Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Present: Michael Arbour, Barry Cady, and Steve O’Shea
Also Present: Timothy Pascale, Director; Jeannie Guertin, Secretary/Clerk
Steve O’Shea called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. Steve made a motion to accept the October minutes and Barry seconded. All in favor and motion passed.
There was a good turnout at the Special Town Meeting, especially to approve the baseball field project that was proposed by the Community Preservation Committee. The project was overwhelmingly approved with some discussion before the voting. Tim has already ordered the necessary materials to start the project. Hastie Fence has been contacted and they will meet with Tim next week to walk the area, and expect that the fencing will be in place within the next two to three weeks. The only thing left is the infield material. Having nets put up so that the baseballs don’t go into the swamp is a good idea. This would be something that could be provided by funds raised by the Monson Youth Baseball Association.
Soccer season is over and, overall, was successful with very little problems. There was one incident that occurred with a 1st/2nd grade soccer team which was mentioned at last month’s meeting, but no other issues besides that were brought to Tim’s attention. All the goal posts have been taken down.
Regarding the disposition of the buildings and land at the Monson Developmental Center, Steve distributed a copy of an e-mail he sent to Kathleen Norbut of the Monson Developmental Center Reuse Committee. In the e-mail, Steve proposes that: buildings and land between Hospital and Macomber Roads be sold for retail condominium development; the Hillside Café/Auditorium building and open land between Macomber and Upper Palmer Road be gifted to the Town of Monson for recreational and open space; and the land on the right hand side of State Avenue on which buildings must be raised be sold for residential development. Steve also states in the e-mail the difficulty to access the property without direct knowledge of each building.
Steve distributed the newly elected committee members for the Monson Youth Baseball Association. All committee members serve a two-year term. Given the direction the Parks and Recreation Department may be going, Steve would like to have the MYB Committee be more involved with the Recreation Department’s baseball program. For example, if there was a question with the 8/10 rec baseball (coach issue, splitting of teams, etc.), the question would be directed to the MYB Committee member who is designated for the 8/10 age group. This would alleviate some work for the Parks and Rec Department by having MYB Committee members be coordinators for each of the rec baseball’s age groups (T-ball, Coach/Pitch, 8/10, etc.). Registrations and administration would still be done by the Recreation
Department’s office.
Also, a significant advantage is that the MYB would be able to raise money for the Rec Department with raffles, etc. Any profit that is made by MYB fundraising would go back into the Town’s baseball program. Steve wants to introduce this idea with this upcoming baseball season, and proposes that the Monson Basketball Association work towards a similar goal. There are other groups involved with soccer that could do the same for the rec soccer program. Every rec sport in Monson could have a private organization coordinating the programs.
When the Parks and Recreation Commissioners met with the Board of Selectmen, it was discussed that the Selectmen want a Grounds Maintenance Department. Therefore, the Parks and Recreation Commissioners will come up with a future plan for the Parks and Recreation Department that incorporates the Selectmen’s request. Tim has a usage report that the Cemetery Department prepared for the Selectmen. He will use that information to help him prepare detailed information for the Commissioners so a proposal can be submitted to the Board of Selectmen by the end of December. It was agreed that Monson is a unique town and would be difficult to compare what other towns are doing with their Grounds Maintenance/Parks/Recreation organizations. Whatever is proposed will be what works best for
Monson.
Tim announced to the Commissioners that there was a new state Ethics Commission mandate regarding the Conflict of Interest Law, starting with state and municipal Boards, Committees and “important employees”. The above mentioned must receive a copy of the summary of the Conflict of Interest Law for municipal employees, and then take on on-line 25-question test related to that summary. Once the on-line test is completed, a certificate is generated which must be printed and then submitted to the Town Clerk. Each Commissioner received a copy of the summary. The Town Clerk has to receive the certificates by December 28, 2009.
Nine thousand dollars was cut from the Parks and Recreation Department budget. Tim proposes that $7,000 be taken from the secretarial salary, and $2,000 be taken from seasonal help. Monies used for salaries can be moved, and the secretarial salary can be paid from the revolving fund and the pool. Four hours a week of the secretarial salary will be paid for by the pool, and the remainder will come from the revolving fund. In December the Commission should discuss increasing the fees for baseball to include administration fees to help support the secretarial position. The only thing that needs to be purchased for baseball and softball are the balls; otherwise, the equipment is in good shape. Steve made a motion, supporting Tim’s proposal, that $7,000 be taken from the
secretarial salary and $2,000 be taken from the seasonal salaries. Barry seconded Steve’s motion. All in favor, and the motion passed.
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve O’Shea made a motion to adjourn at 8:22 p.m., and Barry seconded. All in favor; meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannie 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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