It will be held at the Recreation office. Denise is trying to get that to start up in November.
Miscellaneous:
Because of the threat of the mosquito borne illnesses, effective September 12th, all Town-owned recreation facilities and fields were off-limit at 6:00 p.m. This curfew will continue until a hard frost has occurred. Comments were made about the hardship this has put on the sports teams in town.
The pools have been covered for the season. Prior to covering the family pool, marine strength caulking was placed around the area that seemed to be the source of the leak. Erin asked if Denise had a head count on the staff returning next year. Denise said that by the end of August they are all pretty well burned out and no one is thinking about next summer. They are getting ready to return to college or school and don’t think about their summer jobs until we contact them in February. Usually about 75% of them will return.
Santa’s arrival to town will take place on Saturday, December 1st at 5:00 p.m. Please plan on attending and joining in on the festivities. Lisa will contact the First Congregational Church regarding using their facility. Erin commented that the popcorn machine needs to be warmed up and popcorn made earlier this year. Denise said we used 16-18 lbs. of popcorn last year.
Erin asked about the dog park and Denise said she has had no further communication regarding it. There are comments on an internet site, but it does not appear there are any plans to pursue the park at this time.
The Skateboard Park Committee has been suspended at this time.
There will be no bus trip this year to New York City.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
The next Recreation Committee meeting will be held on November 13, 2012 @ 7:00 p.m.
at the Starbard Building.
Holden Recreation Committee October 9, 2012
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