Old Lyme Parks and Recreation Commission
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Present: Bob Dunn (Chairman), John Flower (Vice-Chairman), Mary Ellen Garbarino, Missy Garvin, Glynn McAraw, Brendan McKeever
Absent: Tim Gavin, Don Bugbee (Director)
Guests: None
1. CALL TO ORDER
Bob Dunn called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – January 10, 2019
Glynn McAraw moved to accept the minutes of Regular Meeting January 10, 2019 and Missy Garvin seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
John Flower moved and Brendan McKeever seconded to add discussion of the Old Lyme Rowing Association Regatta Schedule under New Business. SO VOTED.
John Flower moved and Missy Garvin seconded to add discussion of Request from Adult Men’s Soccer for use of TWP this Spring and Fall for home games. SO VOTED.
3. DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Don Bugbee
PROGRAMS
Don Bugbee was not able to attend this meeting and had sent his report to members via email.
All information is available on the Town Website under Parks and Recreation.
Adult Basketball is held on Wednesday evenings and will run through June 5, 2019. Sunday Adult Basketball will run into April.
Winter Youth Basketball (grades K-5) will end this week.
Yoga sessions are held at Mile Creek School on Wednesdays. Session two will run from January 23 through March 20 and the third session will run from March 27 through June 5.
Body Back Fitness session 3 to be determined and will be finalized shortly.
Summer Staff is still being hired and Don will provide updates closer to Summer.
Summer Programs are being scheduled and Don will provide update at April meeting.
Facilities are shut down for the winter months.
2019 – 2020 Budget: Don attended the Board of Finance Meeting on Tuesday Feb 26, 2019 to discuss the proposed Parks and Recreation Budget(s). The Board unanimously accepted both the Parks and Recreation and Town Woods Park Budgets. The Capital Budgets will be reviewed later in March.
District 18 Teams Rowing at Hains Park
Don recently met with the District 18 Athletic Director about the upcoming District 18 Spring Season Rowing activities. She provided him with the proposed schedule and Don provided a copy to Bob Dunn for discussion by the P&R Commission. The AD and Don discussed the schedule, the previously proposed topics for Rowing Regattas/Practices provided last year by the P&R Commission and the upcoming construction situations with the bathhouse. This item will be discussed under New Business.
Clubs using the Facilities
Don will be meeting with representatives from Connecticut River Lacrosse Club (Ticks), the Lyme/ Old Lyme Soccer Club and Lyme/Old Lyme Little League shortly to discuss the upcoming season and use of our Facilities.
CIRMA Physical Hazard Assessment: In the near future, Don will be discussing the recently published Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) Physical Hazard Assessment of all Parks and Recreation Facilities with the clubs in Town. Don requested this assessment in conjunction with the Town of Old Lyme Safety Committee, which he is the Chairman. CIRMA is the Town’s Insurance provider, and part of that service is helping us meet our risk management and risk financing needs – a mock OSHA inspection so to speak. Their Representative, who participates on the Safety Committee, and Don toured P&R Facilities and the representative provided “an analysis of physical hazards that can result in employee injuries and to understand how these conditions may result in regulatory compliance citations.” Most of these
findings are of general housekeeping methods in areas used by Little League, the Soccer Club and the Lacrosse Club at Cross Lane Park and Town Woods Park. Areas used by P&R were found in general compliance. Don will use this document to further convince the clubs on how things will be maintained going forward.
Request from Brian Cole: Brian Cole, an Old Lyme resident and member of an Adult Soccer League requested use of the TWP as their home field this Spring and Fall. They play on Sunday mornings only. The Commission will discuss this item under new business.
4. OLD BUSINESS
a. Cross Lane Playground Update
Missy Garvin reported that the path leading from the Cross Lane parking lot to the new playground will be improved to make it ADA acceptable. The handicap parking space will be relocated to be closer to the path. Public Works will do the work as soon as weather permits.
b. Hains Park Bathroom Project Update
Bob Dunn reported that the ZBA passed the plan for the new bathroom at Hains Park. The PRC had sent a memo to the ZBA last month telling them of the support for this project. (The memo from Bob is included at the end of these minutes.)
Phil Parcak reported to Bob Dunn that they are interviewing three people to draw up the design for this project. Once a design is drafted, this will go out to bid for construction. The Committee is hoping that construction will begin this Spring.
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. Meeting Schedule for 2019
Bob Dunn reported that he had spoken to Cathy Frank at Town Hall and there is no rule as to how often a Commission or Board should meet. There was a consensus from PRC members that this Commission will continue to plan on monthly meetings realizing that there may be a month or two where a meeting will have to be cancelled.
b. Old Lyme Rowing Association Regatta Schedule
The Commission reviewed the proposed OLRA Regatta Schedule. Don recently met with the District 18 Athletic Director about the upcoming District 18 Spring Season Rowing activities. She provided him with the proposed schedule and Don provided a copy to Bob Dunn for discussion and approval by the PRC. There are eleven regattas on the schedule and five are requested to be held at Hains Park. Last year the PRC provided the District 18 AD with suggestions for Rowing Regatta and Practices. One item was that no regattas be held on a Saturday after May 1. According to the proposed schedule one regatta is scheduled on Saturday, May 11. The proposed scheduled also is entitled at “Old Lyme 2018 – 19 Boys Spring Crew Schedule.” Commissioners asked if there are other regattas for the girls. (Missy
Garvin later reported that both girls and boys (JV and Varsity) will have regattas on these days.) The PRC would like an estimate of how many participants will be at each regatta. The Park is small and cannot handle too many people. What will be the start times and end times? Rowers are to be off the water by 6:00 PM. District 18 should provide police at these regattas to oversee the traffic issues. District 18 should have a representative (AD or her designate) be present to enforce that the rules for use of the Park at regattas are being followed. Porta Potties must be supplied by District 18. Construction of the new bathroom will be going on at this time too and needs to be considered due to safety, health and liability issues. (Suggestions for Athletic Director for Rowing Regattas and Practices Issues document included in these minutes – July 5, 2018.)
The AD is in total agreement of the suggestions from PRC made in July 2018. The PRC agreed that Bob Dunn will draft a letter to the AD stating that all the suggestions are to be followed this year, and if any of them are not followed, the OLRA may run the risk of losing the privilege to host regattas at the Park. Bob will include the problems of construction during this time. Bob will run the letter by Don Bugbee before sending it to the AD.
Last year the PRC had discussed with Greg Hack (former president) from the OLRA about rotating the practices of the rowers from the Women’s Junior Olympic rowers to include other towns. Bob Dunn will get a status on this request.
c. Adult Men’s Soccer using TWP fields Spring / Fall 2019
Don Bugbee was approached by Brian Cole, a resident and member of an Adult Soccer League, about the use of Town Woods Park as their home field this Spring and in the Fall. There may be another Adult Soccer Group as well requesting the fields. Don informed Brian that the PRC would have questions concerning this, and told him he would get back to him after the March PRC Meeting. Brian Cole indicated there would probably be 4-5 home games in the spring and 4-5 in the fall for each group. They play on Sunday mornings only.
There was a discussion. The Commissioners were concerned about overuse of the fields and were reminded by Bob that the fields were designed and constructed for the youth of the community. One Commissioner stated that his young boys play on the fields, and when they have a late afternoon game, the fields are already in rough condition from all the games played in just a day. Commissioners agreed that adding adult men playing soccer in both the spring and fall into the mix would not be good for the fields. It was mentioned that the back field at the high school is rarely used and this should be considered.
The PRC has the following questions from Brian Cole:
How many players are residents of Lyme or Old Lyme?
Is this request for one year only? Start Date?
Is there one team or two teams?
Does the team(s) carry liability insurance?
Is there flexibility in their schedule as to not interfere with Lax or Soccer Club activity?
Would they share the cost of lining soccer fields with the Soccer Club in the Spring?
Would they share the cost of lining soccer fields with Parks and Rec in the Fall?
Have they looked into using the back field at the high school which is rarely used?
The PRC will re-visit this request when they have answers to the questions.
d. Any Other New Business
There was no other new business.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT – None
Missy Garvin moved, and Brendan McKeever seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 PM.
SO VOTED.
The next meeting of this Commission will be on April 4, at 7:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ellen Garbarino
Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________________
To: Old Lyme Zoning Board of Appeals
From: Old Lyme Parks and Recreation Commission
Date: January 14, 2019
At our last Parks and Recreation meeting on January 10, Phil Parcak, Chair of the Hains Park Bathroom Committee (HPBC) presented an update of the status of the bathroom project at Hains Park.~ This Committee plans to demolish the old bathroom and replace it with a newly constructed facility.~ They desire to move the location of the bathrooms to a location closer to Route 1 that would have a single entrance facing Rogers Lake.~ This building location and entrance would have better visibility from all places in the park (Boathouse, beach, playground, parking lot, etc.) and would be desirable for both public safety, ADA Accessibility, and aesthetic reasons at Hains Park.
The Parks and Recreation Commissioners unanimously agree and support the HPBC proposal to relocate the Hains Park bathrooms to the new location. We hope that the Zoning Board of Appeals will grant the necessary variance to allow this project to proceed.
Sincerely,
Bob Dunn
Chair, Old Lyme Parks and Recreation Commission
___________________________________________________________________
Updated Discussion Topics for Rowing Regattas/Practices at Hains Park – PRC Meeting July 5, 2018
Suggestions for Athletic Director for Rowing Regattas and Practices Issues
Issues to be addressed after 2018 Spring Rowing Season:
- Not all events discussed and agreed to with PRC Director prior to finalizing schedule
- Not all park rules followed: e.g.: parking on grass, usurping of basketball court, trailers left at park.
- Too many (5) Regattas held. Only 4 were on approved schedule.
- Illegal parking at local businesses: Package store, Coffees, Stella’s and at Fire house
- Illegal parking on local roadways: Route 1 and Town Woods Rd
- Too many Regatta participants for small park – over use of water, bathrooms, etc.
- Porta Johns located by public toilets and not removed within 1-2 days of event
- Monopolizing of small 20-spot parking lot during practices and other rowing events
- Leaving cars parked in Parking Lot when occupants not at park, e.g.: parking for “away” Regattas!
- Unapproved Regatta held on weekend during ramp-up of park use during nice weather
- High school practices continue to go beyond 6 PM, in violation of prior agreement with District 18.
Recommendations:
- PRC Director to review scheduling of ALL Regattas and other rowing activities PRIOR to finalizing of schedules, including agreement on:
- Total number of Regattas
- Dates and Times of Regattas
- No weekend Regattas between May 1st and Sept 30th.
- PRC Director and Athletic Director to review number of schools and participants PRIOR to inviting other schools or organizations to participate in Regattas or other rowing events
- Limit total number of schools to 2-3 (depending on size of school rowing program)
- Limit TOTAL # of participants, including coaches, organizers, rowers, & spectators
- District 18 to address parking issues:
- School to provide large signs with ARROWS directing Regatta participants to Town Woods Park for ALL Regatta Parking (except for Coaches and limited organizers, ADA visitors, etc.)
- School to provide “no Regatta parking signs” at local businesses
- School to provide “No Parking Signs” along Route 1 and Town Woods Rd.
- PRC Director requested Athletic Director to provide policeman to be present at the park during regattas, to address parking issues and directing traffic.
- School to provide monitors to ensure no rowers/spectators park in Hains Park Lot during regattas; they should park at Town Woods Park Parking Lot.
- BETWEEN May 1-Sept 30, there should always be at least 5 spots (25%) parking spots available for Old Lyme residents: 9 AM to Sunset – exception during approved regattas.
- No “away” parking at Hains Park. Occupants of all parked cars must remain at Park.
- No parking on the grass, only exception is for trailers only during day of regatta and only located between Boathouse and Route 1
- Bathroom facilities: Earlier bathroom issue addressed by closing of public bathrooms during Regattas and school providing Porta-Johns; However, left near public toilets for weeks at a time.
- Porta-Johns to be removed within 1-2 days of regatta, and/or
Porta-Johns for school events to be located near boathouse, not bathhouse.
- All Rowing activities to stay off basketball court at ALL TIMES, to allow residents to use.
- All High School practices to end (be off the lake) by 6:00 PM.
| 