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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-11 Recreation Committee MinutesTown of Reading ,,,t , ~ l t 16 Lowell Street TO Reading, MA 01867-269"N" ,2Da S EP 30 W. 31 FAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES February 11, 2009 Coolidge Middle School - Multi- Purpose Room Attendance: Chris Campbell, Rec. Committee Member, Mike DiPietro, Rec. Committee Chairman, Frank Driscoll, Rec. Committee Member, Beth Claroni, School Committee Rep., K. Kaminer, Rec. Committee Member, Adam Chase, Associate Member, John Feudo, Recreation Administrator Public Hearing Guests: Peter Coumounduros Cathy Giles Beth Thornton Nicole Fidas M. DiPietro called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. C. Campbell made a motion to accept the minutes from the December 10th meeting. B. Claroni seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of accepting the minutes for December 10th, 2008 by a vote of 5 - 0- O.bbbbb C-. Campbell made a motion to accept the-minutes from the January 14th-meeting. K.--Kaminer - - seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of accepting the minutes for January 14th, 2009 by a vote of 5 - 0- 0. Payment Policy J. Feudo handed out a draft policy to address issues of collect late fees. F. Driscoll asked if the committee could have more time to look it over and bring comments back to the March meeting. The committee thought that was fine. The issue was table until March. Public Hearing for Killam Field Improvements J. Feudo opened the public hearing with a presentation of the plan that has been developed for Killam Elementary School playground and field. The plan was developed with input from the Killam PTO and Principal along with insight from the President of Reading Youth Baseball. The plan features a new playground area for Pre-K -1St grade students while renovating the current 2nd - 5th grade playground. The play area would also feature an ADA path to each of the play sites as well as the swing area which was renovated last October. The proposal moves the backstop south-westerly toward the parking area by approximately 10 feet and calls for a renovation. The new backstop should have appropriate over hang and safety wings. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES Februarv 11. 2009 Con't One of the major issues the area faces is rain run off from Charles Street to the back parking area over the field. This has had adverse affects on the playing area, particularly the baseball infield. The clay has packed down and small rocks have heaved out of the ground. This will need to be addressed in the future. Discussion ensued amongst the public that were in attendance. The general feedback indicated that families around Killam School were excited about the project. It was noted that playground money is programmed into the Capital Improvement Plan for FY2010 pending Town Meeting approval. Reading Youth Baseball Inc. has also indicated that they are interested in funding the new backstop. C. Campbell made a motion to close the public hearing for Killam Field Improvements. K. Kaminer seconded it. Motion passed in favor of closing the public hearing 5 - 0 - 0. The Recreation Committee had a brief discussion regarding the plan. K. Kaminer made a motion to accept the plan as proposed. C. Campbell seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of accepting the plan for the Killam Field playground and field as proposed by a vote of 5 - 0- 0. Administrators Report J. Feudo stated the field-subcommittee met regarding the concern brought to the Rec. Committee last year regarding equitable field space and the concept of prioritizing fields by season from Reading Youth Lacrosse. The committee concluded, after looking at the various organizations and their population that serving the community as a whole was the goal. Setting a "priority per season" tier system doesn't_get-_the_committee to that-goal. The current_system _is_ equitable based on the number of participants in the comparative age groupings, thus putting both soccer and lacrosse on equal ground in terms of numbers. The sub-committee feels that publics enrollment in these programs should be used indicator as to what the demand is for field space. Given the current economy, the fields sub-committee looked at field fees and recommended keeping them as they are for the time being. However this topic will need to be revisited based after the summer 2009 programming season and each season thereafter to determine if any unforeseen budget issues arise preventing the Rec. budget from meeting its expenses/obligations. The current FYI 0 budget is projected to cover the expenses without an increase infield fees. Any drastic drop in participation could requirethe Recreation Committee to investigate other possible revenue options. J. Feudo went over an updated version of the FY 2009 Revolving fund budget as well as a projected FY 2010. C. Campbell made a motion to adjourn. B. Claroni seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of adjournment 5 - 0 -0. Meeting adjourned at 8:16 PM_ - Respectfully submitted by: