Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Present: Steve Slozak, Barry Cady and Steve O’Shea
Also Present: Timothy Pascale, Director; Jeanne Guertin, Secretary
Steve Slozak called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
Barry made a motion to accept the minutes from the March 20 and April 17 meetings. Steve Slozak seconded and all in favor.
Tim had sent a letter to Maureen O’Sullivan, Chairperson of the Finance Committee. Copies of the letter were distributed to the Commissioners. Tim had requested that approximately $9,000 be moved from Expenses into Salaries. Tim’s rationale is that he will not need to purchase materials, such as paint, fertilizer, etc., if there is no employee present to use them. He thinks the Parks and Rec Department would benefit more by having the $9,000 used towards salaries. He is still requesting the same amount of money, but is requesting to move it from Expenses to Salaries.
There was some feeling from members of the Finance Committee that if Tim is able to move the money out of expenses, that perhaps he did not need that amount at all. The Finance Committee had requested to meet with Tim on Monday, May 12, prior to the Town Meeting to ask him more questions. Tim had plans to be out of town on May 12 and sent the letter to explain why he wanted to move the money. The letter has been forwarded to all the members of the Finance Committee, and Tim had not heard from anyone yet. Steve Slozak said that he would be at the Town Meeting in case there were any questions regarding the Parks and Rec budget.
The budget was further discussed, and anything in Salaries is able to be moved around without going to Town Meeting. There was a $13,600 decrease from what Tim originally asked for. There was discussion about how Parks and Rec can compensate for this. Most grants won’t pay for labor, but they will pay for physical things. It is also easier to ask for donations (from business, etc.) for materials than to ask for labor.
The Commissioners reviewed a cost analysis of the Baseball/Softball program, which Tim had prepared and distributed. The cost analysis showed the breakdown of each team, what it cost per player compared to how much was spent per player by the Parks and Rec. For example, for 10/12 Tri Town, it cost $65 per player vs. $90 spent per player. Baseball expenses include tee shirts, hats, socks, balls, ice packs, and first aid kits. There was a lot of money spent on Tri Town bats this year. The cost analysis included Tim’s proposed increase in fees for next year.
There were a lot of sponsors this year, but with the cost of putting the sponsor’s name on the shirts and the plaques that the sponsor receives, the Parks and Rec makes about $15 per team. It costs $2.75 to put the sponsor’s name on the shirt. The current cost of sponsoring a team is $90, which just increased by $10 last year. There was discussion that the Parks and Rec should further increase the sponsor fee, and it was felt that most businesses would not be discouraged by a larger fee. Embroidering the business name of a sponsor on the back of the hats was discussed. The Commission will look at raising the sponsor fee for 2010.
Gold Star soccer is having a soccer camp this summer at Monson Developmental Center. This camp will not be on the same dates as the Junior Soccer Clinic or Five Star Soccer Clinic. There is nothing Parks and Rec can do to stop the Gold Star soccer camp, which is a day camp and costs $195 a week to attend. Junior Clinic has had 90-110 participants in the past, and Five Star has had in the 20’s or 30’s for numbers. It was felt that the Gold Star soccer camp will not greatly affect registrations for the Junior Soccer or Five Star Clinics.
The Baseball/Softball season was discussed. The teams are up and running. The baseball and softball fields are in good shape. This year Tim has a “make up board” to help keep track of dates for make up games. With the amount of rain we’ve had and the large number of teams there are this year, it’s been a challenge to schedule make up games. There are 426 kids participating in the program this year.
A player on a 10/12 Tri Town team broke his ankle and has required surgery. An accident report was filled out for this injury and is on file.
T-Ball started on May 3; however, some teams did not start because the coaches cancelled due to weather. Pitching machine games will start on Friday, May 9. Tim is thinking about next year, and having more instruction for catchers. The kids should start receiving the ball at the Pitching Machine level, so they are more prepared for 9/10 and have some experience with catching.
Also, Tim would like to have try outs for baseball start in the fall. The Commissioners thought this was a good idea. August 27 and 28 are possible dates for this. (August 25 is the first day of school.)
There is a fence post by the bench that is broken at Upper Rogers field. Tim has had this post replaced a few times, and it keeps getting broken because the kids keep swinging on it. Tim has another post that he will use to replace the broken one.
Summer Theatre was discussed. Tim was interviewed by a Springfield Republican reporter, and there was an article in the paper that appealed to people to send donations to support Summer Theatre. There have been four donations received so far totaling $425. Also, the Selectmen have voted to give the Summer Theatre $500 from their Gifts to the Town account. Tess Pelisser has met with the Rotary to ask their support. They will vote at their next meeting on if and how much they will donate. Tess also talked to the Lions Club, and Tim has applied to Wal-Mart for a grant. There has also been discussion about a user fee for each child to participate. Tim has suggested $50, and Tess has suggested $20. Ticket prices will be increased to $9 from $8. How much we
charge for a ticket dictates how much we pay for royalties.
Having a batting cage at Summerfest was discussed. This was done last year and Steve O’Shea didn’t think there was enough foot traffic at Veterans Field during Summerfest to have this again. He would rather have a radar gun on Main Street measuring baseball pitches and sell popcorn and water.
Tim is looking into using money from his revolving fund to purchase a shed. A new shed is very much needed due to the lack of storage space for recreation equipment and uniforms. He has requested quotes from Shedworks, Hometown Structures and Skip’s. Steve O’Shea had contacted Kloter Farm but felt there were much too expensive. This new shed would replace the three old green metal sheds that are currently located next to the Parks and Rec building. The shed would be put behind the Parks and Rec building, and would be used to store not only equipment and uniforms, but possibly mowers. It was also felt that equipment could be more easily inventoried if it could all be stored in one shed. Steve O’Shea discussed that the Parks and Rec should inventory all
equipment when it goes out to coaches to keep track of what goes out, and to further ensure that it comes back to Parks and Rec at the end of the season.
The three old green metal sheds would be moved to: behind the backstop at Cushman Field; by the SaniCan at Upper Rogers Field; and at Lower Rogers Field. There was discussion of where exactly the green shed should be located at Lower Rogers Field, and Tim will look at the area to see what the best location would be that is level and not in the way of parked cars. Having these three sheds at these locations will be a great convenience to coaches since the equipment will be easier to access.
There is a basketball hoop behind the Town Office Building that is leaning and should be fixed. Kids are dunking the ball and hanging on to the hoop which is causing the problem. The Commission felt that this is a safety issue that should be addressed. The best time to fix the hoop might be in the fall when it wasn’t being used as much. However, they will have to keep an eye on it, and if the problem gets any worse, it may have to be fixed sooner.
Steve O’Shea brought up having paid advertisements on fences. He e-mailed the Planning Board and there was no response. He will call to follow up on his e-mail.
The dugouts at Cushman were discussed. Kids had vandalized the roof and ripped off the shingles. Steve O’Shea said he would try to get volunteers to repair the roof. Tim has roofing paper and shingles. When Steve O’Shea lets Tim know he has volunteers, Tim will get the material ready for repair.
Tim has been approached by employees and townspeople asking him to post signs saying “No Dogs” at Veterans Field. Most people will pick up after their dogs, but some do not, and as a result there is dog waste all over. This is not only bad for children playing on the field, but is an inconvenience when mowing the fields. There is a parent group concerned not only by the dog waste, but also some children are afraid of dogs. Not all people leash their dogs. There should be signs posted that state there are no dogs allowed on the playground or the playing fields. It was agreed that Tim will put up signs and if anyone is not in compliance, the dog officer will be called. The signs will be put up by the playground, by the gate near the bridge, and going out to the
playing fields.
Another issue that was brought up by parents is requesting a “No Smoking” sign at the playground. While the Parks and Rec could possibly erect a “Please Refrain from Smoking” sign, the Commission felt that this was a Board of Health issue. The Parks and Rec control the fields, but have no authority over telling people they are not allowed to smoke in a public place.
Tim told the Commission that the person that has been the Director of Summer Fun Week no longer wants this position. He has someone that he would like to fill that position, which is his wife, Michele. Michele Pascale has been with the program from the beginning, she knows its “ins and outs”, and the kids love her. Michele has been a paid employee with the Parks and Rec in other various positions, besides being involved with Summer Fun Week. Tim wanted to have the Commission approve the hiring of Michele Pascale as the Summer Fun Week Director, given that Michele is his wife. The Cheering Clinic will not be taking place this year due to the vacation schedule of the Clinic Director. Because Tim has to pay $280 per week for the summer use of the Granite Valley Middle
School anyway, he would like to have the Summer Fun Week occur for three weeks, instead of two weeks as in previous years. The third week would be replacing the Cheering Clinic that will not occur this year. Steve Slozak made a motion that Michele Pascale be hired as the Summer Fun Week Director, and Steve O’Shea seconded. All in favor and the motion passed. Kevin Murphy has agreed to be Assistant Director. The Assistant Director is someone that acts as counselor, but also can keep things running smoothly and help the Director with problems.
Soon the Department will start looking at fall soccer. The flyers need to be distributed to students before the end of the school year.
Two college students, Kevin Murphy and Adam Franke, will start working in the next week and a half.
The next Parks and Recreation meeting will be on Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at 6:00 p.m.
Steve made a motion to close the meeting at 8:04 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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