Minutes of Park Commission Meeting
Held on Thursday, February 15, 2018
Town Hall – Selectmen’s Hearing Room at 1:00pm
1. Call Meeting to Order:
Mr. Wood called the meeting to order at 1:00pm. Members present were Mr. Wood, Mr. Chaves and Mr. Bowen. Also present, Mr. Santos, Mr. Hannon and Mr. Aponte.
2. Minutes to Approve:
A. Public Session – January 23, 2018
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:
A. None
6. Communications and/or Correspondence to be noted by Commissioners:
A. None
7. Old Business:
A. Park Commission to continue discussions with Community Circle staff related to planning Community Vision Sessions.
Mr. Santos thanked the Park Commission for their input to date and reviewed the action plan he drafted, in conjunction with both the recreation staff and Community Circle, after the last meeting. The plan included: Organizing only one (originally two) Public forum, while removing the word workshop from the description, Providing Community Circle with all current public feedback/input/suggestions, Create a simple questionnaire (performed by Community Circle, which will allow for better initial understanding of wants/needs) whose results will be used to develop focused forum discussion areas, Execute the Public Forum, Receive (via Community Circle) a report/results of the forum, Optionally create a more targeted post forum survey (if deemed necessary). Daphne Politis, of Community Circle, stated that she thought this
was a good approach and that the questionnaire would address some of the initial concerns the commissioners raised at that last meeting.
Mr. Wood stated that after having had further discussions with Mr. Santos, he was in favor of the most recent action plan. Both Mr. Chaves and Mr. Bowen stated that they too supported this updated process and action plan. Mr. Chaves and Mr. Wood further commented that the Recreation staff should take the lead on working directly with Community Circle to execute this project, seeking input from the Park Commission when needed. Discussion followed and as a result the Park Commission recommended the use of an online document sharing platform so that information could easily be shared and accessible to all. The Park Commission discussed topics for the questionnaire and reviewed alternative marketing strategies and potential social media campaigns (Facebook, Twitter, Photo Contests, etc…) in order to
advertise the Recreation Department, as well as, build a following of interested community members who might attend the future forum.
8. New Business:
A. None
Announcements/Adjournment:
-2018 MRPA State Conference – Recreation Staff to attend in early March
-FY19 Budget Presentation with Finance Committee – March 8, 2018, 7:00pm
Mr. Wood motioned to adjourn the meeting at 2:13pm, seconded by Mr. Bowen and carried...
Vote: 3 – 0, in favor
Motion to Adopt: Mr. Bowen
Second: Mr. Chaves
Vote: 2-0, in favor
Date: May 3, 2018
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