Richter Park Authority

RICHTER PARK AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES Danbury Police Department Tuesday, February 15, 2022, 6:00 PM In compliance with Connecticut General Statute § 1-225, these minutes are being provided for informational purposes and are subject to approval of the Richter Park Authority Board of Directors at its next regular meeting. Chairman Pete Siecienski opened the meeting at 6:09 PM. Members present: Pete Siecienski, George Radachowsky, Leroy Diggs, Al Mead, Bob Eberhard, Wendy Grispin, Judy Griemsmann, Dave Lajoie and Paul DiNardo. John Priola arrived at 6:40pm Also present: Karen Madaus, Business Manager, Jonathan Pinto, Head Golf Professional, Rob Dorsch, Golf Course Superintendent and Bobby Bria, Musicals at Richter. Absent: Bob Eberhard. Public participation none. Approve minutes of previous meetings Mr. Mead made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 18th RPA meeting. Mr. Lajoie seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Special meeting of Grounds & Greens: no minutes Special meeting regarding Pro Shop upgrades: no minutes Correspondence None. Arts Association Today there was an Arts Board Meeting and Mr. Siecienski attended and updated them on the grant status (which will exist for two more years). The Board was grateful and pleased that Mr. Siecienski was there with his explanations. The Arts Association is preparing for their spring season with eight performances. Musicals at Richter They are consulting with Jim Blansfield regarding the stage and shed back behind the stage, as well as some structural piping for lighting (used to hang lights without cables). MAR will pay for the construction themselves and the building starts in April and will be ready in July for their two shows: In the Heights and the Sound of Music. Fairfield Giving Day fundraising will be used for the lighting. Mr. Siecienski added that MAR needs to make sure that zoning is on board with the project and that the lighting is not disruptive to neighbors. Jim Blansfield should touch base with Mr. Dorsch and Mr. DiNardo during planning and implementation. MPC-Richter House The plan is to review the Master Plan and meet with the Committee before the March RPA meeting. The Master Plan was completed (written) in 2008 and some pieces may be obsolete at this time. FORe There wasn’t a meeting recently, although the Fundraising Breakfast has been postponed to the fall (date TBD). Mr. DiNardo has replaced Ms. Grispin on the FORe Committee. Business Manager’s Report Emil Skandera’s family sent a lovely thank you note to Richter Park for the donating in his memory. President’s Day sale is this coming weekend. Head Golf Professional Last year’s President’s Day sale was $91K, and we’re hoping to beat that this year. Pro Shop merchandise should arrive in early March. Some may be late due to supply chain issues, but we will have something to start with. The new golf cart lease has been signed, but there are delays in getting the new carts, so we are keeping the old ones until the new ones are available. Mr. DiNardo mentioned putting some astro turf in the area on the driving range where balls often get stuck. Mr. Pinto mentioned that the area in question is picked daily. Grounds and Greens We’ve had 21 days under ice as of two weeks ago. We didn’t get any ice from Sunday’s snowstorm. The tee project is going really well and all of the materials are in. The show in San Diego went well. Lots of tree work on the course has been done. Financial report Mr. Priola had not arrived at this point in the meeting. Mr. Pinto stated that today’s AP was down around $20k, which is very low. Mr. Mead made a motion to approve the financials and have them placed on file. Mr. Radachowsky seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Finance Committee Report Mr. Diggs reported that there is $144K in Capital, and we have done $100K in projects. The winter contingency is still good to have. Old business Adding Sherman, CT to the Touching Towns Pass – no motion was made. Richter House update. Met with Bill Coffey to discuss pump, electric, etc., and Tom Hughes regarding the electrical upgrade. Phase 1 had septic starting earliest. John Kleinhans is the City contact and Christine is the State contact on the grant. The State was very happy that the grant will be used. This is a City grant. We need to rely on the Mayor’s office to revamp it to continue for two more years. Mayor Esposito is behind the project. Mr. Siecienski will follow up with Mr. Kleinhans on Monday, 2/21. We may need to juggle phases to handle the outside items first. We do not want to remove the historic status of the Richter House. The City is in sync with what we want to do with the remaining $1.2mil. Mr. Diggs asked about an ADA component. Mr. Siecienski stated that it will be part of Phase 1, and that it must meet the integrity of the building and not be asphalt. Mold clean-up will be done in March. The Arts still owes $1,000 from 2021 and will pay it before the mold clean-up happens. Mr. Mead asked about the septic system and Mr. Siecienski said that he’s still working on it with Bill Coffey. New business None. Chairman’s Comments/Report None. Mr. Mead made a motion to adjourn at 6:54pm. Mr. Diggs seconded. Motion passed unanimously.