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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-09-10 Recreation Committee MinutesTown of Reading RECEIVED 16 Lowell Street TOE CLERK Reading, MA 01867-268~EADING, MSS. ZON MAY I U A 11: 5 5 FAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 September 10", 2008 Police Community Room Attendance: Nancy Swain, Rec. Committee Vice Chair, Mike DiPietro, Chair, Mary Ann Kozlowski, Rec. Committee Member, Frank Driscoll, Rec. Committee Member, Bernie Winne, Rec. Committee Member, Kate Kaminer, Rec. Committee Member, Mary Ellen Stolecki, Rec. Committee Member, Beth Claroni, School Committee Rep., Eric Hughes, Associate Member, Adam Chase, Associate Member, John Feudo, Recreation Administrator, Jim Sullivan, Recreation Program Coordinator M. DiPietro called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. M. DiPietro asked the Recreation Committee to review the minutes from the July 9th meeting. N. Swain made a motion to accept the minutes as proposed. M. Stolecki seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of accepting the minutes 6-0-0. Mary Ann Kozlowski entered at 7:03 PM. -_-Bernie---W--inne-entered at 7-10-PM - 4 Day Work Week Discussion J. Feudo outlined the concept of a 4-Day work week for Town Hall employees. He explained that a committee has been formed to investigate the possibility of ending the work week on Thursday to help with energy conservation. He also explained his thoughts and the impact he felt it would have on the Recreation Division's operation. A long discussion ensued. M. Stolecki asked if there was any plan to keep track of number of phone calls and walk-in for Fridays. J. Feudo said he would recommend that idea to the committee and would do it for the Recreation Division. One of the central issues would be accessing the Rec Trac data base and Town website if information was needed. Both can only be accessed while in Town Hall currently. The Recreation Committee thought is would be helpful to allow staff access to their desk top at home through a VPN. J. Feudo mentioned that the Town doesn't currently allow for VPN for security reasons. The overall feeling was if the office was closed on a Friday, the public would need to adapt to it and it would be a matter of game planning for the challenges. ~v Capital Improvement Plan t J. Feudo discussed the current plans for capital improvement for the parks and playgrounds. He stated the goal was to renovate all of the old "wood" playground structures and convert them to the READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES 9/10 Con't new Town standard. There are only 4 playgrounds left to convert. To go along with the renovation of the playgrounds, the Town will also attempt to over haul all of the safety surfacing to rubber mulch. It is more costly up front, but only needs to be done once. The Recreation Division recently renovated the playground at Barrows school. The playground opened the day after school began. Washington Park is set to receive funding in FYI 0 pending finance committee and town meeting approval. M. Stolecki exited the meeting at 8:25 PM. Administrator's Report J. Feudo met with a School Department representative regarding the use of facilities and the amount the is paid by the Recreation Division. This was a primary meeting. Subsequent meetings -will include the chairs of the Recreation Committee. J. Feudo went over the final numbers for the summer programs. Overall the summer was very successful. J. Feudo announced that "Fall Registration Day" will be on Saturday, October 4th at Coolidge Middle School at 10:00 AM. He stated he is looking for a few volunteers as if is expected that Wally the Green Monster from the Boston Red Sox will be on hand to greet kids! J. Feudo mentioned that the turf field project at Parker Middle School has begun. They are hoping to be done prior to Thanksgiving. J. Feudo gave an update regarding the tennis courts on Bancroft Ave. Currently the contractor and Town have not reached an agreement. However, the contractor has continued to do work, so it a last minute agreement is reached, the courts could. be finished before the deadline. This work is being completed without the town's approval and at the expense of the contractor. If an agreement is not reached the Town will likely end up in litigation. The Friends of Reading Recreation are planning their annual Ball Hockey tournament. They are proposing to use the tennis courts at Memorial Park this year. Since the courts will be renovated in the next year J. Feudo felt it would be ok. He advised the committee of the event. Sub-Committee Reports N. Swain reported for the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse. She mentioned the government agency that provided the grant for the program will be coming to assess the program and the staff. On October 2nd RCASA will be holding its annual meeting at Parker Middle School. She also mentioned that the very active youth group that has formed have been working on Public Service announcements to air on RCTV. The youth group also attended the Summer camp to do focus groups with kids which was very helpful to the overall research for the RCASA initiative. J. Feudo and N. Swain both reported on the Washington Park Master Planning committee. They stated the committee would be presenting a status report to the Board of Selectmen on the 23rd of September. Some of the concepts that have come up thus far include: • Moving the playground area the other side of Washington Street where there is shade. • Moving the tennis court to the old playground area and eliminating one court. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES 9/10 Con't • Adding a Multi-purpose court. 0 Realigning the field slightly to aid neighbor concerns. • Make the Warren St. entrance ADA compliant. • Removing the Wall on Washington Street and adding sidewalk and angled parking. All of these concepts will be discussed at the neighborhood meeting on September 25th. The committee hopes to get an extension to finish the final report. F. Driscoll made a motion to adjourn. N. Swain seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of adjournment by a vote of 7-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:46 PM. submitted by: JObb AlF