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NEWTON RECREATION COMMISSION
DATE: Tuesday October 2, 2013
TIME: 7:00PM
LOCATION: NEWTON TOWN HALL, 2 TOWN HALL ROAD
MEETING MINUTES
- Call to Order: 7:05pm
- In Attendance: Annie Collyer: Chair, Sally Woodman, John Neveux, Marilyn Landry: members, Diane Morin: Secretary
- Introduction of Guests: no guests
- Approval of Minutes: Minutes from September 17, 2013
Woodman motioned to accept the minutes from September 17, 2013 as written. Neveux seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
- Donation of playground equipment: Peter Dearborn from Amesbury Mass has asked the town to take a free merry-go-round that Amesbury Mass is no longer using. A preliminary report from the Property-Liability Trust representative, Kevin Flanagan, was received and reviewed with the BOS. Collyer reported to the BOS, per Kevin Flanagan’s report, that there would not be any additional liability if we accept the merry-go-round. The BOS has accepted the merry-go-round and would like have the commission recommend the donation.
Woodman motioned to recommend the BOS to accept the merry go round. Neveux seconded and the motion passed unanimously
- As part of the inspection done by Kevin Flanagan, the report recommended removing the slide because of the height. If someone were to fall from the top of the slide it could be fatal or cause serious injury. The BOS has also approved the removal of the slide at a cost of $200 to come from the General Building fund. They asked the commission to motion to recommend the removal of the slide.
Collyer motioned to recommend to the BOS the removal of the slide. Neveux seconded and the motion passed unanimously
- Extra keys for padlocks: Woodman had extra keys made for the new padlocks that were purchased for the Town Beach.
Collyer motioned to reimburse Sally Woodman for the purchase of extra keys at a cost of $6.59, the money to come from budget line item Supplies, account number 4520-319. Neveux seconded and the motion passed unanimously
- Neveux asked if the volleyball net should be taken down. Morin will ask Len to see if he can wrap up the net around the one of the post and cover with a trash bag.
- Collyer reviewed her draft letter and survey to residents asking for input, ideas and comments. The commission went through the letter and revised it. Collyer will update the letter with the recommended changes. Morin will inform the BOS that the Recreation Commission will be holding a meeting on November 6, 2013 to gather input from residents. Once the input has been gathered the commission will be able to finalize the budget and present it to the BOS for their approval.
As we develop the budget we need to take into consideration items such as the copier, IT, landline at beach, etc.
- NH Parks & Recreation Association dues: We will not be joining
- 2014-2015 Calendar of Events: tabled
- Update Contact for Water testing: John Neveux will be primary and Diane Morin will be secondary contacts. Morin will update the information.
- Maia Jolicoeur intent letter: A letter from Maia was received by the commission stating that she is resigning as Swim Director. Morin will inform the BOS of the recommendation.
Collyer motioned to recommend to the BOS to accept Maia Jolicoeur’s resignation and to wave the penalty for not fulfilling her third year. Landry seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
- Review: The commission would like to recognize Jessica Brasier for all her hard work in making Town Day a success.
- One idea for next year is to publicize the prizes ahead of time to get more participation for the contests.
- The presence of a DJ was really good and recommended for next year.
- Fall Outing: Hobo RR One couple would like to drive up behind the bus. They would need to pay for 1 ride and 1 meal. Right now Woodman will be the chaperone along with Thayer. Woodman will pick up snacks and water. She will also pick up some DVD’s.
- There’s $1501.53 dollars left in the Senior Warrant article.
- Holiday event: Roma’s can hold 70 people. They will charge us $17.76 for each meal. Poinsettias will be given out as a gift. They will be purchased from Newton Greenhouse at a cost of $3 each. There will be no charge for participants. The event will be held on Wednesday Dec 11, 2013 and will be opened to all Newton residents 60 and older. There is a limit of 70 participants 2 of which will be the chaperones who represent the Recreation Commission.
Collyer motioned to recommend to the BOS the withdrawal of $1455, 70 lunches @ $17.76 and 70 poinsettias @ $3 each, for a Senior holiday luncheon and to give each participant a poinsettias’. The event to be held at Roma’s in Haverhill, Mass on December 11, 2013. The money will come from the Senior Warrant Article. Woodman seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
- Trails: Collyer researched the Recreation Commission’s involvement in maintaining the town trails from previous years. She determined that previous years the commission had money in the budget to mow the Bush farm trail. There are several organizations that are willingly to help clean the trails. Town employees who are certified to run equipment could be utilized to clear the trails. It will need to come out of our budget to pay for their time.
- Greenie Park revitalization:
- Review Greenie Park inspection: Kevin Flanagan from Property-Liability Trust inspected Greenie Park’ playground equipment and skateboard park. We received a brief report and waiting for the full report. The report noted that the amount of sand is 4-5” deep and should be at least 9” deep. Other problems found are the chains and linkages that hold the swings. They should be replaced due to wear and rust. The S-hooks also need to be closed to avoid uses catching their clothing on them. Collyer reported that she informed the BOS about the problems found. The decision by the BOS was to not add more sand at this time and to wait for the full report.
- Park design consultant/s: Tabled till we get the full report.
- Review quote from Bedford Design:
- Review quote from Weston & Sampson:
- Review quote from Natural Playgrounds
- Canobie Lake/ Fisher Cats Ticket sales: Unused Canobie Lake tickets have been returned and used tickets paid for. Collyer still waiting to hear back from Newton Baseball to see if they want the unused Fisher Cats tickets.
- Halloween Fund Raiser: Collyer expressed her opinion that the recreation commission is not really setup for fund raising. The rest of the commission is in agreement.
- Announcements:
- Other Business:
- Correspondence:
- An email was received from Alan French offering to remove the slide at Greenie Park for $0.00. The BOS has already approved the removal to be done by the town’s road crew. Morin will respond to Mr. French thanking him for his offer.
Posted on 10/10/2013: Newton Town Hall and Newton Town Web Site
Respectfully submitted,
Diane M Morin
Secretary
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