Minutes of Park Commission Meeting
Held on Thursday, September 27, 2018
Recreation Office at 8:00am
1. Call Meeting to Order:
Mr. Bowen called the meeting to order at 8:26am. Members present were Mr. Bowen and Mr. Chaves. Also present, Mr. Santos, Mr. Hannon and Mr. Aponte.
2. Minutes to Approve:
A. Public Session – August 2, 2018
Mr. Chaves motioned to accept the minutes as written, seconded by Mr. Bowen and carried…
Vote: 2-0, in favor
3. Citizens Issues / Special Interest Groups:
A. None
4. Personnel:
A. None
5. Director’s Report:
A. Financial Report …
-Mr. Santos provided the Commission with the most current balances for the: Revolving Fund, Rec Gifts Fund,
R&M Budget Line Items, and various Town Meeting Articles specific to the Recreation Department.
B. Program Update …
1. Pumpkin Fest 2018
Saturday, October 20, 2018. Fireworks will start at 8:00pm – new for 2018
2. Travel Basketball Tryouts
-PC to consider supporting Recreation Department’s position on organizing only 1 team per grade level for each boys and girls. Mr. Chaves and Mr. Bowen both individually stated that they agreed with only supporting one travel basketball team per grade level in the Boys and Girls Divisions.
3. New Programs
-Joshua Aponte will be implementing a new program (TBD) in the coming months.
-Future potential partnership with B&G Club to utilize space during off-peak times to expand and provide new rec programming.
-Steven to meet with Janice (Senior Center) and Deb (Library) to discuss future partnerships
C. Facility Improvements Update …
Centennial Beach
-Tom Moses to finalize Contract with Weston & Sampson to go before BOS on October 15, 2018
-Will schedule at least 1 meeting for residents to provide feedback on site amenities/improvements
-Will seek public comments via FB, RecDesk Emails and TOH Website for a period of time TBD
-Construction costs to be requested via CPC this coming winter
Sauta Fencing (at brook)
-Seeking DPW to install as their schedule permits, but to be completed by June 30, 2019
Sauta Parking Lot Drainage
-DPW to complete project in-house, late fall of 2018
Chamberlain Rink
-DPW to pave and stripe parking areas in-house, fall of 2018 (if schedule permits)
Tennis Court Resurfacing
-All courts (6) and concrete areas to be resurfaced and lined with 6 tennis courts, 6 pickle ball courts, 2 U10 courts. Work to begin Oct 1st, 2018, to be completed in 2-3 weeks
Morgan Bowl Track & Wall
-Project needs to go out to bid by end January 2019, Start date: TBD
Playgrounds
1. Farley School
-Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-Private contractor to remove weeds, prep site and install safety surfacing
2. Mulready School
-Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-Mulready H&S installing a new 2-5 yr old playground in October 2018
-Large Pine Tree removed by DPW from playground area
3. Cellucci Park
-Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-Wood Timber Edging to be replaced in October 2018
4. Hubert School (Kelly Playground)
-Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-DPW to remove Single Slide in fall of 2018 as called out in report
5. Wood Park ~
-Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-DPW to remove Swings in fall 2018 as called out in report
-Begin looking into design options for installation of a new centralized and universally accessible playground.
-Consider integrating this into a larger park redevelopment plan
6. Sauta Athletic Complex
-Select the equipment that is in the worst condition for immediate removal based in suggestions from Reale Associates
--Contract with Reale Associates (or other) to asses and make repairs as listed in inspection report
-Downsize the structure and make repairs to equipment that remains as needed.
-Need to decide whether or not we are going to replace this play structure completely in the coming years.
7. HHS Preschool Playground
-Contract with Reale Associates to asses and make recommendation on existing conditions.
-Potentially work with HPS on relocating the system to Farley School. Cost estimate could be up to $25K
-If not then consider completely removing the structure or relocating to another site
-Contract with outside vendor or DPW to clean up site in coming weeks
8. Forest Ave School
-New Miracle Playground installed Sept 2018
-4-5 large Pine Trees were removed by DPW from play area
-Old play structure completely removed from site
9. Riverside Park
-Tentative plan to have existing structure removed and new structure (Gametime) to be installed utilizing the 3 slides most recently installed and now removed from the old Forest Ave Playground (savings of $5K), Estimated cost of new playground is $28K
-Swings at this location previously removed
10. Others: Tripps Pond, Moulton Field and Cherry Street
-All equipment removed, no immediate plan for replacement
Future Projects (Funding TBD):
1. Storage Trailer Relocation
-Mr. Santos informed the Commission that he and his staff would be looking into potentially relocating storage containers at both Riverside Park and Sauta Fields.
2. Kiosk Repairs/Removal
-Mr. Santos informed the Park Commission that many kiosks may soon need repairs and that he would like the Commissions input on whether or not repairs should be made, or specific kiosks might be removed. Mr. Santos asked the commission to consider how to best utilize the kiosks moving forward and develop some program goals or purpose, prior to investing money in repairs for kiosks that may no longer serve a purpose. Mr. Chaves suggested the discussion be continued to a future meeting.
3. Boutwell Fencing
-Some fencing needs to be replaced.
4. Recreation Master Plan & Wood Park Designs
-Mr. Santos informed the Park Commission that despite the $50K+ cost estimate, he and his staff see the value in completing a Recreation Master Plan to look at both athletics fields and park properties (focusing on Wood Park) in order to further develop facility improvement plans to provide safer and more comprehensive recreational programming in the future. Both Mr. Bowen and Mr. Chaves stated that they agreed and felt that it would be most cost effective to execute an overall Recreation Master Plan, rather than select only certain existing facilities for potential improvements. Mr. Bowen said he felt it was a necessary evil that would provide the Commission with a valuable planning tool.
5. Basketball Court
Mr. Santos solicited the Commissions input on whether or not to move forward in seeking proposals for an outdoor basketball court (location and funding TBD) or to consider incorporating this project as part of a larger Recreation Master Plan process. The commissioners stated that this should be considered as part of a comprehensive recreation master plan.
6. Dog Park
Mr. Santos informed that Commission that the only outdoor location not actively used by user groups was Farina Field and that it may warrant consideration for a future Dog Park. Mr. Santos asked the Commission to consider whether or not they want to be in the Dog Park business. Further, that should the Commission choose to give up operational control of Farina Field, the property would revert back to the Town (DPW) and a Dog Park may or may not be located at this spot as the it would be left up to the Town (DPW) to choose how to best utilize this property. Mr. Santos stated that if the Commission retains operational jurisdiction of this field, they can decide what activities take place at this location. Mr. Chaves requested that Mr. Santos draft a letter to the Board of Selectmen informing them
that the Park Commission is starting to discuss this matter and is considering whether or not they want to have an active role in any future Dog Park in Hudson.
D. Future Park Commission Meetings …
Mr. Santos presented the Park Commission with various dates to be considered for future Park Commission Meetings. Mr. Santos requested that the Commission finalize future meetings, through June of 2019, at their next scheduled meeting.
6. New Business:
A. None
7. Old Business:
A. None
8. Communications and/or Correspondence to be noted by Commissioners:
A. None
Announcements/Adjournment
FY20 budget preparation will take place in October. Key FY20 budget focus areas are: Upcoming minimum wage increases in FY20-FY24 and consideration for increases to field maintenance funding requests in conjunction with DPW to improve field conditions for all user groups. Mr. Chaves requested that Mr. Santos invite the Public Works Director to a future meeting to discuss field and park maintenance items.
Mr. Bowen motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:45am, seconded by Mr. Chaves and carried...
Vote: 2-0, in favor
Motion to Adopt: Mr. Bowen
Second: Mr. Wood
Vote: 2 – 0, in favor
Date: October 29, 2018
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