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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-04-09 Recreation Committee MinutesTown of Reading 16 Lowell Street ECL.IVEO Reading, MA 01867-268 Ot" GL,J 4 2poq mg 114 A 11- 5b FAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 9, 2008 -Town Hall Berger Room Attendance: Nancy Swain, Rec. Committee Chair; Mary Ann Kozlowski, School Committee Rep, John Downing, Rec. Committee Member, Frank Driscoll, Rec. Committee Member, Mary Ellen Stolecki, Rec. Committee Member, Kate Kaminer, Rec. Committee Member, Beth Claroni, Associate Member, John Feudo, Recreation Administrator, Guest, Eric Hughes N. Swain called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM. N. Swain asked the Recreation Committee to review the minutes from the February 20th meeting. F. Driscoll made a motion to accept the minutes for the February 20th meeting. M. Stolecki seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of accepting the minutes 6-0-0. New Business J. Feudo introduced Charlie Hardy and Rick Zaccardo from Reading Youth Lacrosse. Hardy-stated-that-the-Reading Youth- Lacrosse-program-was-here-to-petition fora-greater allocation of field space in the spring. In addition, they are requesting greater allocation to include increased access to field turf. He stated they are a spring sport only. Mr. Hardy and Mr. Zaccardo were also acting on behalf of their organization requesting that youth sports in Reading mirror the high school seasons as far as priority goes in the distribution of field space. An example would be to make lacrosse a tier one sport along with baseball and softball in the spring. Soccer would be a tier two sport. In the fall football and soccer would be tier one sports. They stated at this time Reading Lacrosse has no plans to add a fall season but a tier system would allow for this. Mr. Hardy also asked for the recreation committee to look at venue systems and whether or not the Town would continue to allow two non-Reading teams to compete on Reading fields. M. Stolecki explained that the fields are a finite resource. Organizations can continue to grow, however they can't expect field space to increase with it. A long discussion ensued. N. Swain said the committee would need to do overall research of field allocation before any type of changes would be made. - The Rec. committee decided that they would create a field allocation sub-committee. B. Winne, C. Campbell and F. Driscoll were recommended to serve on that committee. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES April 9, 2008 COPT Financial Assistance Policy The Recreation Committee reviewed the financial assistance policy and had a few comments. J. Feudo stated that he would like to have Town Council review the document before implementing it to make sure that it was a sound policy. F. Driscoll made a motion to accept the Financial Assistance policy as amended by the Recreation Committee pending approval from Town Council. M. Stolecki seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of accepting the Financial Assistance policy as amended by the Recreation Committee pending approval from Town Council by a vote of 6-0-0. Washington Park Master Planning Committee F. Driscoll nominated N. Swain to serve as the Recreation Committee representative on the WPMPC. J. Downing seconded the motion. N. Swain appointed by a vote of 6-0-0. Special Sunday AM permit for Softball Tournament J. Feudo was seeking approval for a special Sunday permit for a Softball Tournament for the weekend of July 11 -13. The grouph hosting the tournament is from Reading. They would be looking to start on Sunday, June 13t at 9:00 AM. This would allow them to complete their tournament with minimal disruption to the Men's Softball league. K. Kaminer made a motion to allow a special permit for Tony Crupi, for the purpose of a softball tournament on July 13th for a 9:00 AM start on the three Birch Meadow softball fields. M. Stolecki seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of allowing a special permit for Tony Crupi on July 13th for a 9:00 AM start on the three Birch Meadow softball fields by a vote of 6-0-0. F. Driscoll mentioned that the fence that separates the field and courts at the new tennis court field does not extend down the hill far enough and could be dangerous. J. Feudo said he would speak with the Director of Public Works and Town Engineer to find out if the issue has been addressed. Administrator's Report J. Feudo went over the Summer Edition of Recreation Magazine. Registration day will take place on May P at Coolidge Middle School. J. Feudo mentioned he could use some volunteers to help out as it will be a very busy day. J. Feudo gave an update on the Tennis Court project on Bancroft Ave. The project is moving along. Town staff is down there daily checking on the project and taking pictures. The courts should be completed sometime near the middle of June. The timing on asphalt and painting are hard to judge because both are weather dependent. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES Apri19, 2008 CON'T The bids for the Parker Middle School turf project are in. The low bid was approximately $677,000. This is higher than the $650,000 that was allocated at April Town Meeting last year. The Town engineers are evaluating the proposals to make sure they meet the specifications. The Town will need to get approval from Town Meeting to expand the debt to move forward with the project. This will likely be discussed at a future special Town Meeting. Sub-Committee Reports N. Swain gave an update for RCASA. She stated that local liquor establishments were given plaques to show their committee against underage drinking. She said that there were seven reported cases of students that were taken to the hospital during the RMHS Super 8 championship game as a result of binge drinking. F. Driscoll made a motion to adjourn. M. Stolecki seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of adjournment by a vote of 6-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:21 PM. Respectfully submitted by: