Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Present: Steve Slozak, Barry Cady and Dave Braskie
Also Present: Timothy Pascale, Director; Jeanne Guertin, Secretary
Steve Slozak called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.
Barry made a motion to accept the minutes from the February 20 meeting. Dave seconded and all in favor.
Steve attended the Community Preservation Act Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 18. Steve will look at the Open Space and Recreation Plan from 2005 and write up something as one of our goals for the CPA funds. The trails at Rogers Field were discussed. According to CPA policy, you could not “rebuild” or “maintain”, but building something new is okay, and dredging is allowed through CPA funding. A new baseball field is also a possibility.
Tim expressed concern over just how much the Parks and Rec Department will be able to accomplish with just himself and Mike Arbour working. With the proposed budget for the upcoming year, Steve Gordon’s 30-hour position is being cut. The Parks and Rec currently maintain the high school fields, but there is a question if the Department will still be able to do this next year.
The School Department gives the Parks and Rec $33,000 to maintain their fields. $10,000 of this is for labor; $10,000 is for supplies; and $13,000 goes towards Tim’s and Mike’s salary (that portion of their salary is charged to the School).
It may be suggested to the School Department for them to keep the $33,000 in order for the School to maintain their own fields, since there’s uncertainty if the Parks and Rec Department (Tim and Mike) will be able to do this next year.
The electricity bill for Quarry Hill School is $78,000, which includes electricity for the pool, and there’s a question on what percentage of that is for the pool. Buying a pool cover would save a lot of money. Palmer has an automatic pool cover which costs $30,000, but doesn’t work half the time.
The Town has agreed to purchase a new dehumidifier for the pool, but not until the new fiscal year (July 2008). The School Department wants to close the pool right now.
The School Committee has recently voted to shut down the schools for the summer to save $25,000. This would mean the elimination of the Parks and Rec’s summer programs and Summer Theatre.
The Parks and Rec Commission will have to decide what they want done considering the budget constraints we have.
Tim is meeting with Kathleen Norbut, Mike Kane and Liz Manley on Monday, March 24, to discuss the pool.
The Water Department now pays the Parks and Rec to maintain the property around their tanks, wells, etc. Parks and Rec may have to give that responsibility back to the Water Department given the fact that they won’t have the personnel to do this.
Dave asked about the recent trouble that took place at a basketball game in East Longmeadow. Their was a play off game in Belchertown involving one of the Monson Rec high school boys’ team and an East Longmeadow team. Trouble erupted in the stands and turned into a “free for all” with bloody noses and thrown punches. East Longmeadow said that Monson started it, and Monson claimed that East Longmeadow started it. The referees forfeited the game and gave the game to Monson. No charges are expected to be brought against anyone. One of the parents videotaped the game and the police have it.
There are problems each year with these rec teams (high school boys). Next year the gym may be opened for one night so the kids can play once a week, but they will not be traveling out of town to play basketball. This will also save some money.
Dave asked about the sprinkler system at Moriarty Field. Tim contacted the company that repaired it, Willow Farm Landscaping, and the owner said the work was guaranteed. They will make sure everything is working right.
Cushman Field was discussed, and having volunteers set up the posts for a soccer field. Cushman won’t be ready until the end of July. There is room at Cushman for two fields, and Dave thinks it is fairly level enough to accommodate this.
Goldstar Soccer Camp had placed an ad in The Journal Register advertising for a soccer camp in Monson this summer. Tim had e-mailed Goldstar stating that there are no plans for such a camp in Monson and he should change his ad to reflect that. The ad is still appearing in The Journal with Monson included.
The next Parks and Recreation meeting will be on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 5:30 p.m.
Steve made a motion to close the meeting at 6:45 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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