Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Present: Steve Slozak, Barry Cady and Dave Braskie
Also Present: Timothy Pascale, Director; Jeanne Guertin, Secretary
Steve called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Barry made a motion to accept the minutes from the September 12 meeting and Steve seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
The commissioners received information from Tim regarding the revolving fund, expenses and salaries for ’08. These were reviewed and everything seemed to be in line. The revolving fund has $2,200 left in the Skate Park account. The Skate Park usually closes the day before Halloween to avoid any mischief that may occur around that time. Faith will get a couple people to help with the tarps.
Also reviewed were the Basketball and Haunted Hay Ride flyers, and the fertilizer programs for all fields, which Dave had requested. Dave was looking for more detailed information regarding labor and expenses that go into each field and Tim said he has a main binder that he could pull that information from, if needed.
There are two little soccer goal nets between the grey shed and Granite Valley Middle School and in front of the discus net. The students are not using the field anymore during recess. The commissioners will not have to meet with the School Committee since they have kept the kids off the field since Tim sent an e-mail requesting this.
Regarding the two missing goal posts, the replacement cost for these is $2,000-3,000. The cross bars are there and Dave suggested that maybe the company could sell us two poles.
Steve and Tim met with the Selectmen regarding part time help. The Selectmen have agreed to bring Courtney Gilligan on. Now it is up to the union for final approval.
During that meeting with the Selectmen the issue came up about the ground maintenance of the Parks and Recreation and Cemetery Departments since three members of the Long Range Financial Planning Committee were present. Steve and Tim were told they should also be talking to the school. Mowing and raking seem to be the common denominators for the Parks and Rec, Cemetery and schools. The Parks and Rec had given the school two mowers, but it appears as if they are still using a small one to cut their grounds. The Long Range Financial Planning Committee is thinking of moving towards a Grounds Maintenance unit and turning us into a Rec Department to avoid duplication of equipment and improving efficiency. They want to be educated on each department’s (Parks and Rec and Cemetery)
responsibilities. There was a discussion that Tim should look into attending school and getting licensed. Tim is not opposed to this and will look into the time and fee involved for him to do this. There is money budgeted for courses taken by employees. Having Tim licensed would be beneficial regardless of what was decided for the Parks and Recreation Department.
Also, during that meeting with the Selectmen, Gretchen Neggers said that she was getting multiple complaints (regarding Memorial Hall and Dave Grieve Park). The Commissioners agreed that occasionally they will get complaint calls, but not many come directly to the office. If Gretchen or anyone else receives complaints regarding the Parks and Rec Department, they should be referred directly to the office so they can be dealt with more efficiently. Because of the complaints regarding the weeds in front of Memorial Hall, Tim arranged for inmates to work on the walkway. Weeds were pulled and bricks were scraped to improve the appearance of the walkway, and it looks much better. In the spring this will be maintained to improve its appearance. The inmates could be used to do more work
for the Parks and Rec, like clearing some brush, but they are limited to the tools they can use.
The Parks and Rec Commission and the Cemetery Commission were requested to meet with the Selectmen on October 9. Because Steve was unable to attend their October 9 meeting, the Selectmen agreed to postpone the meeting until either of their next two scheduled meetings. Steve and Tim are not available for either of those meetings. Tim suggested that they request a special meeting with the Selectmen so that all parties could be available. Steve will call Gretchen and see if they can do this.
Steve asked about the Skate Park insurance. Tim said that all requests made by the insurance company have been taken care of. They still have not heard about allowing scooters into the park, and Faith is following up on this with Gretchen.
Complaints regarding the recreational fall soccer program were discussed. Some of these complaints are: coaching from behind the goals, 8 players on a team, and no referees showing up. The issues with the coaches standing behind the goals and playing 8 on a team have been addressed and resolved. Tim said that if a ref doesn’t show up, he needs to know who that ref is, and they won’t use him/her again.
Field conditions were discussed. Three quarters of Moriarty Field is in decent shape, but the middle just won’t “take”. Core samples were taken and the soil is fine. Dave gave Tim a list of written directions that could be done for Moriarty Field that were suggested to him, and Tim will review.
Tim contacted three companies to come out and look at the sprinkler system at Moriarty Field. He has hired Willow Farm Landscaping in Ware. They will charge $150 to winterize the system, $55 an hour for maintenance, and $2,350 for everything. There will be no charge to come out, and the total cost for everything will be around $3,000, which would include any parts that need to be replaced. Tim expects to have everything repaired and winterized this year, so the system will be up and running for the spring. Dave made a motion to go ahead with Willow Farm to repair the sprinkler line and Barry seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
Tim will also ask Willow Farm to diagnose the High School field. Both Rogers Fields have taken a beating so they need to be overseeded. Tim needs fields for lacrosse and spring soccer. The JV field will be used for spring and summer. Rogers needs to rest, especially after this year.
Tim said that the Parks and Rec Department received 25 free basketball coaches’ kits form Dick’s Sporting Goods Community Youth Sports Program. The following was in each kit: two basketballs, coach’s duffel bag, scorebook, dry erase board, whistle and six pennies. Tim has written a thank you letter to Dick’s and has asked for information regarding other programs for different sports.
The Haunted Hay Ride at Echo Hill Orchard to benefit the Parks and Rec Department is on Thursday, October 25.
Basketball evaluations start on Monday, October 22.
Tim has received his CORI recertification. Steve and Tim are authorized to look at the CORI’s. Jeannie needs to be certified to enter them in the computer. Tim and Jeannie are going to a CORI training class in December in Chelsea, MA.
The Parks and Rec Department has started a weekly e-mail notice that goes out each Wednesday. The e-mail currently goes out to 146 recipients, the Commissioners and the Selectmen, and includes reminders and announcements of upcoming events. Dave mentioned that he wanted better communication from the Department and this would be one way to accomplish that. There has been positive feedback regarding the weekly notices. One recipient suggested that we BCC the group of recipients so that none of their e-mail addresses appear in the e-mail. It was agreed that this was a good suggestion and it has been implemented already.
There was discussion on what would be necessary for the Parks and Rec Department to maintain the school grounds. Tim thought it would take approximately 40 hours a week to maintain the grounds for the four schools, and he would need employees (working not more than 19 hours per week) from April to around Thanksgiving.
The Quarry Hill pool was discussed and Dave was suggesting that we try to solicit Palmer to use the pool to generate some money. Palmer’s pool was not in working order for a short time, but is believed to be operable now. Tim will contact Liz Manley to see if she has the contact for the Palmer swimming program.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 14, at 6:30 p.m.
Barry made a motion to close the meeting at 7:57 p.m., and Dave 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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