Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER: Monday, September 15, 2014 at 7:00pm at the Community Center 2. COMMISSION MEMBERS ATTENDANCE: Mitch Hamel (Clerk ),George Hawkins, Dave Plourde, Rodney Roy, Kevin Dunleavy and Liza Kelleher. Absent-Jeff Pattison 3. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: City Councilors Armand Bolduc and Bob Hamel, Haley Coulter, Don Morrissey, Joseph Driscoll IV, Oriana Filiault, Tara Shore, Kirsten Ludwig, Judy Krahulec and Tony Felch. 4. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: George Hawkins motioned to accept the last month minutes of the meeting. Dave Plourde seconded. All were in favor. 5. OLD BUSINESS: • Belknap Mill Society- Rotary Park- Saturdays, May 23, 30, June 6, 13, 20, 20, 27, July 4, 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Sept. 12, 19, 16, Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2015 for fundraising and community building. Kevin stated that the Belknap Mill has asked to withdraw the request at this time. George Hawkins motioned to remove the request from the agenda. Rodney Roy seconded. All were in favor. • Oriana Filiault- Rotary Gazebo- Saturday, October 11, 2014 from 11:00~5:00pm for a wedding. Kevin Dunleavy mentioned of getting a seasonal loudspeaker permit for both Weirs Community Park Amphitheater and the Rotary Gazebo so the users don’t need to get the permit every time. George Hawkins motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and loudspeaker permit if needed. Dave Plourde seconded. All were in favor. 6. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: • Salvation Army Turkey Plunge- Opechee Park Parkhouse, Cove Beach and Parking lot- Saturday November 22, 2014 from 8am to 3:00pm for fundraising event. Dave Plourde motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and final approval from the City Council for the fundraising event. Rodney Roy seconded. All were in favor. • Haley Coulter Wedding- Belknap Mill Gazebo- Saturday, May 23, 2015 for a wedding. Rodney Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance. George Hawkins seconded. All were in favor. • Laconia Kiwanis- Rotary Park- Saturday August 30, 2015 from 8-3pm for Rogers Motorcycle Ride. George Hawkins tabled the request due to no representation. Dave Plourde seconded. All were in favor. • Weirs Action Committee- Endicott Park- June 13~22, 2015 from 7am to 10pm for Motorcycle week. Judy Krahulec thank Kevin Dunleavy for the help (barriers, garbage, porta potty cleaning) he had done for the last 2 years for the group. Judy Krahulec also requesting the porta potty be cleaned every day and they would be willing to pay for the extra cleaning. Rodney Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and final approval from the City Council for raising money on City property. Dave seconded. All were in favor. • Boy Scouts of America, Troop 68- Opechee Park parking lot and Cove area-Saturday and Sunday November 1~2, 2014 from 1:00pm November 1st until 1:00pm November 2nd for an overnight camping-food collection drive for the BSA’s Scouting for Food  event. Tara Shore requested permission to hang a banner on the fence before the event and to have access to electricity. There was no objection to the banner and Kevin said he could provide electric from the bath house. George Hawkins motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance, waiver of the user fee and a burn permit for their camp fire. Rodney Roy seconded. All were in favor. 7. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: ● Memorial bench donation at Weirs Community Park for the O’Hearn Family Kevin explained that Pat O’Hearn sent a letter to the Commission requesting to place a memorial bench in memory of her husband Eddie and daughter Ellie at Weirs Community Park. George Hawkins motioned to accept the request for the memorial bench as long as the bench has the same design as the other benches in the park. Kevin said he will work with the donor to find a suitable location for the bench. Dave Plourde seconded. All were in favor. 8. NEW BUSINESS: ● Laconia Skate Park Discussion Kevin Dunleavy explained to the Commission that the Department had to take away some equipment from the Skate Park due to maintenance issues. He said much of the equipment is in bad shape and is beyond repair. Much of it is made of wood and has rotted significantly, and maintenance was becoming a challenge. Kevin also said some kids have brought their own elements to the park, which is not recommended, so this equipment has been removed as well. Kevin Dunleavy suggested future elements be made of pre-cast concrete elements or elements manufactured by the companies that specialize in skate parks. Commissioners suggested Kevin look at the potential cost and investigate fundraising opportunities to help out in buying the equipment. ● Proposed Parks and Recreation Rules & Regulations changes Kevin Dunleavy recommended to the Commission that Parks and Recreation Rule and Regulation that states “Firearms shall not be used or carried in any manner on park property.” be completely removed because the language is in direct conflict with State of NH law. Kevin stated he will need to seek the City Council approval for this change since the Parks and Recreation Rules and Regulations are in the City Ordinances. George Hawkins motioned to remove the language “Firearms shall not be used or carried in any manner on park property” in our rules and regulations. Rodney Roy seconded. All were in favor. ● Muskrats Agreement Renewal Kevin stated that the Laconia Muskrats organization are interested in renewing their agreement with the City. Kevin said that the only major item that he recommended be addressed was the completion of the outfield wall and observation deck. He noted that there is language in the draft agreement provided to the Commission that addresses this item. George Hawkins motioned to accept the agreement renewal for up to five years. Rodney Roy seconded. All were in favor. 9. PUBLIC COMMENT: ● Tony Felch from the Leavitt Park Association said they had their carnival but had to have it inside due to the weather. Tony also asked when the new playground equipment would be installed. Kevin said that the equipment is in the maintenance garage and the  maintenance staff would install it as soon as they can. Tony asked if Kevin could come speak to the Leavitt Park group at one of their meetings. Kevin said he would arrange that so he can give an update to the group. 10. COMMUNICATIONS: 11. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: Leavitt Park Association –Minutes of the meeting Opechee Park Association- Income and Expense report Weirs Community Park Association- No report Wyatt Park Association- No report 12. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: Directors Report Submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Athletic field preparation for interscholastic sports and youth leagues Mowing and trimming Various work orders at City Hall, Library, park houses, LFD and LPD Beach raking Event support (Multicultural Market Day) Trash removal Pet waste bag restocking Bath House cleaning Fertilizing, aeration Picnic Table Repairs Planting bed weeding, pruning Attendant shed repair at Bond Beach Pruning at Rotary Park and other locations • With the end of the summer season, Parks maintenance staff has shifted away from beach related tasks and are now focused on athletic field preparation, routine work orders and projects that we have not been able to get to. Fall is a time when we can tackle projects before the snow sets in. We are still able to utilize some seasonal staff, but many have left for the season. •Weirs Community Park – Most of the project is now complete. The playground system equipment is due to arrive on September 11th, with installation to follow. There are still some minor cosmetic improvements to be completed including signage, brush clearing and banners. The grass is well established and the general contractor has only a couple small items to address before their work is complete. A grand opening is slated for October 15th at 12 noon at the park. • Bobotas Field is coming along well as Parks staff has taken over maintenance. Regular fertilizing and mowing is occurring, and the field is seeing light use. •Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Staff meetings, Special Events Committee, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Safety Board, Weirs Community  Park construction meetings, and Master Plan Committee. Asst. Director of Recreation & Facilities Report submitted by Amy Lovisek The summer season ended on Labor Day and therefore, we no longer have any lifeguards or collectors at the beaches. We are also picking and choosing the weekend days that we open the bathrooms at the beaches. If it is a nice weekend we will open them. This service will end soon. This month has shown the completion of the Fall/Winter Program Brochure. Your copy is attached to your packet. The brochure has been mailed and posted on our webpages. Our open gym times opened early this year. We usually start this program the first week of October, but we decided to get the kids in here early this year. We started this program on the 8th of this month. Our very first evening adult open gym brought 17 people, which was great for the first night! I was asked to speak at an Active Transportation meeting in Concord on 9/9. This was to talk about the Wyatt Park Area Transformation. Basically, what we were able to accomplish with our DPW department in regards to the crosswalks, tip downs, sidewalks and roadway. The whole point was to show the benefits of departments working together. We did receive the LWCF grant finally!!! We ordered the playground equipment and it has already been delivered to the Weirs Community Park! It will be installed and completed within 2 -3 weeks. The Park Association will be having a ribbon cutting on October 15th. 13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm and the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2014 at 7:00pm at the Community Center.