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Town Woods Committee Minutes 02/01/06
Minutes of the February 1, 2006 Town Woods Committee meeting.

Present: Don Bugbee, Bob Dunn, Glynn McAraw, Phil Neaton, Jason Thornton

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm.

Bob Dunn provided the agenda for this initial meeting of the Town Woods Committee.

Bob Dunn indicated that the Selectmen of Old Lyme and Lyme, Tim Griswold and Bill Koch, respectively, had previously designated the following people as the representative committee members for both Towns.
Bob Dunn, Committee Chairman
Phil Neaton, Committee Vice Chairman
Glynn McAraw, Chairperson of Old Lyme Parks and Recreation
Don Bugbee, Director of Old Lyme Parks and Recreation, Committee Secretary
Jason Thornton, Director of Lyme Parks and Recreation

Bob Dunn initiated discussions about the Committee’s general responsibilities. An overview, of these responsibilities, is as follows in items 1-5.

1. Responsible to generally oversee the operation of the Park and identify any issues or improvements needed by working with the Parks and Recreation Directors and Commissions, Clubs, Organizations or Citizens of the communities of Lyme and Old Lyme.
2. When issues and/or improvements are identified, the Commission will make fiscally responsible recommendations, which will include associated costs for labor and materials. The Committee Chairman will make these recommendations in writing and submit them to the Old Lyme Parks and Recreation Commission for review and approval. The requests will then be submitted to the Old Lyme Financial Department.
3. Funding for approved requests will be drawn from the Town Woods Fund, which currently has approximately $30,000. These funds were raised previously during the Town Woods Park fundraising efforts.
4. Review future landscaping and operating budgets. These budgets were previously reviewed and managed by the Town Woods park Building Committee.
5. The Committee will meet as needs arise. Notifications of any meetings will be made by e-mail and/or telephone.

Bob Dunn indicated that any requests from Clubs, Organizations or Citizens for scheduling or additional work/costs shall be submitted to the Old Lyme Parks and Recreation Director.

Bob Dunn indicated that the Towns would be responsible for the costs of lining the fields at the Park for Soccer during the Fall season and for Lacrosse during the Spring season.  Any requests to line the fields out of season, pending approval, would be the fiscal  responsibility of the organization requesting the use of the fields. The lining would be done by the contracted company doing the grounds work at the Park. The Committee unanimously agreed with this policy.

Bob Dunn indicated that he would draft a letter detailing this situation and send the letter to the Lyme/Old Lyme Soccer and Lacrosse Clubs. Don Bugbee stated that this letter should also be sent to the District 18 Athletic Director. Don Bugbee also stated the letter should include a copy of the Field Usage Policy along with some general information about the Park. This information could be passed on to not only the local Club members, but to the Club Members from other towns who will be playing scheduled games at the Park. This information would include items such as the general rules of the Park and the Concession Stand operation. The Committee agreed.

Phil Neaton provided an update of recent concerns brought forth by the Towns Pesticide Awareness Committee. In general, the committee is examining health information about the effects of pesticide applications on playing fields. Phil Neaton is a member of the Pesticide Awareness committee, as well. He indicated that some committee members have suggested that only organic materials be placed on the fields at Town Woods. General discussions, between the Town Woods Committee members, ensued about this topic concerning applications/effectiveness of products and associated costs.  Phil Neaton provided his professional information about the subject and also indicated that there could be a 75-80% increase in cost by using organic materials. It was suggested by Bob Dunn that all of the information and concerns should be continued to be shared with the Selectmen of Lyme and Old Lyme, the Parks and Recreation Commissions and the Committees. No decisions have been made at this time.     
 
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Don Bugbee  February 2, 2006