Board of Park Commissioners

CITY OF FITCHBURG RECREATION DEPARTMENT Board of Park Commissioners Jon Ricciutti, Chairman James McGrath, Vice Chairman Nathan LaRose, Recreation Director Dave Madigan Beth Robbins, Administrative Assistant Andy Roy Mary Whitney Board of Park Commissioners Meeting Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 Location: Memorial Middle School Cafeteria Call to Order: The December 1, 2015 meeting was called to order at 5:35 PM by Jon Ricciutti. Commission Members Present: Chairman Jon Ricciutti, Dave Madigan, James McGrath, and Mary Whitney Others Present: Nate LaRose, Amy Leblanc, Lenny Laakso, and Beth Leblanc (Accessible Park) Absent: Andy Roy Meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Commissioner Dave Madigan. Minutes of the Meeting: A Motion was made by James McGrath and seconded by Dave Madigan to table the October, 2015 minutes and accept the November, 2015 minutes. Motion Approved 3-0 Reports: Friends of Coggshall Report: No Report Community Development Report: Report made by Amy Leblanc: The Fitchburg Bicycle Committee has selected a style for the bike racks (See Image Attached) funded through CDBG. They were allotted $4,500 for purchase, shipping and installation. Installation costs were projected to be about $2,500. After discussion with the DPW the Community Development Department will be Ordering 4 bike racks. The proposed installation locations are at Coolidge Park, the Parkhill splash pad, Riverfront Park, the Green Corners Park. The selected color is black. Opinions on location were discussed. Potential to tie in with the Rail Trail A motion to approve the bicycle rack proposal was made by James McGrath and seconded by Mary Whitney. Motion approved 4-0 CDBG Applications are going to be due in a month. The expected application at this time is to fund the 1st and Railroad Application for $87,000. At this time the Community Development Department has not heard back regarding the grant application for 1st and Railroad. They are hoping to hear back soon. This would be all of the typical parks funds. If we haven’t heard it is recommended the parks board submit a second application to add funding to finish the Park Hill Project. We also have some money set aside for the soccer fields. Recommendation is to request a supplemental funding for the soccer fields. There was a discussion on other potential funds available through the CDGB funds as related to the proposed special needs playground. 301 Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Fitchburg, MA 01420 • Phone: (978) 829-1815 • Fax: (978) 345-9678 A motion was made by James McGrath and seconded by Dave Madigan to accept the Community Development Report and ask the Recreation Director to submit a supplemental application to Community Development for the Soccer Fields at Coolidge Park. Motion Approved 4-0 Riverfront Parks and Trails Fund Report: Boudrou Brothers is doing one last clean-up for the season. The fund is soliciting a quote for same scope of work as last year plus the estimate for reseeding the park. Jim McGrath asked Nate to communicate with Janet Morrison from the North County Land Trust to schedule walkthrough at Gateway Park. A motion was made by James McGrath and seconded by Dave Madigan to accept the Riverfront Parks and Trails Report. Approved 4-0 Parks Maintenance Report: See Attached Report made by Lenny Laakso. The Board has asked Lenny Laakso to keep the leave the boulders located along bakers brook at Coolidge Park in their current position. The Conservation Commission can request their desire to remove the boulders at a future Board meeting. The Board asked Nate LaRose to send correspondence to the Historical Commission to set up a joint meeting to discuss the shrub removal at Monument Park invite the Board of Health and Police Department, the Mayor Elect Stephen DiNatale and Ward 4 Councilor Mike Kushmerek and the At-Large Councilors. A motion was made by James McGrath and seconded by Mary Whitney to accept the Motion to except the parks maintenance report. Approved 4-0 Recreation Report (See attached) Report made by Nathan LaRose: The Board asked Nate to send a letter of appreciation from the Recreation Department and the Parks Board to Eric Maynard for his crucial assistance during the absence of a Recreation Director. A discussion was held on potential sponsors for the Biddy League. A motion was made by James McGrath and Seconded by Mary Whitney to accept the Recreation Report. Approved 4-0 Old Business: Beth Leblanc joined us on Judy Jollimore’s behalf to discuss a proposed special needs playground at Coolidge Park. The group interested in building a special needs park visited the proposed location with a potential developer. Developer liked location for ease of ramp creation. They would like the playground to be inclusive to physical and developmental disabilities. The group would like to move forward with that location. This proposed developer has experience with Fitchburg Building Dept. This would be along a triangle next to the existing playground to the right when viewed from the drive way. Questions initially would be what the process for tree removal would be. The developer will be drawing up a potential mock up. The developer encouraged looking into a community build to construct the park. The Board of Park Commissioners discussed potential grant and community support opportunities for the playground. A motion was made by Mary Whitney and Seconded by James McGrath to approve moving forward with plans to build a special needs playground at Coolidge Park pending Parks Board approval of any final plans. Approved 4-0 New Business Approval of the Calendar: (See Attached) A motion was made by James McGrath and seconded by Dave Madigan to approve the 2016 Meeting calendar as amended. Approved 4-0 Community Issues: Stone House: Someone booked the stone house and the word never got to Jacquelyn to open the venue. The Stone House was then left open and a mess was made that needed to be cleaned up. The Chairman recommended that the Recreation Department due an internal review and the process and make necessary changes. They would like to see revenue tracking addressed during this review. Motion to Adjourn: Motion made by Mary Whitney and seconded by James McGrath. Motion approved 4-0