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NEWTON RECREATION COMMISSION
DATE: Monday January 4, 2016
TIME: 7 PM
LOCATION: Town Hall Rear Meeting Room
MEETING MINUTES
- Call to Order: Chairperson Annie Collyer called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM.
- Members in Attendance: Selectman Ex-Officio Matt Burrill, Sue Milner, Bob Faghan, Steve St.. Cyr and Annie Collyer
- Guests: none
- Approval of Minutes of December 7, 2015: Ms. Milner made a motion, seconded by Mr. St. Cyr, to approve the minutes of December 7, 2015 as written. There being no discussion, the motion passed unanimously.
- Senior Holiday Luncheon Review: Ms. Collyer shared an email thanking the Commission for their work:
'Dear Members of the Recreation Department,
My husband and I would like to thank you for the lovely senior luncheon at Romas.~ We truly appreciate your kindness and all of the work that went into making the day a success.
The poinsettas on our table are a beautiful reminder of a wonderful afternoon spent with new and old friends.
Wishing you and yours a wonder Holiday Season.
Sincerely,~
Elaine and Gary Zawacki"
Ms. Collyer stated that she had emailed the Sawacki's back, thanking them for their acknowledgement and telling them that Ms. Milner was mostly responsible for the event. She also noted that Mr. Jim Doggett, Selectman, was a very active and helpful chaperone, helping ladies with their coats and greeting everyone. He has offered to chaperone future Senior Events. Selectman Burrill also attended and enjoyed the luncheon, he said.
- Signage and Security Camera Review: Ms. Collyer said that she has no updates on the security cameras, whether they are activated, yet. Selectman Burrill and Ms. Milner both stated that it would be good to hold a meeting at the police station and view recordings by the cameras to see the quality.
- Warrant Article Review: Mr. St. Cyr presented quotes for renovations at Greenie Park, in line with the goal the Commission set - to enhance safety at town recreational properties.
For the Skate Park at Greenie Park:
Problems:
- The surface area where cracks were filled can get sticky in the heat, with potential for falls.
- Some of the structures are falling apart and some are handmade unauthorized additions. There are 5 structures that the skaters would like to retain, and have the others removed since they impede flow and cause collisions.
- There is a lack of separation between the skate park and the playground areas, resulting in minimally-watched toddlers walking into the skate park, the possibility of skateboards flying into the playground, or the swing set swinging over the skatepark.
Possible solutions:
- Resurface the 50' x 100' skate park with 1" of asphalt : $4700
- Rebuild existing structures in situ: $4500; move to 1/2 to 1/3 of old unused and fenced tennis court area: $15,000
- Moving to the old tennis court would solve Problem 3, and needs further investigation and delineation.
Ms. Milner said that we do not know whether the skaters would enjoy being in the tennis court area as opposed to current location. Ms. Collyer said that it would be good to repurpose either the unused tennis court area or the vacated skate park for toddler and young people biking pathways. In either case, Mr. St. Cyr pointed out that there would still be room for the wall ball use. Mr. Faghan noted that the skate park is heavily used throughout at least 8 months of the year by 100 skaters a month. Selectman Burrill noted that crime rates from bored youth decrease when healthy and interesting activities are available to them.
Selectman Burrill made a motion, seconded by Ms. Milner, that we propose a warrant article to improve safety at the Skate Park at Greenie as follows:
" Greenie Skate Park
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, as proposed by the Recreation Commission, the sum of $15,000 to resurface the Greenie Skate Park. The Commission would like to make these improvements to enhance overall safety at Greenie Park.".
With no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously.
For the Playground at Greenie Park
Problems:
- The fall zones for play equipment are now 3-4" of sand. A safe fall zone with sand would be 24" deep. While covered by insurance, the Commission is not comfortable with fall zones not considered safe for children of the community.
The Commission has looked at alternatives for safe fall zones: engineered wood chip, requiring 9" of depth, and sand, needing 24". Both require removing and then replacing the play equipment.
2. Some of the play equipment is located to close to other structures for safety standards. Removal will permit reconfiguring the layout, as well as adding donated play equipment from the town of Amesbury when they renovated one of their playgrounds.
Possible solutions:
- Removal of equipment: $2500
- Reinstallation of equipment: $2500
- Cost to build 18" retaining wall for sand: $3800; or cost to excavate for 9" of engineered chips: $3000.
- Engineered wood chips for play area: $11,000
Selectman Burrill made a motion, seconded by Mr. Faghan, that we propose a warrant article as follows:
" Greenie Park Playground
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, as proposed by the Recreation Commission, the sum of $19,800 to restructure the equipment and replace the “safe fall zones” in the playground area at Greenie Park. The Commission would like to make these improvements to enhance overall safety at Greenie Park."
The motion passed unanimously.
Newton Olde Home Day
Selectman Burrill made a motion, seconded by Mr. Faghan, that we propose a warrant article as follows:
” Newton Olde Home Day
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, as proposed by the Recreation Commission, the sum of $9,655 for the purpose of sponsoring an Olde Home Day similar to the event held in town on October 3, 2015."
The motion passed unanimously.
Selectman Burrill will check with legalinquiries@lgc.gov for the wording required for the warrant articles and make any needed changes. If substantial changes are needed, the Commission will meet to discuss and approve prior to the submission date of January 12. He will present these proposed warrant articles along with the Senior Warrant article that Nancy Wrigley, Town Administrator, has, that is the same as last year, to the Board of Selectman on January 5, expecting unanimous approval.
Snowtubing Review: Ms. Collyer stated that New England Sports Park in Amesbury has agreed to all that we asked: 100 tickets available at $10 discounted price each, for Newton residents with proof of residency, directly from the facility, without need to go through Town Hall. Ms. Milner asked when they will open, and the website says January 9.
- Other Business: none
- Adjournment: Mr. St. Cyr made a motion, seconded by Mr. Faghan, to adjourn. Passing unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Annie Collyer, Secretary
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