Park and Recreation Commission
Minutes of the Meeting
September 14th, 2011
Meeting called to order: 7:30pm.
Commissioners in Attendance: Al Larson, Rob O’Connor, Dan Rezende, Andy Paterna, Katie Graham, Jason Race, George Caye, Craig Zimmerman, and Ray Favreau
Also in Attendance: Mayor John Pelkey
Approval of Minutes: As we did not have a quorum at the July 13 meeting minutes form both the May 11 and June 8, 2011 meetings were reviewed and unanimously approved.
Public Input: None
Report of Council Liaison: John reported that the defective metal siding at the indoor batting facility has been completely replaced and it also has working electricity and lights. They now have to complete the interior walls before hanging the batting cage netting and opening up for use for the winter.
OSTF: No new properties to review at this time. The town had cleared two of the open space properties in anticipation of Storm Irene for storing brush and debris from downed trees and limbs, but as it turned out did not need.
Report of Parks & Rec. Director:
- The TE Tennis courts are completed and the trees were removed from the east side of the courts. People would like to see some sort of shade for between games, possibly covered benches, and Rob asked that the lock be removed on the gate between courts. He also mentioned that the door is too long and cutting a groove into the new base. Ray will look into removing the lock and fixing the swing door.
- Wapping Tennis Courts had 4 of the 6 courts crack repaired and resurfaced. Lighting problems still remain and will have to be addressed in the future.
- Ray distributed a handout of smaller tennis courts to promote youth tennis. He is looking into possibly changing the Rye Street Park courts into 4 youth courts. This will be discussed at a future meeting.
- New Sports Court floor has been installed at the Eli Terry School Gymnasium.
- VMP: The last two days of the season were lost due to Storm Irene. The year was still a success. Looking to add shade structures for next season that could be rented out to parties for the day. Also need to add more picnic tables.
- The new Bobcat purchased by PARC for the town is a big success and had been used to repair water damage to the trails at Nevers Park.
- Ray is still working on a Park and Open Space management plan.
- Town Council has approved the placement of AED’s at all the town parks. They are still working on where to place them for security reasons.
SWW&WW:
- Preconcert rides were a success this summer.
- Bike Racks: Evergreen Walk and Wapping Church are having bike racks installed using the 50/50 plan on the purchase.
- SWW&WW would like the Board of Education to implement the 4th grade Bike Program at the elementary schools in the South Windsor PE 4th Grade curriculum as a permanent yearly program. This year’s program was at Orchard Hill School was a success. It was mentioned that almost 10% of the 4th graders did not know how to ride a bike. This program will not only make riding safer for kids but will be a great health benefit to the children.
- This year’s fall ride will be to get people to ride to Heritage Day on October 1st.
Scantic River Greenway: The 2011 recognition ceremony will be held on Friday October 21st 2011 in Andover. More details to follow.
Election of new officers: Andy Paterna mentioned that he recently retired from teaching at MCC and he and his wife will be traveling more this year. Andy has decided to step down as Chair of PARC. We would all like to thank Andy for all the time and commitment he has put in as Chair of our committee. Andy will stay on as a member of PARC.
The following are the new officers for 2011/12;
- Chair: Al Larson
- Vice Chair: Rob O’Connor
- Secretary: George Caye
Congratulations to all the new officers.
Meeting adjourned at 9:35 pm
Next Meeting: 7:30pm October 12th, 2011
Respectfully Submitted
George S. Caye
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