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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-09-20 Recreation Committee Minutese�' orxe„o Town of Reading e Meeting Minutes RECEIVED ow.a (0 TOWN CLERK Board - Committee - Commission - council: READING, MASS. Recreation Committee 101b DEC -1 P I* 391 Date: 2016-09-20 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Pleasant Street Senior Center Location: Great Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: Monthly Meeting Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Kate Kaminer, Emily Sisson, Frank Driscoll, Dan Foley, Rich Hand, Gill Congdon, Adam Chase, Lori Russo, Jeanne Borawski Members - Not Present: Mary Ellen Stolecki Others Present: John Feudo, Genevieve Fiorente, Chief Segalla, Deputy Chief Clarke, Bill Dalton (91 Pearl St), Debbie Dalton (91 Pearl St), Lee Blanchette (126 Belmont St), tarry Gilson (70 Pearl St), Mark Veits (Director of Maintenance at Residences at Pearl, 75 Pearl St), Peter Coumounduros (Reading United Soccer) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Genevieve Fiorente Topics of Discussion: A. Chase opens the meeting at 7:05pm. J. Feudo hands out copies of meeting minutes and Agenda to committee. J. Feudo says that he has invited different groups in to discuss the parking on Pearl Street. J. Feudo gives the background on the parking down there and the restrictions that have been put in place since late spring at a Board of Selectmen meeting. J. Feudo states that at that meeting the Board of Selectmen asked the Recreation Committee to assess the situation of parking at the field and come up with a recommendation. J. Feudo also makes an acknowledgement of other disturbances on the field such as trash and bathroom issues and states that he is open to all remedies in regards to any issues organizations, neighbors, committee, etc. may have. Feudo says he would like to go around the room and focus on the parking restrictions. He asks the neighbors to first comment on the parking restrictions that are now being enforced on Pearl Street. Bill Dalton of 91 Pearl Street makes a comment that the new parking restrictions are working out very well. B. Dalton talks about past issues with the curve on the street and the congestion it had caused. He states that it was extremely dangerous. B. Dalton states that it is a good solution to have the cars be redirected to park on Belmont Street since cars can be parked on both sides and you can still have two lanes of traffic coming and going. F. Driscoll asks if there are signs up now redirecting cars to a specific street. J. Feudo says no, and that is what the committee needs to decide tonight. J. Borawski asks if there are sidewalks on both sides of the street to safely get you to the park. B. Dalton says yes and J. Feudo looks it up on map that is projected and verifies that this is true. Page 1 1 Lee Blanchette who is a resident on Belmont Street asks how many cars are anticipated at each game and how many games are scheduled to help with the traffic Flow. J. Feudo says that games are staggered by about a half hour roughly. Peter Coumounduros comments that each game there are roughly about 15-16 vehicles. Mark Veits, Director of Maintenance at Residences at Pearl Street, answers that he has noticed spots in the parking lot also being open during game times. L. Blanchette suggests telling people to carpool and first use the lot then direct them to use Belmont Street as a last resort. He also adds that he thinks the soccer field is great and loves seeing activity there. M. Veits says that since he has been working there, the parking has not been an Issue. He says that at times the LaPierre Dance School also has designated spots but overall he had not and does not see any huge problem. He mentions that he thinks staggering the games is a great idea. F. Driscoll asks Chief Segalla if there have been any problems or complaints since the parking has changes. Chief Segalla answers that no, and that he concurs with B. Dalton that the parking restrictions are working out well. He says he likes the idea of potentially having a sign that would say "park on adjacent streets" and not specify just Belmont Street or any other street. He adds that if there are any problems to not hesitate to call. F. Driscoll makes a motion to keep the parking restrictions as is and make no further recommendation. J. Borawski seconds. A. Chase asks for discussion. L.Gilson, resident at 70 Pearl Street, says that he does not feel like he has seen the volume of cars that he has seen in the past and asks when the signs were put up. Chief Segalla says that the signs went up around the end of May. 1. Feudo says that currently Reading United Soccer only plays about 4 staggered games down there. P. Coumounduros adds that the volume of cars has depreciated since they have created a new in town league for kids. He says that since the creation of the new league, the travel teams that play at Longwood Field have been cut in half and the in-town league players play at Coolidge now. L. Gilson suggests telling people to carpool and to also leave room at the end of driveways so people can safely back out. P. Coumounduros answers that that message can be relayed to teams. R. Hand suggests also letting the teams know about the port-a-potty. P. Coumounduros asks J. Feudo if Longwood Field can have a standard park rules and regulations sign placed down there. J. Feudo answers yes. The committee takes a vote to keep parking restrictions the same. The committee votes 7- 0. F. Driscoll comments on past issues with complaints from the neighbors and says that he feels they should be contacting the police directly first and not J. Feudo or the Recreation Division. He adds that after speaking with police on issues the police can inform 1. Feudo if necessary. L. Blanchette says that he sees the only big problem as parking and that his been mitigated. J. Feudo says he has no problem taking calls. He states that he would like everyone to be happy and would like to find a balance. P. Coumounduros says that RUSC is one of the largest organizations and completely volunteer based. He goes on to say that the main goal is to keep the kids doing something positive. He says that the organization has spent up to $30,000 with maintenance on the field. He states that he is aware that problems can occur and have made adjustments to alleviate problems such as the port-a-potty. Page 1 2 D. Foley states that there were problems in the past that were discussed and addressed. He says that currently the users appear to be adhering and doing the best they can. He goes on to mention that since things are going well now to continue in a positive direction, enjoy the park, and monitor. L. Russo adds that with RUSC communicating about carpooling, port -a - potty, and parking that the situation should be all set. J. Borawski comments that she is impressed with all parties' communication on the issues and is happy that everyone can work together. G. Fiorente gives a Recreation update. She states that fall programming has started and that Flag Football has 735 participants. She mentions to the committee that October will be a busy month with the Downtown Trick or Treat, Halloween Parade, and Travel Basketball Tryouts. She adds that the Rec is now running golf again and it has filled up with 16 participants. J. Feudo and R. Hand state that they will have a concrete update of the Birch Meadow Master Plan next meeting. J. Borawski makes a motion to approve the minutes. K. Kaminer seconds. Committee votes 6-0-1. D. Foley makes a motion to adjourn at 8:15pm. K. Kammer seconds. All committee members are in favor 7-0. Page 13