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NEWTON RECREATION COMMISSION
DATE: MONDAY September 28, 2015
TIME: 7 PM
LOCATION: 8 Merrimac Road
MEETING
- Call to Order: Chairperson Annie Collyer called the meeting to order at 7 PM.
- In Attendance: Ms. Collyer, Steve St. Cyr, Sue Milner, Selectman Ex-Officio Matt Burrill and Bob Faghan
- Introduction of Guests: Chief Streeter, Sergeant Mike Jewett, Road Agent Mike Pivero, Jaimie Bezanson and Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley
- Approval of Minutes: Mr. Faghan made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Milner, to accept the minutes of September 25, 2015 as written. The motion passed unanimously.
- Trails: Tabled
- Town Beach: Tabled
- Greenie Park: Tabled
- Town Day: The Commission dealt with the facets of Town Day coming on October 3, beginning with the 5K Race. With 12 runners now registered and the normal expectation of 10-12 more on Race Day, plus a 10% attrition, there are likely to be only about 20 participants in the 5K. Ms. Collyer said the timing company FiveKSports advises not cancelling but to hold it with those who wish to take part. At the same time he advises doing manual timing instead of hiring him. He offered to keep the registration open until Wednesday and then to send us 25 race bibs at no charge by FedEx. Mr. Faghan made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Milner, to cancel the race. The motion failed to pass, 2-3, with Mr. Faghan and Mrs. Milner in favor and Mr. St. Cyr, Ms. Collyer and Selectman Burrill voted nay. Mr. Bezanson has offered
to handle the registrations, do a water table at mile 2, and do the manual timing. He will be recruiting 3-4 others to help and will make sure they all send in the Volunteer Application and Volunteer Agreement Forms that the town's insurer recommends. Mr. Pivero will mark out the 1, 2 and 3 mile markers and put up traffic cones. The Chief produced a map of the course for review, and Sergeant Jewett stated that 4-6 adult volunteers are needed along the course. Ms. Collyer said that she and Jim Baker will be there, and Mr. Pivero said he will supply 2 more. Ms. Collyer said there are several youth volunteers for whom she has partial paperwork at this point who can assist adults as well.
- Commission members with the help of Chief Streeter laid out the use of the property for Town Day. There is concern about the weather, with a possibility of severe storms, but it could also be just cloudy. Members agreed that they will hold an emergency email meeting on Thursday to decide what action to take about Fireworks, the Bouncy Obstacle Course and the Extreme Combo. At the suggestion of Mr. Pivero, they will use the Butler Building so that some of the events of Town Day can be moved indoors: the bands, the movie, and shows such as Zoo Creatures, K9 Demo, Historical Society Picture Taking and Empower Demo. Mr. Faghan is still receiving vendor applications, with about 30 complete to date. There are craft and food vendors as well as businesses, and several town and
non-profit organizations. He and Ms. Collyer will lay out the vendor spots on Thursday with a map and spray paint. They will contact all vendors by either phone or email to make sure they know they are responsible to bring their own canopy and table, can arrive between 9:30 and 12:30, and need to remove their booth after 5, prior to the Movie. Mrs. Milner pointed out that the contract for the Extreme Combo requires 2 adult helpers at all times in addition to the one provided by the company. Selectman Burrill will send out a schedule of the time slots where volunteers are needed to all town employees and board and commission members. If there are insufficient volunteers at any given time, the event will have to be shut down. Mr. St. Cyr suggested that the schedule be given to the adult who comes with the Extreme Combo to administer appropriately. Mr. Pivero said that his company Eastern Seaboard will be donating use of a generator to power the
Obstacle Course and Extreme Combo as well as supplying popcorn, cotton candy and soda during the movie, with all proceeds to go to the Recreation Revolving Fund for investment in Town properties at Greenie Park and the Town Beach.
- Mr. Pivero asked about waste management plans. Ms. Wrigley will have Tony bring barrels over from Greenie Park, and Chief Streeter said there is room for disposal in the Police Dumpster. Ms. Collyer will ask some of the youth volunteers who want to help in the morning to come on Sunday morning instead to complete waste cleanup, once their volunteer forms are in.
- Halloween: Tabled
- Announcements: None
- Other Business: None
- Correspondence: None
- Adjournment: Mr. Faghan made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Milner. The motion passed unanimously and Ms. Collyer adjourned the meeting at 8:40 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Annie Collyer, Secretary.
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