Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Monday, January 26, 2009
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 7:15 p.m.
Barry made a motion to accept the minutes from the November 19 meeting. Steve O’Shea seconded and all in favor.
Jeannie distributed the Payroll and Bill Signing Schedule for 2009 to the Commissioners. She asked that if a commissioner sees that he will not be available for the date they’re assigned to, they should let her know.
Tim needs to get three quotes to replace the engine in the Exmark mower. He is waiting to hear about upcoming budget cuts before he goes ahead with this.
The State announced a 10% cut in lottery aid, which would mean that Monson would have to cut $140,000. If Parks and Rec were asked to make budget cuts, they would have to be cut from help, since there is not much left that could be cut from expenses. Tim has thought of different scenarios on how to do this if he had to, but is still waiting to hear from the Town what the exact amount of cuts will be. According to the Treasurer’s Office, an employee’s hours can be cut by 33% before they will eligible for unemployment assistance.
Tim will complete applications for two projects to request funding from the Community Preservation Act. One will be for the tennis courts which are in dire need of repair. There was uncertainty if this would be accepted since the tennis courts are an existing facility. An application will also be submitted for the creation of a baseball field, located past Upper Rogers Field.
The electrical power box at Upper Rogers Field is still in need of repair. There was an estimate of $500-600 to fix the box. Before it is repaired, it needs to be determined what specific parts of the box are owned by National Grid.
Two shot clocks were recently purchased that are being paid for with money made from concessions sold during basketball games. One of the shot clocks is not functioning properly and Tim is going to call the manufacturer. He may have to return the clock and have it replaced.
Monson High School is hosting the Suburban Basketball tournament again this year. The general feeling is that Monson does a great job with this tournament. Also, the tournament is a huge boost to concession sales. Usually $1,000-2,000 is made each year from the concession stands at Monson High School and Granite Valley during basketball season.
The fertilizer has been ordered and paid for and should last until the fall.
A letter of application was sent by Steve O’Shea to the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. The Fund is meant more for inner city areas, but the letter was sent regardless, given the chance that Monson may be considered anyway.
Tim has been in conversations with Don Smith regarding the facilities charge for the use of Granite Valley Middle School in the summer. No decisions have been made yet as to what the School Department will charge the Parks and Rec Department for the use of Granite Valley for summer programs, including Summer Theatre. There was hope that the cost would not be as much as last year since the utility usage was less in 2008 than it was in 2007. Also, there is administrative staff now in office space at Granite Valley that wasn’t there last year. Tim is meeting with Don on Wednesday to discuss this.
Steve O’Shea will e-mail Tim information regarding a grant from Liberty Mutual. The registration for this year’s grant starts on February 1.
Steve O’Shea distributed copies of the format used by his employer, Fathers and Sons, for performance evaluations. Each commissioner and Tim will look at the form to possibly use as a model and/or get ideas for a form to use to complete evaluations for Parks and Rec staff.
Steve O’Shea attended Tri-Town baseball meetings recently and Tri-Town is increasing their umpire fees. The 12-14 age group fees are increasing from $40 (last year) to $45.
Monson will have two or three Tri-Town 8-10 B Division teams. They will play each other, as well as teams from Wilbraham and Hampden. Joe Lavoie (of Tri-Town baseball) is aware of this and knows that Monson will not have an A division in this age group this year.
Tim’s PC monitor is not working, and he has hooked up an old monitor from an old PC and is currently using the old monitor.
Since there are no funds to reseed Lower Rogers Field, the Pioneer Valley soccer teams will probably be using that field, leaving the high school JV soccer field for lacrosse. With limited funds Parks and Rec will not be able to paint lines on the high school field, and the lacrosse organization will have to do that. It is very time consuming to paint that field, especially when soccer and lacrosse are using it. Soccer, boys’ lacrosse and girls’ lacrosse all have different line specifications and colors. To properly wash the paint from the machine, warm water at the Parks and Rec shed must be used, and the machine has to be cleaned after each color application.
Under the current budget, it will be a challenge to keep up with mowing, especially with the addition of the school grounds. If all the mowing were to be done by Tim and Steve Gordon, the community service people may be needed to get all the trimming done. The baseball coaches and parents may be asked to help maintain the baseball fields. This can be done, especially with the sheds that are now located at the fields, with rakes, etc., readily available.
The next Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
February 19, at 7:00 p.m. This is with the understanding that the Commission may have to also meet at an earlier date to discuss budget concerns.
Barry made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m., Steve O’Shea seconded, all in favor and the motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeanne Guertin
Secretary/Clerk
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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