Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING August 17, 2015 Laconia Community Center- Parks & Recreation Office 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Jeff Pattison called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Secretary Liza Kelleher will be recording this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Jeff Pattison called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Mitch Hamel, Tony Pederzani and Deanna Guyer Commissioners absent: Rodney Roy Parks & Recreation Staff in attendance: Recreation and Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy, Parks and Recreation Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of July 20, 2015 Commissioner Tony Pederzani moved to adopt the minutes from July 20, 2015. Seconded by Commissioner Mitch Hamel. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce- Rotary Park/Stewart Park/Gateway Park- Saturday, October 24, 2015 from midnight to 11:59pm for Pumpkin Festival activities. Mitch Hamel motioned to take it off the table. Seconded by Deanna Guyer. All were in favor. Karmen Gifford submitted the proposed plan for the 2015 pumpkin festival. Karmen Gifford also mentioned that they are expecting between 30, 000 to 40,000 people for the event and discussed the parking plan which includes using the Belknap County Fairgrounds and the Robbie Mills Complex. Karmen also said they would provide portable toilets for each parking location. Mitch Hamel motioned to accept the request conditioned upon payment of a $240.00 special event fee, submission of a certificate of insurance and updates of the event as more details become available. Seconded by Deanna Guyer. All were in favor. B. Weirs Action Committee- Endicott Park/Weirs Beach- Motorcycle Week parking lot fundraiser, Saturday, June 11 through Sunday, June 19, 2016 from 7am to 1am daily. Mitch Hamel motioned to take it off the table. Seconded by Tony Pederzani. All were in favor. Judy Krahulec mentioned that this will be the 21st year for the Weirs Action Committee fundraising and Judy thanked Kevin Dunleavy and his staff for the help and support every year. Tony Pederzani motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for the fundraising event on City property. Seconded by Mitch Hamel. All were in favor. C. Parks & Recreation Rules and Regulations- Proposed rule changes regarding use of hammocks, tents and drones. Tony Pederzani motioned to take it off the table.  Seconded by Deanna Guyer. All were in favor. Kevin Dunleavy explained that we have been seeing very large enclosed tents particularly at Weirs beach. Kevin suggested to add the following to the Parks & Recreation Rules and Regulations as follows: 28. Enclosed tents are prohibited in any City recreation area and facility. Shade canopies with open sides are allowed if properly secured. 29. Hammocks are prohibited in any City recreation area and facility. 30. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (aka Drones) and model airplanes are not allowed in City property. Mitch Hamel agreed the additional changes in Parks and Regulation Rules and Regulations and directed Kevin Dunleavy to have the proposed changes reviewed by the City’s legal consultant. Kevin Dunleavy said he will submit the request to the City Attorney and will get feedback to the Commission. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Laconia High School Interscholastic Sports Fall 2015 1. Football – Bobotas Field- 2-4 days a week August through October 2. Boys & Girls Soccer - Robbie Mills and Leavitt Park- M-F 2:00-6:00pm August through October 3. Field Hockey- Smith Field- 3:00-6:00pm (4:00-8:00pm game days) 4. Cross Country - Robbie Mills Complex X-Country Course- august through October Spring 2016 1. Baseball- Robbie Mills- M-F 2:30-6:30pm, Saturday 8am to 12pm (2:30-7:30pm game days) 2. Softball- Opechee Park- M-F 2:30-6:30pm, Saturday 8am to 12pm (2:30-7:30pm game days) 3. Track & Field- Smith Track/Smith Field- M-F 3:00-6:00pm (till dark on meet days) 4. Boys & Girls Lacrosse- Bobotas when Fitzgerald Field is occupied (1-2 times per week maximum) 5. Tennis- Memorial Park Tennis Courts- M-F 2:30-6:00 Mitch Hamel motioned to accept all the interscholastic requests for Fall 2015 and Spring of 2016. Seconded by Tony Pederzani. All were in favor. B. New Horizon Band of the Lakes Region- Rotary Park- Tuesday, September 1, 2015 from 5:30pm to 9:00pm for a free band Concert for the public. Mitch Hamel motioned to  accept the request for a free concert at Rotary Park subject to any permits required from the Licensing Board for the raffle. Seconded by Deanna Guyer. All were in favor. C. Evangelical Baptist Church – Opechee Point- Sunday, September 6, 2015 from 10am to 5pm for a church picnic. Toni Pederzani motioned to accept the picnic request along with a waiver for use of a 20lb. propane gas tank. A key deposit of $25.00 is required if needed. Seconded by Mitch Hamel. All were in favor. D. Hands across the Table- Opechee Cove- Wednesday, August 19, 2015 from 4pm-7pm for a picnic for soup kitchen. Deanna Guyer motioned to accept the request. Seconded by Mitch Hamel. Kevin Dunleavy advised the applicant to notify the police if they want to park cars at North Main St. All were in favor. E. Laconia Multicultural Festival- Rotary Park- Saturday, September 12, 2015 from 6am to 6pm for a community relations event. David Stamps mentioned that this is their 13th year celebrating the festivities. Mitch Hamel motioned to accept the request. Seconded by Tony Pederzani. All were in favor. F. Salvation Army Turkey Plunge- Opechee Park Cove Beach and Opechee Park House- Saturday, October 31, 2015 from 8am to 3pm for a fundraising event. Donald Morrissey explained that this is their 11th year and they chose to move it a little bit earlier this year. Tony Pederzani motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for the fundraising event. Deanna Guyer seconded. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK The following wedding requests for Rotary Park have been approved administratively: a) Christina Arpin & Joseph Barker Wedding- Belknap Mill Gazebo- Sunday, September 20, 2015 for a wedding ceremony. b) Philip Mares Wedding- Belknap Mill Gazebo- Saturday, June 4, 2016 for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: A. Facility Use Request Form proposed changes. Kevin Dunleavy presented a draft for a new facility request application form at the request of the City Council. Kevin asked the Commission to review the form and provide feedback at the next meeting. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. PUBLIC COMMENT: VII. COMMUNICATIONS:  A. Letter regarding Opechee Park Club- Kevin explained that the Opechee Park Club group has terminated their non-profit status and have officially donated their remaining funds in the amount of $18,500 to the City to build a public pavilion at Opechee Cove area. VIII. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: IX. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association –Income & Expense report. Tony Felch updated the Commissioners for the upcoming Carnival event on Saturday, August 22, 2015 from 3pm to 6pm at Leavitt Park. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- Income & Expense Report X. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Asst. Directors Report submitted by Amy Lovisek Summer is slowing down now. We only have one more week of Opechee Day Camp, the in-town beaches are no longer guarded and Weirs Beach is only guarded during the weekends! The Opechee Day Camp has gone well this year. We did not have a full week except for the first. The kids were very young this year and I’m hoping that means they will stay with us for the elementary school career! Our weekly price is below everyone else in the city, which I am happy to be able to say. The beaches were relatively uneventful, which is what we want. We did have a number of people upset at the no floatation device rule. More people than usual this year. Weirs Beach was used to a high level all summer, but especially over the weekends. We were very understaffed for guards this year as you know. This caused us to close one of the in- town beaches some of the days as necessary. This is less of a concern when the camps are not in session, but was huge when the camps wanted to use them. We were in constant communication with them. I am hoping for more guards next year. We are working on a plan to entice more kids to work for us. Tennis lessons ended 8/13 with a big practice and a match to 2. They had some light foods for the kids and adults. They gave everyone t-shirts, a can of tennis balls and a gift certificate to Gilford Hills for a free clinic! Thank you to Lakes Region Tennis Association! The NH Coffee Festival is quickly approaching. The date is September 19th from 12:00 – 4:00pm on Main Street and Canal Street. This should be a great event. B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Athletic field preparation including Laconia Muskrats Pet waste bag restocking Bath House cleaning Irrigation repairs and maintenance Walking path maintenance and edging Planting bed weeding, pruning and bark mulching Mowing and trimming Various work orders at City Hall, Library, park houses, LFD and LPD Beach raking Playground equipment repairs Trash and litter cleanup Athletic Field lining/striping • Athletic fields and other areas continue to be treated with fertilizer this month. • The Department is now using our new Toro large area mower. This mower is already proving that it will make the department more efficient with the mowing of our large areas. • The concrete pad for the bleachers at Memorial Park baseball field has been installed. The contractor for the bleachers is expected to install the bleachers in the next few weeks. • Seasonal staffing continues to be a big challenge for the Department. We will continue to look for seasonal help for the Fall season. The Department will be reevaluating our seasonal staffing hiring process and pay scales during the off season with the goal of having a full seasonal staff on board next year. • The Laconia Muskrats season has now been completed. Unfortunately they struggled to get victories at the end of the year and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. • Funding for the Weirs Beach restoration project was approved for this year’s budget. We have been in discussion with our engineering consultant on the next steps of the process which will include engineering and permitting. • Weirs Beach continues to see large crowds, especially on weekends. It has been a challenge keeping a handle on the trash that has been generated during these times. In response, we have placed temporary dumpsters at the beach parking lot. Also, we are having a maintenance staff member on duty from 4pm to around 7pm to pick up trash as people leave the beach for the day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, depending on the weather. This has helped the situation but comes at an additional cost.  • The Gateway Park project is really taking shape. Many of the plantings are now in place, with more to come. Irrigation, benches and lighting have been installed. Sod for the small lawn area is expected shortly. Final completion for this project is expected around September 21st. Stay tuned for the scheduling of the ribbon cutting. • The Riverwalk stairway project behind the Landmark Inn is slated to begin at the end of August. This stairway will allow access from the Main Street Bridge area down to the Riverwalk area behind the Landmark Inn. The project should take a few weeks. • A new garage bay door was installed at the maintenance garage this past month to replace the previous door which was in disrepair. A man door was included in the new bay door to meet the second means of access requirement. • Youth soccer and youth football have started their pre-season practices. Interscholastic sports will be following in the near future. • The Woodland Heights dugout project is underway. Members of Lakes Region Girls Softball are doing a fine job with the construction. •The NorEaster’s Softball Tournament was a success again this year. This event brings large numbers of visitors to Laconia and the surrounding towns. We are pleased to be able to offer our facilities for the event, and the feedback we have received has been nothing but positive. • The Parks and Recreation has sponsored three programs at the Weirs Community Park amphitheater this summer. Our last program featured the Squam Lakes Science Center wildlife program which was well attended and popular with the crowd. Additional programs will be occurring. •Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Staff meetings, Special Events Committee, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Main Street Bridge construction meetings, Pumpkin Festival and Laconia Area Bicycle Exchange. XI. ADJOURNMENT: Mitch Hamel moved to adjourn at 8:35 p.m. Seconded by Deanna Guyer. All were in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Liza Kelleher Secretary