Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-10-09 Recreation Committee MinutesRecreation Committee Meeting October 9, 1991 A meeting of the Recreation Committee was held on October 9, 1991 at 7:35pm in the Town Hall Conference room, 16 Lowell St., Read- ing. Committee members present included Chairman Joe Giordano, Vice Chairman Cate Kaminer, Fred Conover,John Fallon, John Pacino, Lorraine Salter, Tom McGrath, Mary Williams and Gary Roberts. Also in attendance was Recreation Supervisor, Lesley Wexler. Under the first order of business the committee voted to approve the minutes of the September 19, 1991. A change to page 4 under subcommittees was made with the addition of the Field Assignment Committee. Members of the Field Assignment Committee are John Fallon, Tom McGrath, and Steve Sullivan. Motion to accept the minutes was made by John Fallon. Minutes were approved as cor- rected with a vote of 5:0:3. Next the committee reviewed Recreation correspondence. A resig- nation letter from Joe Connelly was read, as was a thank you let- ter from Joe Giordano on behalf of the committee, expressing gratitude to Mr. Connelly's 8 years of dedication and service to the committee. The Park equipment inspection form was discussed, as was the current condition of. Reading's playground equipment. John Fallon , who was present at the first inspection of the parks, stated that a majority of the parks are in poor condition with the exception of: Tot Lots at Birch Meadow and Hunt Memorial Park and Imagination Station. A motion was made by Mr. Fallon for checklists of the October 3, 1991 inspection be sent to the Superintendent of Schools, Chairman of the School Committee, Selectmen and the Town Manager. The motion was seconded by Fred Conover and the motion was approved by 7:0:0. Committee member Fred Conover questioned the necessity of con- tinuing the monthly inspections until the equipment is fixed. It was stated by Ms. Wexler, that the monthly inspections are man- dated by the Towns insurance company. At 8:03pm, Mr. Peter Moscariello came before the committee to present his plans for the 1992 Reading Baseball School. He thanked the committee for its past support and stated that his program has been very successful through the past years. Mr. Moscariello requested to run the program Feb 17th- Feb 21st, 1992. He stated the possibility of needing the Field House for Sunday, Feb 23rd. Joe Giordano said that the Sunday Basketball program runs on that date, so it would need to investigate fur- 1 ther. John Fallon made a motion to approve the Reading Baseball School program. Tom McGrath seconded the motion with a final vote of 8:00 in the affirmative. Drew Billilies arrived a 8:15pm to answer questions regarding his "Spinning Wheels"special needs program. Joe Giordano thanked Drew for coming. Drew in return thanked the committee for their support in keeping the "Spinning Wheels" program from being eliminated. A series of questions were asked by various members of the com- mittee. Lorraine Salter initiated the discussion by asking about Drew's staff. Drew stated that his employees were people dedi- cated to serving special needs individuals and that some had degree's in Special Education and some did not. Mr. Billilies also noted that vans and sometimes buses were used to transport participants. John Pacino continued the discussion by asking if Drew was charged rental fees for the facilities he uses. Drew said he did pay rental fees and that all his programs ran at a loss due to this and other program expenses. Fred Conover ques- tioned Mr. Billilies regarding various aspects of his program. Fred asked what would have happened if the program had been cut last month. Drew stated that the program would have ended as fees would have been too high. Just prior to leaving, Drew stated that he wishes to work closer with the committee and ex- -tend his offerings throughout the summer. The committee thanked Drew for coming and expressed their interest in his summer ideas. Joe Giordano stated that a summary letter of the meeting would be sent to Drew to review what had been discussed. Under the next order of business, the Supervisor's Report reviewed by Lesley Wexler, stating that volleyball, and After School Sports have sufficient registrations to run. Ms. Wexler also stated that on November 2nd, Reading Recreation will hold its RYBB and Ski Program registration. A misprint was noted on the RYBB form by Lesley. Lesley stated that the fees were to change from $40,$30,$15 to $45,$35,$20. The Supervisor's reports was approved with a motion from Mr. John Pacino which was seconded, Cate Kaminer. The report was officially approved with a vote of 7:0:1 Under Old Business - Mr. John Pacino reported on the Ice Hockey Rink Feasibility Committee. Mr. Pacino stated that one million dollars had been donated by Mr Burbank to billed the rink, with an additional $600,000 to be loaned to the rink for start up money. This $600,000 would be paid back to Mr. Burbank over several years. Six sites were chosen by the Feasibility Com- mittee, which include Birch Meadow, a site off Beverly Road, Camp Curtis, the town landfill, Nike Site and Batchelder Road. Mr. Pacino, overall, felt the Hockey Rink committee did not offer a complete and thorough study. 2 John Fallon continued under Old Business with a report from Fall's Town Meeting. Mr. Fallon informed the committee that Town Meeting had approved transfer of an additional $2,300 from the Recreation Revolving fund. A Tennis Tournament update was given by L. Salter and G. Roberts. It was said that registrations were low and there was a pos- sibility that the program would not run. Joseph Giordano noted that the Park Rules and Regulations were passed by the Selectmen on 10-08-91. It was stated that the Recreation Commmittee currently has one slot open for a voting member. Fred Conover made a motion to support Mr. Steven Sullivan as the next voting member of the Recreation Committee. The motion was seconded by Tom McGrath and was passed unanimously 8:0:0. A motion to adjourn was made at 10:55pm by John Pacino. The mo- tion was seconded by Fred Conover and passed unanimously 8:0:0. t 1 P14 3