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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-06-11 Recreation Committee MinutesTown of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867-~Ok"'- t?~ A E S td lttq 14 FAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES . June 11, 2008 -Town Hall Berger Room Attendance: Nancy Swain, Rec. Committee,(' hair', Bernie Winne, Rec. Committee Member, Kate Kaminer, Rec. Committee Member, Chris Campbell, Rec. Committee Member, Mike DiPietro, Rec. Committee Vice Chair, Eric Hughes, Associate Member, Jim Sullivan, Recreation Program Coordinator, John Feudo, Recreation Administrator Guest: Adam Chase, Carl McFadden, Don Bauntz N. Swain called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM. N. Swain asked the Recreation Committee to review the minutes from the previous meeting. B. Winne made a motion to accept the minutes for the May 14th meeting. K. Kaminer seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of accepting the minutes as amended 5-0-0. Re-Organization of the Recreation Committee: C. Campbell nominated M. _DiPictro as the FY09_Chairman,_M.-DiPietro was elected_new Chairman. K. Kaminer nominated B. Winne as the FY09 Vice Chairman. B. Winne was elected Vice- Chairman. The committee recognized Nancy for a job well done as chair over the previous year. Lightening Policy: J. Feudo followed up with the Recreation Committee on the lightening policy that was presented over the winter. He stated he would be sending policy out to organizations over the next week or so. The hold up was waiting for the Town's risk manager to make any final recommendations. K. Kaminer asked that it be required for someone to be the point of contact in a storm situation. J. Feudo said he would ask the leagues to designate an adult to make the appropriate decisions. K. Kaminer sighted numerous occasions where people wait too long at Washington Park to get off the field. The policy will be forwarded to all referees and officials from the league directors. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES June 11. 2008 Con't 5th Grade Travel Basketball Proposal J. Feudo introduced Carl McFadden. Mr. McFadden was before the Recreation Committee to present the need of a 5th grade travel basketball program. Currently the YMCA is running the program. Mr. McFadden sighted tight gym size and lack of gym time as two large weaknesses of the YMCA program and felt the Recreation Division could do a better job running the program. He also mentioned that due to'the YMCA servicing of more than Reading, the teams are not composed of all Reading players. Don Bauntz from the YMCA spoke about the program he ran the previous year. Mr. Bauntz mentioned that the travel basketball program was starting just as he came to work for the YMCA. He felt the program went pretty smooth. They offered travel basketball for 5th grade and 4th grade for boys only. The committee discussed the costs for the travel basketball program offered by the YMCA. The YMCA currently charges $195 for member and $225 for non-members. The committee thanked Mr. McFadden and Mr. Bauntz for meeting with them. The Recreation Committee felt that as long as the YMCA could offer a program for 5th Grade boys and Girls, they saw no reason to expand the Recreation Travel Basketball program. CORI Follow-up J. Feudo spoke with the Attorney General's office and found there is a requirement for organizations to conduct CORI checks on any individual that works with a children under the age of 18. The issue is there is currently no mechanism for enforcement.. The AG's office asks that Town's and City's establish their own standards and revoke permits if the process is not done. J. Feudo worked on a policy that would mandate organizations to complete CORI checks. J. Feudc discussed the new process in which CORI's will be required for Field Rentals. Beginning in July 2009 the Recreation Division will now require organizations providing activities or programs to children under 18 years of age to obtain all available criminal offender record information from the Criminal History Board. There will be a place on the Field Request form in which organization may sign off that it has been completed. A brief discussion ensued. B. Winne made a motion to accept the new CORI requirement as proposed by the Recreation Administrator. C. Campbell seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of the proposed motion by a vote of 5-0-0. Tennis Courts Supervision K. Kaminer and J. Feudo shared some of the issues they have encountered with the new tennis courts at Bancroft Ave. including people in-line skating. This brought up the question of how feasible it would be to get a monitor at the courts to watch over not only misuse but also court control. K. Kaminer asked the committee for some ideas of how the position might get funded. The idea came up of perhaps creating a position through the Senior Tax abatement program. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES June 11, 2008 Con't J. Feudo said there would be an assessment done on what signs would be put up. He mentioned signage was important but did not want too many signs clouding the fences. Administrator's Report The Carnival is coming to Town as part of Friends and Family Day during the weekend of 6/20 - 6/22. J. Feudo gave a programming update. J.°Feudo mentioned that due to drainage issues, the track at RMHS would be dug up and resurfaced this summer. The project is expected to take about two months taking the stadium field off line during that time. The Recreation Committee briefly discussed the Salvation Army Camp that was offered to the Recreation Division. The consensus was not to have any affiliation. The playground at Barrows Elementary School will be renovated this summer and ready for the new school year. RCASA N. Swain mentioned that RCASA was working on a diversion program for underage students that get caught with alcohol instead of sending them directly to court. The thought is to try to educate them. C. Campbell exited the meeting. --meeting is an e due to loss of quorum. Meet r~ ded at 8:45 PM. o Fe do ecrea i Administrator