HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-06-04 Recreation Committee Minutes r4�T'A' Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Recreation Committee 2: 26
Date: 2020-06-04 Time: 4:00 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Meeting Room
Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session
Purpose: General Monthly Meeting via Zoom Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Emily Sisson (M), Michael Coltman (M), Kate Kaminer (M), Rich Hand (M),
Mike DiPietro (M)
Members - Not Present:
Erica Gaffen (M), John Parks (M), Pat Sheeran (A)
Others Present:
Genevieve Fiorente - Recreation Administrator and liaison to committee
Shannon Fratto - Recreation Program Coordinator
Carlo Bacci - Select Board Liaison
Kevin Bohmiller - Director of Community Services
Susan Simeola - Senior Administrative Assistant, Recreation
Kevin Vendt - Reading Post
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Genevieve Fiorente, Recreation Administrator
Topics of Discussion:
M. Coltman opens up the meeting at 4:00pm. Each member of committee present
states their name in a roll call.
G. Fiorente gave an update that the new guidelines that came out by the State of
Massachusetts for Summer Camps would not be able to be implemented with the
current format of camp. She goes on to say that the campers would be unable to go
to the pool, participate in large group activities, and also cannot participate in team
sports. She says that what has been advertised and paid for will not be the product
so she and the Recreation team have planned to refund folks their money. She
mentions that her and the Recreation team plan to run smaller programs in groups
of 10 once there is more information available in the coming weeks. She says there
are concrete plans for virtual classes in coding and science that S. Fratto has slated
to start in July.
G. Fiorente then states that in lieu of this, the summer camp seasonal employees
will not have jobs this summer. She mentions that the Town Manager presented her
with an offer to use funding from the Recreation revolving fund to pay the staff a
portion of their summer camp pay since these are difficult times. G. Fiorente said
that she found this offer to be more than generous. G. Fiorente states that the
Town Manager would like to get the Recreation Committee feedback before moving
forward.
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M. Coltman asks if G. Fiorente had reached out to parents on their thoughts on
Summer Camp. G. Fiorente answers that she had sent out a survey to gain
feedback from the summer camp families. She said it was a complete mix of
feedback and that the majority of people commented that they were just taking
things day by day.
K. Bohmiller states that he thinks it is best to inform parents as soon as possible so
they can plan and waiting another two weeks is just delaying the inevitable. K.
Bohmiller states that he thinks the gesture of the Town Manager is very nice.
C. Bacci states that he thinks it is also a nice gesture due to the circumstances and
that it may be late in the game for staff to find other employment.
The committee has a brief discussion. Committee agrees that stipends for seasonal
staff is a nice gesture considering most staff does return year to year. Committee
also agrees on the decision to cancel camp.
E. Sisson makes a motion to recommend that the Recreation Division provides a
stipend to seasonal staff due to the cancellation of summer camp with the
percentage of pay to be determined under the Town Manager's discretion. R. Hand
seconds. Committee does a roll call and all are in favor 5-0.
K. Vendt asks if there needs to be an official vote on Summer Camp. G. Fiorente
states that that is an internal programing decision. The committee agrees on the
cancellation of camp and does not feel a vote is necessary.
Committee agrees to meet again this month to discuss updates in relation to
programming and field permitting for future phases.
E. Sisson makes a motion to adjourn at 5:00pm. M. DiPietro seconds. There is a roll
call from committee members and all are in favor 5-0 to adjourn.
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