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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-10 Recreation Committee MinutesTown of Reading ~I' c(` 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867-2685 C, FAX: (781) 942 - 5441 RECREATION DIVISION: (781) 942 - 9075 READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES December 10, 2003 at Coolidge Middle School Multi-Purpose Room Attendance: Bernie Winne, Rec. Committee Chair, Nancy -Linn Swain Rec. Committee Member, Mary Ellen Stolecki, Rec. Committee Member, Rick Shaffer, Rec. Committee Member, Barbara Faso, Rec. Committee Member, Chris Campbell, Associate Member, Mary Ann Kozlowski, School Rep., John Feudo, Recreation Administrator, Guests - Mike Sheedy, RUSC, Peter Grimm., Michelle Acchiuti, Nancy Lelacheur, Jane Hand, Tony Tolla, Charlie Hand, Steve Secher, Joanne Secher, Rob Scholer, David Lautman, Reading Lacrosse, Charles Hardy, Reading Lacrosse, George Hines, Reading Legion Baseball. Meeting Called to order at 7:38 PM. The Committee was asked to review the minutes from the. November 20'' meeting. M. Stolecki made a motion to accept the minutes from November 20th. N. Swain seconded the motion. Motion passes in favor of acceptance of the November 20th minutes 5-0-0. Public Hearing: B. Winne introduced the topic of Castine Field and the questions of whether or not to fill it with water it or not. Bernie stated that this issue has come up before this committee a number of times. This year at the request of a few sports organization the Recreation Committee was asked to investigate this issue with the hopes that there could be a few more weeks of playability for Castine to help ease the strain on the rest of the fields. Resident Michelle Acchiuti of 99 John Carver Road stated she felt that neither filling Castine with water or not filling it with water would not make much of a difference as it going to be wet no matter what, that is why they call it "Birch Meadow". Residents Steve Secher, Nancy Lalecher and Jane Hand all expressed that they felt that because that are was a wetland, groups are lucky they are actually able to use it for the weeks that they use. J. Feudo stated that the Recreation Committee had information from both the Director of Public Works and Conservation Committee. Residents felt that Castine skating was one of the few things in town that were still "free". Plenty of kids still grab sticks and skates. Although it is not nearly what it used to be due to lack of maintenance the rink is still used. Charlie Hardy of Reading Lacrosse stated nobody knows the result of not filling Castine Field because it has never been done. Charlie asked "Why not try it for one year and see what happens? If it doesn't work then go back to filling it- no harm done." READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES CON'T The residents inquired about why Castine Field was being looked at and why other fields are not being looked at. Recreation Administrator J. Feudo stated there are a number of reasons why the subject of Castine has come to the forefront. J. Feudo stated with the construction of the Practice football to take place from June '04 to June '05 coupled with issues that surround Memorial Park, a number of options needed to be looked at to create more space, Castine Field being one of them. The Recreation Division needed to look at some avenues of how to create space for the Spring and Summer activities. David Lautman from Reading Lacrosse asked the committee to consider the amount of people the rink serves and the amount of people the field serves and take that in to consideration when making the decision. D. Lautman also stated that if it were a true wet land the grass would not be able to be cut. It was stated by a resident that with the Snow that we had over the past weekend, the argument may be a moot point as it may not be able to be filled. It was also stated that people call from all over town and other communities to find out if the "ice is ready". Mike Sheedy from Reading United Soccer stated that this past year RUSC did not get on to field until August e this past Summer. Mike stated RUSC would be forced to cut the program by about 150 kids based on the construction and the memorial park constraints. George Hines of Reading Legion Baseball stated he was on the side of the residents as he was several years back when this same issue came up. He felt the Castine should be able to handle both spring sports and skating, unfortunately the area has some drainage issues to be looked at. G. Hines also added that he believed the issue at hand would need to come before the Board of Selectmen for final decision. Public Hearing Ended M. Stolecki stated that there seemed to be a lot of unanswered questions surround this subject. The Recreation Committee wanted to know for sure whether or not Castine is an official wetland. R. Shaffer felt based on the snow we have already had, coupled with the High School Construction and Memorial Park being and issue, this might be the best year to try it. The Committee seemed to be in favor of the suggestion. M. Stolecki stated she though that it should be a one-year program to be looked at again next year. M. Stolecki made a motion to recommend not to fill Castine field with water for the 2004 Winter with the recommendation to reevaluate the situation based on the results and request that DPW investigate the possibility of reconditioning the field as stated in memo from Conservation Administrator Fran Fink. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES CON'T Motion passes in favor of recommending not to fill Castine field with water for the 2004 Winter with the recommendation to reevaluate the situation based on the results and request that DPW investigate the possibility of reconditioning the field as stated in memo from Conservation Administrator Fran Fink 5-0-2. OLD BUSINESS The Recreation Committee had discussion on what to do with the green shed that is currently adjacent to the varsity softball field. This topic had been tabled from the November meeting. In a memo, the Town Manager asked the Recreation Administrator to have the Recreation Committee discuss the topic. After a lengthy discussion the committee decided that before they could make a recommendation that needed the following information. Whether or not the High school athletic program uses it. If bathrooms are put in they will have to be ADA compliant, Who would be responsible for cleaning it and putting supplies in there. J. Feudo stated that he would try to get answers to those questions for the January meeting. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT J. Feudo reported that the Winter/Spring 2004 brochure was set to hit Reading Homes on Dec. 19a' J. Feudo gave. a brief report on the participation on the major up coming programs. He stated that the division had seen an increase in enrollment and revenue in almost every major program. Sunday basketball numbers were 20 more than 2002- 2003, and Travel Basketball had more than 30 more participants than last year. The ski program numbers were exactly the same. The Division saw an increase of $24,000 more just on these three programs vs. 2002 - 2003. J. Feudo also stated that the NYC trip would have 74 people attending. A second bus was added to accommodate a lengthy wait list. All-Star Basketball had sold out for December. The Recreation Division would be offering a 3-day program called Recreation sports and games. The program already had 26 kids registered. Next J. Feudo forward around pictures given to him from Dave Grey of RYB. The pictures show the progress that was made at Hunt Memorial Park. The picture accompanied a proposal to build a small shed near the back of the park in left field where they would like to store equipment and then they would be able to use the extra space in the current shed to build a much needed bathroom. The Committee was in favor of the proposal and stated they supported the initiative and requested that RYB take the necessary steps in planning ie. Speaking with conservation and make sure neighbors are not inconvenienced. The committee stated that RYB has been a responsible organization with a reputation of following through. Finally, J. Feudo stated Jerry Pothier of Proforma Printing has approached the Reading Recreation Division about hosting our own- on-line store. Jerry is able to offer a wide variety of products at a low rate with direct shipping, which means the division would not need to store any of the products. READING RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES CON'T Jerry has also stated that money brought in on the products could be used to subsidize the start up and up keep costs. Basically the project would be self-supporting. J. Feudo stated that he would be working on NEW logo and asked if anyone had any artistic ability to let him know if they would like to help with the development. The committee thought it was a good idea overall, some members felt it would be necessary to offer the same opportunity to the other town companies that would be considered competitors. J. Feudo stated that he thought,they would probably do less than a $1,000 per year for business and did not think RFP's were going to be necessary. However, he stated he would contact both organizations in town that would be direct competitors to make them aware of the new offering. . SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS NONE M. Stolecki made a motion to adjourn the meeting. N. Swain seconded the motion. Motion passed in favor of ended the December I& Recreation Committee meeting 7-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 10:20 PM. Respectfu bmitted by: ohn do ecrea ' dministrator