Park and Recreation Commission
Minutes of the Meeting
July 21, 2010
Meeting called to order: 8:05pm.
Commissioners in Attendance: Andy Paterno, George Caye, Dan Rezende, Al Larson, Dave Romejko, Ray Favreau
Also in Attendance: Mayor John Pelkey; John Caldwell, Parks Superintendent; Reminder News reporter Martha Marteney.
Approval of Minutes: No quorum, no official meeting in June
Ray wanted to mention to PARC that the Parks Department and the Recreation Department are now being combined as a true Parks and Recreation Department to be run by Ray Favreau. Ryan Kane will be the Recreation Superintendent and John Caldwell will be the Parks Superintendent John was at the meeting and they are going to start preliminary work on Lawrence Road Park this fall and winter and use town resources to begin clearing the area. In-house work at Lawrence Road Park will be scheduled whenever there is an opportunity or any down time, especially in the winter months. The parking area will be cleared and graveled by the contractor for a staging area for road work being done on Lawrence Road. John is also working on a thatch problem on the new High School Practice Field.
Council Liaison: Mayor John Pelkey: The Town Council would like the No Smoking Ordinance in Town Parks to be altered to give people an “AREA” to be designated for smoking. Ray asked that the statement be changed for no smoking in public parks during youth events only. PARC members agree to the change “for youth events only”. Mayor Pelkey will ask the Town Council for their input on the issue at the next council meeting before finalizing another draft to go back to Council.
Bark Park: The town is looking into putting fencing on the Yario’s property to block the noise. If this is done they would want something signed that this would be the end of any issues with the park.
OSTF: The last meeting was Marcia Banach’s retirement party. There was a presentation to her then the group went out for dinner.
Report of Parks and Recreation Director: Ray thanked us for postponing the meeting to tonight to allow members to go to Jim Snow’s wake. He asked that members approve a motion spending $127.20 on a floral arrangement for the funeral. Motion was made and seconded and passed unanimously. Ray would like PARC members to look over the Town Policy for Park and Facility naming and send him some e-mail suggestions for naming something in town in honor of Jim Snow. Mayor Pelkey suggested that we look at dates (birth date, first day at SW) when we get a final idea in place.
VMP: Having one of the best years due to the hot (no rain) weather. This is the first year with in-house concessions. They have grossed over $12,000 to date. Next year the town will upgrade the back lot ticket booth to be able to house a concession stand behind the ticket booth.
Rye Park Shelter: The final cost for the concession equipment is around $10,000. This will not include the hood and fire suppression system. Ray thinks the cost will be between $2-5,000. PARC already gave the okay to spend that much to complete the project. He hopes to have everything in place for the fall sports programs.
There is a contractor who is spraying Nevers, Rye, and Veterans Parks every other Wednesday this summer for mosquitoes. If people ask what a truck is doing at night in these areas they will spray all over the parks and trails.
TE Tennis Courts: Ray asked if PARC will allow him to try and use a “Facility Prep” line item in the Master Plan to go to Town Council for much needed repairs to the Tennis Courts at TE. What do you think Rob. Should we do it????. PARC members were all for it and hope that once it is repaired that it will be on a yearly maintenance program. He will work on getting quotes to present at the next Town Council meeting.
The Concert program is getting over a 1000 people per event.
The Rec Dept will be holding a “WING DING” event on August 19th at the Rotary Pavilion. There are currently 8 restaurants on board with the Rotary Club offering beer from John Harvard’s as a fund raiser. They will be using the proceeds to help with the proposed purchase of a portable stage that they hope donate to the town.
The Rec. Dept. is working on a new town wide policy on addressing field assignments on all town fields. Ray would like any comments from PARC members. Please send him an e-mail. He will be meeting with the Town Manager and all sports organizations to get the policy up and running.
Pooch Plunge: This event is scheduled for after the pool is closed to the public. It will take place on August 30th from 5-7:30 pm.
Ray noted that due to the hard economic times the Rec. Dept. has provided over $10,000 in Financial Assistance for their recreation programs and services. This is double last year’s amount which was double from the previous year.
SWW&WW: They just received a matching grant from the Town Council for $5,000. This is being used along with over $5,000 from the JWC to purchase and place new bike racks throughout town. Evergreen Walk and Town Center are also looking at purchasing racks. The wheel ways host a bike ride before every concert at Evergreen Walk. All riders are entered in a drawing for a new bike donated by LL Bean. The raffle will be held at the last concert.
Meeting adjourned at 10:15 pm
Next Meeting: 7:30pm September 8, 2010
Respectfully Submitted
George S. Caye
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