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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-05 Recreation Committee Minutes O'�N FR�i Town of Reading .� Meeting Minutes E1 '�'D- qR E A D¢y NA Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Recreation Committee 2018`€AR 26 PM.,12: 24 - Date: 2018-03-05 Time: 6:30 PM Building: , Reading.Town.Hall Location; Selectmen Meeting.Room . Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: Monthly Meeting/Public Meeting Session: General Session Attendees: Members.- Present: Dan Foley, Lori Russo, Emily Sisson, Frank Driscoll, Gil Congdon (associate), Kate'Kaminer (associate), Mary Ellen Kil Ion (late,arrival at 7:15pm) Members - Not Present: Jeanne Borawski; Adam Chase, Rich Hand, Mike, DiPietro Others Present: Genevieve Fiorente Recreation Administrator and liaision to committee John Halsey_ member of Board of Selectmen,and liasion to committee Nancy Linn Swain 14 Center Ave Resident Richard Conboy 35 Warren Ave Men's Softball Albie Cail 11 Victoria Ave Reading Softball Little League Bob Hayes 739.Pearl Street Reading Softball Little League Domenic Savino 495 West Street Reading Softball Little League Daniel Martell 16 Longfellow Road Reading Softbaill Little League Caryn Hayes 739 Pearl Street Reading-Softball Little League Kerri Martell 16 Longfellow Road Reading .Softball Little League Liz Wilson 6 Woodland Street Resident Bob Kaminer 37 Warren Ave Resident Alan Beaulieu 153 Belmont St Resident Donna Beaulieu 153 Belmont St Resident Pat Iapicca 75 Tennyson 'Rd Resident David Swyter 98 Harthshorn Ave Resident Eileen Wilkes 10 Governors Drive Reading Softball Little League Jeff Mullen '99 Charles. Street Reading Softball Little League Larry Hurley . 279 Ash.Street Reading Softball Little League Maureen Hurley`279 Ash Street. Reading Softball Little League Mike Naczas 50 Victoria Ave Resident Angela Binda 10 Orchard Park.Drive . Resident Rob Haley 34.Van Norden Rd' Reading Softball Little League Alissa Gallegos 230 Lowell Street Reading Softball Little League Chris Beneke 266 Lowell Street Reading Softball Little League Jamie Maughan (sp) 269 Woburn St Resident John Yurewicz 10 Fairview Ave Resident -Nancy Docktor 371. Pearl St Resident Heather Gagliardi 5 Center Ave Carmen Gagliardi .5 Center Ave Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Genevieve. Fiorente Topics of Discussion:. Page 1 D. Foley opens up meeting at 6:35pm. D. .Foley makes a motion to make Kate Kaminer for a quorum and as.a voting member for the evening. L. Russo second's. K. Kaminer accepts. All in favor-4-0. F. Driscoll makes a motion to approve the February meeting minutes. L. Russo seconds. All in.favor 5-0. D. Foley.states that we are going to start with the public discussion on the potential early start at the 3 Birch Meadow Softball Fields. D. Foley states that all-fields in Reading under Recreation jurisdiction cannot be permitted prior to 12:00pm on Sundays. He goes on say that organizations can be granted one special permit by the Recreation Committee per year. D. Foley says G. Fiorente will make a short presentation on the background information. G. Fiorente introduces herself and asks the committee to also state their names. Each committee member does so. G. Fiorente goes through the power point which gives background information on the topic, the current situation and a list of peer communities who rent and'do not rent prior to 12pm on Sundays. G. Fiorente states that 18 out of 22 peer communities do.rent prior to 12pm on Sundays. She adds that 3 towns did not respond to her inquiry and that only one town, Danvers, did not allow play-prior to 12pm on Sundays. (power point enclosed with additional information). D. Foley.welcomes public discussion at this time. F. Driscoll says that he.wants the public to be aware that this was not a recreation committee topic that they are bringing forward. He goes on to state that the committee is exploring it based on a.petition by outside groups. Below is a list of some of the comments by the public: N. Swain states that she is a former recreation committee member and asks who on the . committee had an affiliation with the RSLL board. L. Russo raises her hand. B. Kaminer asked J. Halsey if he had any affiliation with'the RSLL..He acknowleged he is a member on the board. A.Cail states that it is.important to specify,one of the outside groups as Reading Softball Little League. I Yurewicz asks if committee can agree on that the 3 birch meadow softball fields that are in discussion are not directly in residential areas. D. Foley responds that there are no direct abutters to those fields. I Halsey states that he is here.partially on behalf of his son and daughter-in-law who could not attend. He says thatthey live on-Beaver Rd. and have. had no issues with noise levels and would be fine with an earlier start on the Birch Meadow Softball Fields. I Maughan asked if Recreation board members and selectmen who have conflicts of interest holding both public board positions and RSLL board positions.if they would recuse themselves on voting on this matter. I Halsey said that,if a vote came up specifically related to the RSLL organization to the Board of Selectmen he would recuse himself. A.Beaulieu states that he is a former recreation committee member and asks for a point of clarification in that all organizations, not just youth organizations get one special waiver,for Sunday use. G. Fiorente said correct and added that there are no current adult organizations that play prior to 4pm in the afternoon. She also states.that if it was just a resident who wanted to hold a birthday party prior to 12:00pm on a Sunday, they would also require a special permit by the Recreation Committee so the committee is consistent . across the board with this policy. N. Dockter mentions that she was previously a softball coach in the town and thinks that starting activities prior-to 12pm on Sundays eats away at family time. D. Beaulieu also states that she thinks this would interfere with family time. Page 2 M. Hurley says that she values her family time and thinks that 3 hours of play time at fields on Sunday would not affect it. She-adds that other organizations have activities prior to 12pm.such as hockey and that is the responsibility of individual families that need to find that balance. A. Gallegos states that the recreation committee should look to preserve that small chunk of time on Sunday mornings and that there is too much emphasis on sports. D. Martel says that the new RSLL has doubled since the old league stopped.. D. Martel also states that if they aren't playing softball, they will be participating in another league or activity. L. Hurley,states he is a member of the board of RSLL-and that fields are utilized by Pop. Warner on Sundays. .M. Hurley adds that the space.for softball is so limited and that it seems unfair,to not let-the girls play softball when there are whistles going off for Pop Warner games starting early on Sundays.. G. Fiorente makes a comment that the two turf fields at the High School are not under recreation jurisdiction but by facilities at the school department. B. Hayes states that there is something to be said about all the family time that occurs . while on the fields with grandparents coming to watch and parents coaching children. D. Savino mentions that the RSLL isn't a high pressure league and that if kids cannot show up on a Sunday due to personal reasons, that would be okay. He states that he thinks the expansion of the league is great and brings the town together more. D. Swetyr asks if it is an 8am start request. D. Foley said that no exact times were discussed. D. Swetyr asks about user fees paid.on the fields. D. Foley states that every organization has a user fee. L. Hurley mentions that RMSL did.not want to change their times. G: Fiorente says that she and the recreation chairman, Dan Foley, met with both the organizations and there was . some flexibility and asks D. Foley to comment. D. Foley says that yes, RMSL did give up their first week of play so that RSLL could take that time. He said that RMSL also said they would give up a half hour on.each Sunday.' J. Maughan says that there is a tremendous need for more fields in town and the town and specifically, the Birch Meadow Master Planning subcommittee, should be looking to explore that for the long-term. D. Foley states that there are no options for land to expand on actual,., field space. He goes on to say that there has been an attempt to improve on existing space with the prior lighting proposal at the Birch Meadow Complex and repairing Killam. A.Binda says she currently has no kids playing sports and sympathizes with those who want .this. She states that Sunday mornings are important for family time and that she thinks .that granting Sunday morning time would be a slippery slope. She hopes that-amplified sound would not be allowed and points out that the recreation committee approves every one that comes in. K..Kaminer responds that that is not the case and that they are also frequently modified to be considerate of neighbors: P. Iapicca says that he had played in Men's Softball for 10 years and knows that Pop Warner is"grandfathered in" on Sundays: He indicates he is not for the early start time and feels there needs to be a limit. I Burnham says he has no skin in the game. He states he coached for 6 years in Reading and it is frustrating to him that the boys and men get everything and the girls seems to get the short end of the stick. He adds that the growing league should be accommodated. Page 1 3 N. Swain mentions that the recreation committee should consider redefining the word "resident" in the field rules and regulations. G. Fiorente reminded everyone that this is a public meeting to gain information for the committee and that most leagues struggle for more field space. Other leagues are also growing but field availability has always remained the same: She adds that historically the solution has been that the organizations using the same space have come together along with the Recreation Administrator to come up with an answer. C. Beneke asked G. Fiorente when. the other peer community towns adopted their policies on renting the fields prior to 12:OOpm? G. Fiorente responds that she does not know that information. C. Beneke.added that he did not know if they once had a policy based on religious justifications a long time ago then changed and that it seems we could be being constrained by old laws. G. Fiorente says that she can look into when they adopted these policies if necessary. H. Gagliardi states that she has 3 girls who play sports. She says that she and other working parents work on the weekends so it isn't"rest" time for those people. She points out that Sunday In-Town Basketball League starts prior to 12pm on a Sunday. E. Wilkes states that RSLL is a non-profit organization who has already spent money on maintaining fields.and doing projects. She adds that-the organization gives back-to the town when they do not have the money and will continue to do so. A neighbor that abuts the Morton field backstop states he can hear what happens on1he Birch Meadow softball fields. C. Gagliardi"states that if L. Russo has to'recuse herself then F. Driscoll should too given his prior affiliation with the Reading Softball League. He states that he thinks Reading. Men's :Softball should reduce their play by one night a week. J. Mullen asks the committee if they could consider waiving'.for one year and,then revisit. D. Foley states that there seems to be many of the same thoughts"and opinions on both sides and that,he thinks there has been_ a good discussion on the topics. He says currently we need to be respectful of the current policy that is in place and states the committee is going to take a brief 10minutes recess then come back to the conversation. Upon coming back to the meeting; G. Fiorente asks if there will be further discussion on the topic or if the topic is going to be tabled. Committee has a brief conversation and F. Driscoll makes a motion to open the 3 BM Softball.fields on Sunday for the,season'. K. Kaminer seconds., Discussion: F. Driscoll states that he has been involved in youth leagues-for years and does not think they deserve it. He also adds that you can't do it for one and not for the other. M. Killon says regardless of the decision it will be brought to the Board of Selectmen. She recommends hard numbers, G. Fiorente asks for all the leagues? K. Killon says just RSLL numbers. M. 'killon feels that we should get more creative with space. F. Driscoll says he will vote against it. E. Sisson says that the leagues could have changed over the years and that leagues could be playing more practice and games per week due to expectations of the, organization. D. Foley asks why can't we change? L. Russo says there are different variables and asks for each organization. D. Foley says that not all fields are directly abutting neighborhoods. Page 14 K. Kaminer states she will not support F. Driscoll's motion.as it stands'. She asks how did we get here? She requests that the recreation committee grant special waiver requests based on need rather than open up pandoras box. She also states that we should do homework on space really needed by RMSL too. L. Russo recommends,a data driven approach. M. Killon makes motion to open of the 3 Birch Meadow Softball fields on Sundays for the year of 2018 with.a 10:30am start. E. Sisson seconds. E. Sisson says she thinks that it is a good compromise to test the waters to see if it works. Committee,ends discussion and votes on M. Killon's motion 2-3. Motion does not pass. Committee votes on F. Driscoll's initial motion 0 5. Motion does not pass. K. Kaminer asks if it is unreasonable to ask RSLL to limit the play to.younger girls who would not make as much.noise hitting the bat. L. Russo explains.the division breakdowns and.says that it `really depends. K. Kaminer makes a motion to grant RSLL only a special exception of the Sunday policy for the spring season of 2018 with games to begin at 10:30am. E. Sisson seconds and makes a friendly amendment to 10:00am. .L. Russo makes the same motion but amends that the games start at 9:00am. F. Driscoll seconds. K. Kaminer states that the 9,:00am vs 10:00am is a courtesy to the neighbors. Committee votes on L. Russo's motion 3-1-1. Motion passes. G. Fiorente gives a brief update on the division and states that the Recreation Summer magazine.is being.sent out to print soon. She states that the division is extremely busy as always with projects and programs. M. Killon makes a'motion to adjourn at 8:50pm. D. Foley-seconds. 5-0 vote to close the meeting. Page 5 3/21/2018 SUNDAY FIELD USAGE • There is currently' a polio• by the Board of Selectman that states that na play should occur on fields operated by the Recreation Di�ision prior to 12pm on Sundays without a special permit. • Youth organizations are allowed one early start per season.:�fter that one special, they can petition the Recreation Committee another for extenuating circumstances (ie late season starts due to poor weather conditions) 3/21/2018 • Recreation Committee has been approached to explore additional Sunday Fiefd time prior to 12:OOpm at the Birch Meadow Softball Fields.The RSLL&RMSL organizations have indicated their need for more field time.Both organizations have waitlists.They both express concern over the continued growth of their leagues and the limited amount of softball fields in town(4). This topic has been discussed at a prior recreation committee meeting.The Recreation Committee is having this meeting to gain community feedback on the potential early start on the 3 Birch Meadow Softball Fields"ONLY". This meeting is meant to give the.Recreation Committee a better outlook on the topic before recommendations are made. • When and if recommendations are made,the Board of Selectmen hplds any final decisions. The Recreation Committee welcomes friendly opinions on the Sunday early start at BM Fields at the end of this prese - COMMUNITIES WHO ALLOW PLAY SUNDAY BEFORE 12:OOPM ■ Andover Shrewsbury ■ Belmont Stoneham ■ Burlington Tewksbury ■ Canton Wakefield ■ Dedham Walpole ■ Milton Westborough ■ Natick Westford ■ North Andover Wilmington ■ North Reading Winchester tiumc additional fcc�lhacl. from ciunmunitics ��ith Marts prior to 12pm un tiun�l:n. 3/21/2018 there is one field that they do not rent out early on Sundays because it is in a residential neighborhood North Andover Sunday early play is for adult organized sports $tOn�t1a1Ti have a permit restriction that there is no sound before 12pm 1nJinc►.'���t Typically start rentals at 10am on Sundays Below is a list of communities who Sunday play prior to 12:00 PM. -Recreation Department policy that they do not rent prior to 121m on Sundays Peer communities . . . not respond to . • • • • 3/21/2018 PUBLIC FEEDBACK t Thank you for your I>�rticipation: