Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Present: Steve Slozak and Barry Cady
Also Present: Jeanne Guertin, Secretary; Steve O’Shea
Steve called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
Barry made a motion to accept the minutes from the August 15 meeting and Steve seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
Steve and Barry reviewed material that Tim provided to them for the meeting in his absence. The material included a flyer for the Boston Celtics Bus Trip on November 9. No tickets have been sold as of yet, but flyers will be distributed soon to students at Quarry Hill Community School and Granite Valley Middle School. Also provided by Tim were the recreational fall soccer schedule and the flyer for the Haunted Hayride. The Haunted Hayride is being held at Echo Hill Orchards, and all proceeds will benefit the Parks & Rec Department. Flyers will go out to Quarry Hill and Granite Valley students on October 1. Last year we received $1,000 from Echo Hill from this event. FY 2008 budget information was also in the material from Tim and was reviewed.
A letter from Tim to the Commissioners was discussed. The letter explained the employee situation Tim has as a result of the recent change in the State’s health care policy and Tim’s proposal. Tim has met with Debbie Mahar, Gretchen Neggers and Christina Pedro about this. His proposal was discussed and it will be up to the Board of Selectmen to approve.
Steve asked about the status of the Skate Park and the insurance situation. Airin Roso and Faith Esposito met with Gretchen Neggers and an insurance company representative to discuss the Skate Park and the possibility of having scooters allowed in the Park. Jeannie told Steve that Faith had been in the office that day and she (Faith)was going to check with Gretchen to see if she had heard back from the insurance company yet.
Field conditions were discussed. Scott Davis built a sprinkler for Upper Rogers field. It has to be moved every 20 minutes and it takes 4 people to move it. The high school field is in rough condition due to not getting enough water. Regarding Moriarty Field, Tim told Steve that the school is not complying with a former agreement to keep students off the field. The kids can go outside after lunch, and they are going on the field at that time. The Commissioners discussed attending a School Committee Meeting to address this issue, since they have already appealed to the Superintendent and Principal. Jeannie will send upcoming dates of School Committee Meetings to the Commissioners.
Jeannie said that Tim has not held a staff meeting yet. He is waiting for resolution of the employee situation, and once he has that, he will have this be the subject of the first staff meeting.
Dave was unable to attend the meeting, but had dictated some of his concerns over to the phone to Jeannie which he wanted discussed in his absence. His concerns were as follows:
There is a community service environmental group in town that has done work at Peaked Mountain, such as removing trees and brush. Leslie Duthie is involved with this group. Dave was thinking that we could ask this group to take care of brush around the fields, and other various work for us. This is a volunteer group that does not charge for their work. Steve will contact Leslie and ask her about this.
Dave thinks that we should be utilizing all the space on Washington Street. He feels that the following could be fit in that space: one small soccer field, one full soccer field, and at least two baseball diamonds. This would use up the whole space at that field. At one time this whole area was being used by the Monson Academy, but is not anymore. It was agreed that there should be more fields, but watering the fields was the biggest problem.
There are still holes in the Washington Street field. Some were filled in already. Could these holes be filled in, and when they do, could they be marked in some way, or could Tim give Dave a call.
Regarding Upper Rogers Field and the brush in the area, Dave has a picture from the 1970’s when the entire area was mowed. At one time he had an estimate of $2,100 to do the job. He would like see this done. The Commissioners feel they would like to see this done, as well, but funding this project is an issue.
Steve O’Shea asked what would be the cost to fix the drainage at Rogers. There are environmental concerns. Steve Slozak talked with the Army Corps of Engineers and they said they could give us the information we needed to address this problem. This would have to go to the Conservation Commission, since any water on property that stays for a period of time is considered a wetland. Steve Slozak talked to Leslie and she said she would take a look at the field. She is concerned with the left corner at Lower Rogers. It would be beneficial to attend a Conservation Commission Meeting and tell them what we want to do.
There was discussion regarding the Community Preservation Act, and using funds from that for Cushman Field, which is considered “open space”.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, October 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve made a motion to close the meeting at 7:15 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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