Newton Recreation Commission
Minutes
June 10, 2009
1. Call to Order:
Chairman Rick Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm with the following members present: Chairman Rick Bailey, Vice Chairman Deb Holden, Treasurer Nancy Slombo, and Alternate/Secretary Lisa Babcock. Minutes were transcribed and typed by Lisa Babcock.
Bailey appointed Babcock to stand in for the evening.
2. Logo Contest Winner:
Logo contest winner, Kathy Crossman was in attendance. A photo was taken and will be forwarded to the Carriage Towne News. Ms. Crossman will submit the circular design for t-shirts and the wider design with bolder font for letterhead. Ms. Crossman will create letterhead and submit it to the Commission.
3. Summer Programs:
Water Country tickets are $24 (same price as 2008).
Bailey moved to purchase 50 tickets to be paid for out of savings. Second by Holden. Motion carried unanimously.
Holden informed the Commission about the latest additions to the summer programs. Bailey will e-mail information about the tennis program to Holden. He has also contacted Dean Mace about karate but has not heard back yet.
Holden contacted Cinema 95 she will schedule a movie night for the end of July. A mini golf night at Brookstone in Derry will be scheduled for the last week in June.
Swim Director Jon Holden arrived at 8:00 pm.
Additional programs include: CoCo Key Water Park, Mad Science workshops and Surf Lessons in Rye.
Selectmen Bob Donovan arrived at 8:10 pm.
Babcock said that Fairpoint had put all of its summer programs on hold so the outdoor movie night that was proposed is not happening. Brenda Goodell will contact the Commission if anything changes.
Babcock said someone had contacted her about hiring a teen to run the arts and crafts program. Holden said that she felt that there should be a paid position to run all of the summer programs as it is a lot of work. Slombo said a new position such as summer recreation director would probably have to be a warrant article. Bailey said many other towns do that and it is not a bad idea. Donovan said he would bring it up at the Selectmen’s meeting.
Babcock will contact the bookkeeper and/or treasurer on how to access the money for senior programs.
4. Swim Program:
Mr. Holden has interviewed several candidates. He has 6 lifeguards, 1 swim aid and 2 (both aged 20 or above) who are interested in becoming certified as lifeguards. They will be reimbursed for the cost of the course ($325) upon successful completion and employment with the town of Newton.
This will be a total of 8 lifeguards and 1 swim aid (however 1 lifeguard has not signed her contract yet). Several of the guards have other commitments such as college classes so Mr. Holden will use all of the guards to keep the beach covered around everyone’s individual schedule.
Guards will start on June 16th and will work for 10 weeks. Slombo noted that only the guards that worked for the town last year will be allowed to work until the background checks are received.
Bailey moved to approve the contracts for 7 lifeguards and 1 swim aid contingent upon certification for all lifeguards and receipt of satisfactory background checks. Second by Donovan. Motion carried unanimously.
Donovan said the contracts should be approved by the selectmen. Bailey signed the contracts; they will be turned over to the selectmen for approval.
Mr. Holden also turned in signed employee guideline sheets.
Bailey moved to approve the contract for Swim Director Jon Holden for 10 weeks at $515 per week. Second by Donovan. Motion carried 4-0-1 with Deb Holden abstaining.
The Commission then set a date for the emergency response drill. All beach personnel will be expected to attend.
Bailey moved to work in conjunction with the Police Department and Fire Department on an emergency response drill at the Town Beach on June 27th. Second by Holden. Motion carried unanimously.
The Commission then discussed purchasing uniforms for the lifeguards. The following will be purchased: 1 medium and 1 large short (men’s); 3 medium swim suits (women’s); 4 medium t-shirts; and 1 large t-shirt.
Bailey moved to spend up to $325 for uniforms for the lifeguards to be charged to the credit card and paid out of town beach supplies. Second by Slombo. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Dumpster pickup at Greenie Park:
Babcock asked if an additional dumpster pickup (cost $25) could be authorized for the month of June for Greenie Park. Slombo said in the future May and June should be scheduled for 2 pickups each.
Bailey moved to authorize a 2nd dumpster pickup at Greenie Park for June. Second by Donovan. Motion carried unanimously.
Donovan said the chemical toilet needs to be emptied and cleaned. Babcock will contact Triangle.
Donovan will contact the road agent to see if he will have the road crew empty the trash barrels at Greenie Park.
6. Senior Programs:
The Commission determined that the minimum age for senior trips will be 60.
The upcoming trip is Foster’s Down East Clambake in York, ME. The trip will be held in conjunction with Kingston’s trip. Newton will have its own bus. The cost is $30.55 per person with Recreation covering the cost of the bus.
There was some concern about handicap access as the 24 seat bus does not have a wheelchair lift. The Commission will look into special arrangements if the need arises.
Slombo moved to reserve the 24 seat bus for up to $500. Second by Bailey. Motion carried unanimously.
Slombo moved to approve the senior trip to Foster’s Down East Clambake for July 15th for up to 24 people at a cost of $30.55 per person for Newton residents aged 60 or over. Second by Bailey. Motion carried unanimously.
The Commission will discuss the fall trip at the next meeting.
7. Sprinkler at Greenie Park:
Dave Marden had contacted the secretary and said that 4 or 5 sprinkler heads are broken and he needs permission to fix them. The Commission determined that the cost of repairing the sprinkler system is the responsibility of NBSA.
8. NBSA:
The Commission discussed an issue that had been brought to its attention concerning a person who had registered a child for t-ball but, according to the child’s grandparent, he had not been placed on a team because he could not pay for the fundraiser. NBSA had said that a registration form had not been turned in.
Slombo said she thought it was NBSA’s policy to allow everyone to play even if they could not afford it.
Bailey said NBSA is a non-profit with its own management; Recreation is not involved except that NBSA uses the town fields. Bailey said the most that can be done is that Recreation could impose a code of conduct for anyone using the fields.
Donovan said NBSA uses the concession stand and does not pay for the electricity used. Bailey said NBSA does have significant expenses such as insurance. He said that if Recreation charges them for electricity they will just have to pass the cost on to the players.
Holden said that over the past weekend the Girl Scouts held their carnival at Greenie Park. NBSA had scheduled 2 baseball games and tag day for the for the same day even though the park had been reserved by the Girl Scouts months in advance and NBSA had been informed. The conflict only came to light because of a chance encounter between the Girl Scout Service Unit Manager the NBSA president’s wife.
Babcock said that once NBSA president, Gene Pasto was informed of the conflict, he quickly rescheduled one of the baseball games and moved the location for tag day. There were no issues on the day of the carnival.
Bailey said in the future NBSA will have to be reminded that when others request the use of the field, they will have to arrange their schedule accordingly, assuming the request is received in advance.
9. Adjourn:
Bailey called the meeting adjourned at 10:14 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock, Secretary
Newton Recreation Commission
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