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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-14 Recreation Committee MinutesFAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14th Coolidte Middle School Multi-Purpose Room Attendance: Chris Campbell, Rec. Committee Member, B. Winne, Rec. Committee Vice-Chairman, Frank Driscoll, Rec. Committee Member, K. Kaminer, Rec. Committee Member, N. Swain, Rec. Committee Member, B. Claroni, School Committee Rep., Mary Ellen Stolecki, Rec. Committee Member, Eric Hughes, Associate Member, Adam Chase, Associate Member, John Feudo, Recreation Administrator Guests: Bob Hunt, Rick Zaccardo, Evelyn Diorio, Dennis DeBennedetto, Lt. Peter Garchinsky, Tony Torra, Rick Shaffer, Peter Coumounduros, Doug Stevens, Charlie Hardy, Ray Cozzi, Moira McGoldrick, Mike Sheedy. B. Winne called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. C. Campbell made a motion to accept the minutes from the March 16th, 2009 meeting. F. Driscoll seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of accepting the minutes for March 16th, 2009 by a vote of 5 - 0- 0. J. Feudo introduced Susan Simeola to the Recreation Committee. Sue is the new clerk for the Recreation Division. Field Use Policy and Guidelines B. Winne spoke to the committee about the field scheduling process. The process is an evolved policy over the years. Although there is no a formal black and white process, there has been a good sense from the Recreation Committee of how the fields should be allocated. For the most part the Recreation Administrator is operating without of much direct guidance. The committee has given the Rec. Administrator a frame work to work within. We now have a situation in which two organizations (Soccer and Lacrosse) have challenged this process and are asking for some degree of relief. Mary Ellen Stolecki entered the meeting at 7:10 PM. Kate Kaminer entered the meeting at 7:15 PM. B. Winne discussed the roll of the Recreation Committee as it pertained to the discussion later this meeting and possible outcomes. There are three basic possible outcomes. First, the committee could make a decision and give direction to the Rec. Administrator to take action on the decision. Secondly, the committee could take the information under advisement and not take action. Finally, Town of Reading REG-IV D 16 Lowell Street p,~AD G, MASS- Reading, MA 01867-2685 lop SEP 30 p Wy 31 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14th, 2009 Con't the committee could decide to delegate a sub-committee with full authority to look at the issue and make decisions. F. Driscoll brought up the fact that there are more than just the two organizations coming to the meeting that struggle with field space. He stated that these two organizations have the luxury of playing on synthetic fields and virtually never get rained out, whereas in some seasons, softball and baseball organizations can go a week at a time with out playing due to weather conditions. F. Driscoll stated he would like to see other organizations get an opportunity to use the turf fields at least in early April. F. Driscoll asked for the record to note that he takes offence to "The Problem" item as outlined in RUSC's material (attached to record). The committee discussed some of the history between the organizations. J. Feudo referenced the clarifications that were sent to the committee. The current allocation has distributed the fields in virtual split M - F for the "4-Big" fields. The weekend time is not split as Soccer has many more games to be played with 41 teams than Lacrosse 15 teams. The Recreation Committee has delegated the responsibility of field allocation to the Rec. Administrator considering the following factors: • Based on Safety • Based on demand of the public (demand for multi-season) • Based on Seasonality (based on HS Season) • Based on Totality of the program (Number of participants) -J: Feudo-said other-considerations-such -as-size-ofteams-using-the-field,,-ield-appropriateness-( e.- Baseball diamond needed, neighborhood restrictions, size of field etc) also need to be considered. J. Feudo stated what is most frustrating is both organizations know that the rec. committee will not limit growth of an organization; however the organizations continue to grow and expect to have their needs be completely accommodated. J. Feudo speculated on some of the topics that might come up during the discussion and answered questions. Administrator's Report: (item taken out of order) J. Feudo went over the new summer program. Registration Day will be May 2nd at Coolidge Middle School at 10:00 AM. Please contact Jim if you are interested in volunteering. J. Sullivan gave an update regarding Junior League Baseball formerly known as Itty Bitty Baseball. The program now has close to 200 participants. J. Feudo mentioned the tremendous job Jim Sullivan does with the program. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14th, 2009 Con't Town Day will be held on June 20th with Fireworks taking place that same evening. J. Feudo talked about the productive trips to the Elementary Schools to get choices on playground equipment for the new Imagination Station area. Sub-Committee Reports N. Swain reported for RCASA. The group is working on a couple of initiatives. One is establishing a hotline for youth that might be in trouble. The youth group is also working on a grant for tobacco prevention. Field Allocation Process B. Winne gave an overview of how the committee expected the discussion to take place and asked that all questions be directed to the Recreation Committee. He asked that comments be germane to the point. Mike Sheedy introduced himself and members of RUSC in attendance. Mike described youth soccer a spring sport. He said the notion that it is fall sport because the HS plays in the fall is incorrect. The summer and fall have both been designated at recreational seasons vs. spring being competitive. Mike also went over amounts of money RUSC has paid to the town for rental of facilities and fields. Mike said although soccer is growing, he feels the organization has done a good job finding ways to expand their space. Recently, they added an 8 v 8 program to better utilize their field space for Mike contrasted RUSC's use of fields versus Reading Girls Lacrosse's use. He contended that based on the number of players in his organization vs lacrosse the fields are not equitably allocated. Rick Zaccardo introduced the RYLAX board. Rick stated the RYLAX program needed more space overall in the spring time. The program continues to grow and add teams, but there is not enough space to give the teams the two practices they are looking for each week. He attributed this to soccer having outside clubs using valuable field space. He sighted an incident in March in which Lax tried to hold a practice and they ran into a non-Reading soccer group using the field. J. Feudo stated as an aside that from December 1St - March 31 St, the turf fields are rentable as any facility is in Reading through the Facilities Division. This information was in the letter sent to each organization in January. Dennis DeBenedetto stated that resources are scarce and felt the lacrosse program was having a hard time growing because of the lack of space. He correlated that with the growth of soccer. He stated that the organizations are responsible to control their own growth and soccer just continues to grow. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14th, 2009 Con't C. Hardy stated that some of the teams RUSC has are not populated by more than just a few Reading kids. Therefore we are enabling kids from other towns to take valuable space away from our own residents. T. Torra asked, as a taxpayer, who was responsible for putting the lines on Parker and what will happen to them? J Feudo stated the person who put the lines on the field has been addressed and the Recreation Committee will decide what will happen next. Bob Hunt, from Reading Youth Softball, stated he had wished all the organizations could have heard this discussion. He said softball would love to have the opportunity to use these synthetic fields. Instead, softball and baseball have countless rainouts and flooding issues - from the turf 2 field runoff. Bob requested that the Recreation Committee consider allowing all organizations to use the turf field, even if it is just in the early going of spring. B. Winne concluded with a few thoughts. Field scheduling has been an issue for a long time. It is something the Recreation Committee through the Recreation Administrator does their best with. There is no way the Recreation Committee can make a decision that will send both groups home happy. If we remain status quo everyone will be upset, if we make a decision their will be a winner and a loser. Finally, B. Winne thanked everyone for coming. Five minute recess to allow traffic to clear. The Recreation Committee discussed some of the topics that where raised. The issue of who ---------painted-the-lines-on Parker field was-addressed-first. The-lines-where-done-by RUSC.- T-he----- - committee felt it was a form of vandalism even though it was not malicious. J. Feudo stated he did not know the lines were going to be done as soon as there were and permission was not sought. The correct method would have been to contact the Rec. Office and they would have checked on how it should be done. K. Kaminer felt there should be a sanction letter sent to RUSC. She felt RUSC took the liberty of doing things with out permission. F. Driscoll made a motion for RUSC to lose field permits for 3 weeks. K. Kaminer seconded the motion. Motion does not carry by vote of 1 - 6- 0. N. Swain made a motion, if ok with Contractor and Engineers, require RUSC to remove the lines professionally and have them reset professionally at their own expense, with the stipulation that all future lines and layouts be presented to the Recreation Division before hand. F. Driscoll seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of the motion by a vote of 7 - 0 - 0. K. Kaminer made a motion to send RUSC a letter of reprimand for tampering with Parker field. C. Campbell seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of the motion 7 -0 -0. i READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14th, 2009 Con't E. Hughes stated he is willing to help the Recreation Administrator find a couple of companies that can safely remove lines. B. Winne asked the committee if there was any feeling of what they might or could do immediately to fix the allocation situation. A long discussion ensued. C. Campbell made a motion to keep the schedule for 2009 as proposed and unchanged. N. Swain seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of keeping the 2009 field schedule as proposed and unchanged by a vote of 7 - 0 -0. N. Swain made a motion to adjourn. F. Driscoll seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of adjournment by a 7 - 0 - 0 vote. Meeting adjourned at 9:51 PM.