Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-04-13 Recreation Committee MinutesRecreation Minutes April 13, 1994 The meeting of the Recreation Committee came to order at 7:40pm on Wednesday, April 13, 1994 in the Board of Selectmen's Meeting Room at Town Hall. Present at the meeting were Chair Kate Kaminer, Gordon Richards, Fred Conover, Lorraine Salter, Chris Campbell, Sue Cavvichi, John McGrath, John Pacino and associate member Tom Zaya. Also present were staff Ruth Cogan and guest Petra Conboy. The minutes of March 9, 1994 were approved with one change on a motion by Cavicchi, seconded by Salter. 8-0-0. Supervisor's Report: Cogan added to the report included in the packet the following information. The Y will not be using the pool this summer as they will not be running a camp on site due to construction. This will result in an approximately $2000. loss in revenue for the pool. The VFW is meeting this week to vote on their sponsorship of a Sunday concert. The arrangements have been made to turn on the Birch Meadow Tennis Courts for May 1 - October 11 from 7:15 -10:00pm. The town employees credit union will be sponsoring a Theatre in the Green concert; Gordon Richards has offered to try to get sposors for the last concert. We received a complaint from a Parker Middle School neighbor concerning soccer and little league practices on the front lawn. Cogan has informed the groups at Parker about not using that area. NEW BUSINESS: Field Assignments: Reading Men's Softball approved as requested with the following exceptions - Joshua Eaton M-W-F only early starts for 6/26,8/7,9/25 for tournaments only if after exploring ailterna- tives (move some of the games to another field, have some Friday night games, go later in the day on Sunday) cannot work. Girl's Summer Softball - approved as requested except for June 30. Rest same as sheet. 1 Cogan noted Reading Youth Softball's games on June 4 con- flict with the staging of the 350th Parade, that Reading Men's. Softball on the Street Field will conflict with the Field Day, June 5th and there should not be any conflicts for games with the fireworks. Washington Park usage: Petra Conboy and Kate Kaminer dis- cussed the use of Washington Park on Saturday, April 3 by teams from the high school and out of state. Conboy asked if permits were transferable and what time were teams allowed to use the fields on Saturdays (no and 9am). The High School was permited for the field for 9-11am every Saturday from March 21 - May30. Cogan was instructed to write a letter to Jack White, with a car- bon copy to Pete Moscariello, explaining the inappropriateness of use of the field without a permit after 11am. OPEN RECREATION POLICIES: Cogan gave an overview of existing problems with the operation in March & April. Staff recommenda- tions included a season pass and no youth allowed. Kaminer agreed with a pass, felt youth should be allowed and recommended increasing the door fee. Richards noted that he used to par- ticipate and recommended no youth. Pacino concurred. McGrath felt that youth should be allowed with parent. Conover wanted to maximize usage noting the original purpose of the program was for adult recreation. Cavicchi suggested two nights of adults only and one night of adults plus youth with parent. Motion was made by Conover, seconded by McGrath for Open Rec 94-95 to have 2 2 nights for adults only, one night including youth with parents, nights to be decided by the Recreation Supervisor. Motion passed 8-0-0. Motion was made by Conover, seconded by Cavvichi to have the Recreation Supervisor establish a pass program for Reading Residents. Motion passed 8-0-0. OLD BUSINESS Swimming Pool Task Force.- Salter gave the results of the survey responses from the newspaper. 870 of the 111 respondents felt the town should operate a pool. 81 of the 111 respondents recommended the indoor pool options. She also noted that a ran- dom sample.survey has been done; she did not have the results. A report in progress will be made to Town Manager. Conover dis- cussed the idea of privitization for the building and/ or opera- tion of the pool. Substance Abuse Council - Richards noted that the activities of the Drug Free Weekend were poorly attended. The council is discussing changes for next year. YMCA / Recreation 350th Committee - Pacino noted that fo~u,~r people met that day and are planning an old fashioned field~''~r June 10. Special Needs meeting - Kaminer reported on a meeting with the parents of special needs campers and JoAnn Simon from EMARC'. Cogan will be meeting with Simon on Friday to flush out the idea of a CIT program for special needs teens this summer. EMARC has determined that Camp Hope will not be operated this summer in the same format as in the past. OTHER BUSINESS Salter asked that a thank you note be sent to Arnold Rubin for his third year of support of the tennis tournament. Cogan noted a letter from Lucerto to Hechenbleikner.:r'con- cerning field improvements for Barrows and Killam. Meeting adjourned at 10:30pm Respectfully submitted, Ruth Cogan Acting Recreation Supervisor 3