Minutes of Park Commission Meeting
Held on Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Town Hall – Selectmen’s Room at 8:00am
1. Call Meeting to Order:
Mr. Wood called the meeting to order at 8:01 am. Members present were Mr. Wood, Mr. Bowen and Mr. Chaves. Also present, Mr. Santos and Mr. Hannon.
2. Minutes to Approve:
A. Public Session – August 1, 2017
Mr. Wood motioned to accept the minutes as written, seconded by Mr. Bowen and carried…
Vote: 3 - 0, in favor
3. Citizens Issues / Special Interest Groups:
A. None
4. Personnel:
A. None
5. Director’s Report:
Mr. Santos informed that Park Commission that…
A. Hudson-Concord Elks Balloon Fest impact on Town Fields
…on the Saturday of the 2017 Balloon Fest weekend, event attendees parked on Busch Memorial field. Once Mr. Santos learned about this, he immediately visited the field and made contact with the Elks. Mr. Santos estimated that there were approximately 150+ vehicles on the field. Following the event Mr. Santos met with Elks Board members and manager. The Elks staff members were not aware that folks had parked on the field and understood that the field was negatively impacted by the vehicles. Mr. Santos informed the Commission that the Elks had stated they would pay for any immediate field or irrigation damages and would also contribute an additional $1500.00 to be used towards deep-time aeration of the field (which Mr. Santos stated would help with the field compaction that occurred due
to having vehicles on the field).
B. HYBS Field Renovations at Boutwell Complex
… HYBS would be funding field renovation work at all three Boutwell Fields to be completed by a private contractor. Mr. Santos stated that he had filed an RDA with the Conservation Commission as part of this project.
C. Potential Boutwell 2 Outfield Fence Modifications (HYBS)
… He and Mr. Hannon had worked with HYBS to come up with some options for permanent outfield fencing. However, the use of the field by the HS athletic programs as well as other users would extremely limit where a permanent fence could be placed. Mr. Santos stated that he and his staff would continue to work with HYBS to come up with a fencing solution that would work for all users.
D. Warren Chamberlain Rink Concession Update
… Hudson Youth Dek Hockey had completed renovation of the concession and that DPW would soon begin completing the exterior work around the building.
E. Future Installation of Turf at Morgan Bowl (HHS Athletics)
… He had met with a group of community stakeholders who are interested in the future installation of synthetic turf at Morgan Bowl. Mr. Santos expressed to the commissioners that he did not feel comfortable at this time to take this project on as a Town funded initiative and that when speaking with the group, those involved felt that this type of project should be privately funded. Mr. Chaves stated that the Park Commission should not prohibit any residents or community stakeholders from coming forward with project ideas and that as projects and ideas evolve over time, the Park Commission could then weigh in on their level of support and interest. Mr. Chaves and Mr. Bowen stated that although they are open to considering projects such as this, these projects need to be managed in such a way that
they does not impact the Hudson Recreation staff negatively or put further constraints on their existing schedules. The commissioners suggested that Mr. Santos inform those he had met with about the public forums and request that they attend one of the meetings to present their proposal at that time for further consideration.
F. FY19 Budget Update
… He would soon be working on the FY19 Budget per the guidelines established by the Executive Assistants office.
E. Playgrounds Update
… DPW would begin removing some playground structures in the late fall and throughout the winter months as scheduling permits.
F. Website Update
… The recreation website www.hudsonrecreation.org had been recently updated (through RecDesk) and also that the Town of Hudson was looking to update its website as well.
G. Programs Update (Basketball and Pumpkin Fest – Saturday, October 14, 2017)
… Travel team tryouts had been completed and Instructional Basketball programs would be rolling out late October. Also, that Pumpkin Fest would take place on October 14, 2017 form 3:30-8:30 pm at Morgan Bowl.
6. Communications and/or Correspondence to be noted by Commissioners:
A. Park Commission to review Mr. Tracy’s request for fencing at Cellucci Park
Mr. Chaves and Mr. Wood both commented on this request stating that given the amount of activity at the park involving younger children, this request should be considered. Discussion followed and the Park Commission asked Mr. Santos to look into fencing options, placement, associated costs and impacts to current park programming and site maintenance. The commissioners also requested that Mr. Santos reach out to Mr. Tracy via email to share their discussion with him and request that he attend the future public forums in order to present his suggestion at that time for further consideration.
B. Letter from Hudson-Concord Elks re: Balloon Fest
Park Commission acknowledged receipt of the letter from the Hudson-Concord Elks.
7. Old Business:
A. None
8. New Business:
A. Park Commission to set dates for public forums specific to gathering input from residents on future facility and program needs.
The Park Commission discussed having 2 public input forums: December 6, 2017 at 7:00pm and January 10, 2018 at 12:00pm. The Commissioners requested that Mr. Santos work with the Community Development Department to advertise the public input forums. The Commissioners further stated that the meeting purpose, format (for example…not a Q/A session) and end time for each meeting also be advertised.
B. Park Commission to consider days/times for upcoming regularly scheduled Park Commission meetings.
The Commissioners discussed what days and times of the month are best to hold meetings each month.
Announcements/Adjournment:
Mr. Wood motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 am seconded by Mr. Bowen and carried...
Vote: 3 – 0, in favor.
Motion to Adopt: Mr. Wood
Second: Mr. Chaves
Vote: 2 – 0, in favor
Date: October 23, 2017
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