Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Present: Steve O’Shea (Chairman), Michael Arbour, Peter Beaupre
Also Present: Tim Pascale, Director/Program Coordinator, Jeannie Guertin, Secretary/Clerk; Peter Sauriol (School Committee); Liz Manley (Pool Director) Leslie Duthie and Valerie Beaudoin (Tree Planting Committee); Dan Laroche and Peter Wells (Veterans Park Master Plan); Amanda Beaumier, Chris Hope and Tommy Brisebois (Skate Park)
Steve O’Shea called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m.
Peter Sauriol appeared before the Commission to discuss the latest revision of the Town of Monson Pool Use Agreement. Peter was hoping to have approval from the Commission so he can go forward and bring it to the School Committee for their approval at their June 26 meeting.
There was discussion regarding the $250 amount that must be approved by the Superintendent for any repair which exceeds that figure. Peter Sauriol commented that it was included as a liability issue, and reminded the Commission that this was a draft and, therefore, open to changes. The Commission would like to see this amount changed to $500, since that is consistent with the amount that Tim can spend without their approval. Also, could Tim simply e-mail the Superintendent for expenditures over that amount, instead of a more formal request process?
The “Sponsorship” paragraph was discussed relative to the ongoing issue of why the banners cannot be displayed all the time. There are banners on the high school baseball field that are not removed. If the School Committee’s concern is the content of the banners, there could be a policy put in place that each banner must be approved by School Committee before displaying. It was suggested that the second sentence (stating that “banners must be taken down after the events have been completed”) be deleted. The Commission would like to know the specific reason why they do not wish to have banner displayed at all times.
Peter Sauriol went over the “Grievance Process” and stated that hopefully, we won’t need it, but at least there is a written agreed upon process to follow, if the situation arose. Steve O’Shea requested that the word “terminated” be deleted from the last sentence, resulting in an agreement renegotiation if both parties cannot reach a decision and eliminate the option of an agreement termination.
The alarm call-ins were of a concern to Tim and Liz. When the alarm goes off, there is no distinction if the source is from the pool area or the general school area. The Parks & Rec Department does not want to be billed for these call-ins unless the frequency of the call-ins is “overused or abused.” Peter Sauriol will go to the School Committee at their next meeting on June 26 with the above mentioned changes.
Tim brought up to Peter Sauriol an e-mail he received regarding the storage of summer theatre materials in Granite Valley Middle School. The Fire Chief feels that there is a safety hazard for that area and Tim has been asked to remove those items. There are Greene Room Production materials there, as well, and all those items were just moved from Memorial Hall at the request of the Selectman. Tim will find out what specifically is the issue regarding the manner in which they are stored which poses the fire hazard and let Peter know.
Peter Wells, from the Berkshire Design Group, appeared before the Commission, with designs for the Veterans Park master plan. One design was for Phase I of the project, and the other was the final vision of the Park. Both plans reflected changes requested by the Commission at the May meeting. There is $25,000 that can be spent on Phase I, and it needs to be spent by June 30. There is $50,000 of insurance money for the Skate Park to be rebuilt, but there will have to be other sources of funding for other components of the plan. Leslie Duthie urged the Commission to apply for Community Preservation Act funding as a resource to finish the master plan. There is a specific amount of CPA funds that are earmarked for recreation, and the law has changed that now allows for the upgrade or
improvement of existing facilities.
The parking area for the storage shed is now on either side of the building to allow for more space. Screening will be added to hide equipment in the lot. The renovation of the basketball court will allow for a larger size. It will be resealed and designed in a manner to allow for other sports to be played on it, street hockey, for example. The two soccer fields have been repositioned to be north/south, rather than east/west, in terms of sun angle. The number of trees has been reduced as suggested by the Commission to decrease the amount of maintenance required. Those trees to be planted near the brook will require approval from the Conservation Commission. It is anticipated that trees planted for shade purposes will provide shade within 5-7 years of planting.
Phase I will include the walk way to the playground, exercise stations located throughout the park, the skate park, renovated basketball court, the area surrounding the storage shed, benches and trash receptacles.
It had been suggested at the May meeting that screening be at the exercise station near State Street to protect the user from errant baseballs. Instead the station will be relocated to another location (behind backstop) to avoid that problem. Lori Stacy, Council on Aging Director, will help choose the exercise station equipment.
There was discussion regarding the expense of electricity for the park, especially considering there may be a band shell type structure planned in the future. The location of a musical event may have to be closer to the building structures to eliminate that expense.
There was a major concern that mowers have limited or no access to the park’s grounds as shown in the design. After much discussion, it was agreed that if the basketball court was moved more towards the skate park, the storage area’s lot could be increased to allow for a fence to open onto the grounds for mowers’ access.
Mike Arbour made a motion to accept the plans presented with the corrections made for Phase I and the Master Plan, Peter Beaupre seconded. All in favor and the motion passed.
With Steve Slozak leaving the Commission, a new Parks & Rec representative will be needed to serve on the Community Preservation Committee, which Steve had filled. Peter Beaupre made a motion that Mike Arbour serve on the Community Preservation Committee to replace Steve Slozak. Steve O’Shea seconded the motion; all in favor and the motion passed. The Committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
There is $810 outstanding in basketball registration fees. Certified letters had gone out to those who owed money, and two came back unclaimed. Steve O’Shea made a motion that no one be allowed to play a Parks & Rec sport until all previous balances have been paid in full, and Peter Beaupre seconded. There will be text added to the soccer registration forms stating this. If someone with a previous balance registers and pays for another sport, they will be notified with the suggestion that that money be applied to the outstanding balance. There will also be a notice on the weekly newsletter announcing this new policy. All were in favor and the motion passed.
The Parks & Rec Department is going to run a summer basketball league for high school girls. It will run from July 9 through August 19 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and will be held at Granite Valley Middle School.
The driveway at Rogers Field has been paved. The drainage is done on the upper field. There is grant money to rake the banking so that the area can be mowed. Tim contacted two companies for prices, and Brad Medeiros is going to rake the area for $4,300.
Eve Falk has approached Tim to offer free lessons to boys and girls ages 6-11 as part of a girl scouts award project. She will run tennis lessons June 25 through June 29, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in one hour sessions and teach up to 4 students in each session. On June 29 she is planning a grand reopening at 10:00 a.m. for the tennis courts and would like a commissioner to appear at the grand reopening. Steve O’Shea has offered to be there, and Mike Arbour may be able to be there.
Quarry Hill may be a better venue for Coach Pitch baseball. The field is playable more often than Vets, and the playground at Vets is a distraction for some of the players. Paul Mahoney would like to run instructional baseball throughout the summer as long as kids want to continue to participate. The Monson Baseball Youth Association will purchase two sheds, probably one for Flynt Park and one for Cushman Field.
Tim distributed the report from the National Aquatic Consulting representative that came to Quarry Hill Community School to look at the pool. The Commission will review this and discuss at their next meeting.
Steve O’Shea made a motion to approve the May 7 minutes. Mike Arbour seconded; all in favor and the motion passed.
The next meeting date is Tuesday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve O’Shea made a motion to close the meeting at 9:04 p.m. Mike Arbour seconded; all in favor and the motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannie Guertin
Secretary/Clerk
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