Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Monday, August 15, 2007
Present: Steve Slozak, Barry Cady, and Dave Braskie
Also Present: Timothy Pascale, Director; Jeanne Guertin, Secretary
Steve called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m.
Steve made a motion to accept the minutes from the July 30 meeting and Barry seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
A memo was received by the Commissioners inviting them to attend a meeting with the Cemetery Commission on August 23 at the Fire Department.
Skate Park:
A letter was received from the Police Department regarding the incident in the Skate Park. Tim issued two No Trespassing notices which the police should enforce. One of the boys who received one of the notices was in court this morning. Officer Emerson talked to some kids about not wearing helmets. There is a sign posted outside the Skate Park and helmets are mandatory. Approximately 95% of the kids are wearing helmets, and kids are sharing helmets, too. Chaperones are Faith Esposito, Tom Back and Pam West. All agreed Faith did a great job getting volunteers for the building day, some of whom brought their own equipment. Over $300 was raised that day. A letter should be sent to all the volunteers who helped with the building of the Skate Park
expansion.
In-line skates, BMX bikes and skateboards are allowed in the Skate Park. Airin Roso will meet with an insurance company representative and will see if scooters can be allowed, as well.
Fall Soccer was discussed. August 9 was the registration deadline for Fall Soccer and we are still receiving registrations. The third and fourth grade boys are split in two teams. Most of the coaches this year were not the same as last year. Teams were not fairly divided last year, so Tim will be putting the teams together this year. There was one request for an all girls team this year. Instructional soccer starts September 8. Craig Levesque has volunteered to roll the fields.
The Five-Star and Junior Soccer Clinics were discussed. Everything went pretty well with both clinics.
During the week of the Cheering Clinic, they couldn’t use the cafeteria because the school was preparing for Open House the following week. Next year, the Cheering Clinic should be held earlier in the summer to avoid any conflicts.
The sprinkler system at Moriarty Field was discussed. An outside vendor should be brought in for this. The system would have to be maintained and they are very easy to repair. The school says they don’t have the time to do this. Tim will get competitive bids from outside vendors for the job. He will get the bids from local companies so it will be easier if there is a problem.
Tim got the freezer from Garv’s, and is looking for a place to put the refrigerator. We will try to use them for Fall Soccer. Tim will get some figures to set up the trailer for the refrigerator. Scott Davis said he would redo the gas line. Tim will look into using the trailer for a concession stand.
Dave made a motion that anytime we cancel a meeting we reschedule within the same week. Steve seconded the motion. In the past, too much time has passed in between meetings. It has been difficult to set meetings based on the commissioners’ schedules. There should at least be a meeting once a month. The commissioners discussed their availability and decided that the meetings would be held on the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. The motion was amended as such. All in favor and the motion carried.
Dave suggested that the Commission meet more often during the months between April and August. These are busy times and he think they should meet every two weeks. He thought this would help Tim. If the Commission met more often during that time, items that needed attention could be brought up by the Commission which would decrease the number of phone calls Tim would get from the Commissioners. These items would be brought up at a meeting all at once. Between April and August is a busy time for everyone, and there was a question whether they would all be available to meet that often. Therefore, maybe two of the three Commissioners could meet instead of all three to discuss such items.
Dave feels that evaluations should be done for employees. He would like to sit down with the employees every quarter and get feedback which would improve overall performance. The Commissioners couldn’t really do this, it would have to be Tim. After discussion regarding which employees would be evaluated, the Commission concluded that a regularly scheduled staff meeting would be more appropriate. It was suggested that the staff meetings be held at the end of the month. Tim will decide who to include in these staff meetings and what time would be best to have them.
Safety equipment for Parks and Rec employees was discussed. Tim will look into this to see if all the safety equipment is up to date.
There is a Boston Celtics Bus Trip scheduled for November 9. Last year’s Celtics Bus Trip was $60, and this year the price is $89. The Boston Celtics raised their ticket prices from last year.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve made a motion to close the meeting at 7:55 p.m., and Barry seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeanne Guertin
Secretary
Timothy J Pascale
Director/Program Coordinator
Monson Parks and Recreation
110 Main Street
Monson, MA 01057
1-413-267-4105 ( phone )
1-413-267-0327 ( fax )
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