Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING October 17, 2016 Laconia Community Center- Parks & Recreation Office 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Chair Mitch Hamel called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Secretary Liza Kelleher will be recording this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Chair Mitch Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Tony Pederzani, Rodney Roy and Arthur Kirk. Absent: Deanna Guyer Parks & Recreation staff in attendance: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy and Parks & Recreation Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of September 19, 2016 Commissioner Rodney Roy moved to adopt the minutes from September 19, 2016. Seconded by Commissioner Tony Pederzani. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. Review of rule against use of Coast Guard approved life jackets. No discussion occurred. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. LAYBL – Community Center Gym – December 19, 2016 through March 5, 2017 Saturdays from 8am to 5pm and Sundays 8-1pm for LAYBL games and practices. Joyce Janitorial is still in charge of cleaning the facility after the game as agreed. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request for games and practice conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance, cleaning of restrooms on Sunday nights and a key deposit. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. B. Laconia Kiwanis- Rotary Park- Sunday, August 27, 2017 from 8:00am to 3:00pm for Rogers Ride. Commissioner Roy motioned to table the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. C. Nor’Easter Softball Club- Memorial Park Softball Field, Woodland Heights and Opechee A, B, C, D- July 21, 2017 from 4pm to 10pm at Memorial Park softball field, from 4pm to 8pm at Woodland and Opechee Field. Also July 22 and 23rd from 7am to 5:30pm for Memorial Park Softball Field, Opechee A,B,C,D, and Woodland Heights Field for the Nor’easter Classic softball tournament. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance, payment for lights, tournament fee and a deposit of $25.00 per key for any keys issued. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor.  D. Lakes Region Girls Softball- For practice and games. ● Opechee Field D and Elm St. Field- April 1, 2017 through July 31, 2017 Monday to Friday from 5pm-8pm, Saturday & Sunday from 8am to 8pm ● Woodland Heights Field - April 1 through July 31, 2017 Monday to Friday from 5pm- 8pm & Saturday, Sunday from 8am to 8pm, ● Woodland Heights Field - August 1 through October 31 Sundays only. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request conditioned upon payment for storage, non-resident users’ fee and submission of a certificate of insurance. A deposit of $25.00 per key is required for all keys issued. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. All were in favor. E. WOW Trail- Opechee south parking lot, Smith Track and WOW Trail from North Main Street to Lakeport, October 22nd from 7am to 2pm for the Runaway Pumpkin Run/Walk event. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon approval from the City Council for fundraising in the City property. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. F. Downtown Gym/Santa Fund of the Greater Lakes Region – WOW Trail from Water Street to Laconia/Belmont town line, November 27th from 7am to 2pm for a “Santa Fun Run-Walk” benefitting the Children’s Auction. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for fundraising on City parkland. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION The following birthday party and wedding requests have been approved administratively: a) Robert & Donna Timmins- Weirs Community Park Pavilion- October 16, 2016 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm for a birthday party. b) Brenda Bishop-Holgate- Rotary Park Gazebo- August 12, 2017 from 12pm to 4pm for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Ernie Bolduc presented a plaque to the Parks and Recreation Commission in recognition of the 40th Anniversary of the Laconia Christmas Village being entered into the Congressional Record signed by Congressman Frank C. Guinta. VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS:  IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: Letter from Leavitt Park Volunteers requesting additional funding for HVAC improvements to the Leavitt Park House. Tony Felch of the Leavitt Park Volunteers said that the original estimate for $10,000 did not cover the cost of the project because the electrical service needs to be upgraded. Tony said an additional $8,800 was needed. Kevin said he will check to see what funding will is available. Commissioner Roy motioned to move the project forward conditioned upon available funding. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association –Minutes of September 7, 2016 meeting. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- No report. Kevin will encourage the group to provide meeting updates to the Commissioners. XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Asst. Directors Report submitted by Amy Lovisek This month has had me working on some new stuff. I am trying to come up with new and different programs this fall and winter. I am looking to do all kinds of new things. If you can think of anything that would be of interest to any age group I would like to hear about it. This can be craft classes of all types, sports (ping pong) etc. Again, if you can think of anything I could offer to the public let me know. I am currently working on the schedule of having the gym closed for not only Christmas Village, but also for the floors being done. We are on a schedule to have our gym floors sealed with 2 coats every year and our kitchen done every other year. The actual process is relatively quick, but we take extra time for the floor to harden and strengthen. It will push LAYBL back to after the new year to use the gym. We are working with the different service organizations about our “Welcome to Laconia” signs. We have heard back from 4 at this point. We are looking into the possibility of updating these signs. I am still working on the maintenance manual and working with Tim for the punch list we will always need to update. This is a huge undertaking, but will be well worth the effort. B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Various work orders at City Hall, Library, park houses, LFD and LPD  Athletic field preparations for school sports Mowing and trimming Trash removal Pet waste bag restocking Irrigation maintenance Field lining Brush Cutting Fall plantings in Downtown area  Sod installation Downtown  Weeding of planting beds  Tree pruning at Rotary and Stewart Parks  Fertilizing and other turf amendments Painting at Robbie Mills and Community Center • Maintenance staff is still busy with athletic field maintenance and preparation. Staff has also been preparing for Pumpkin Festival by doing various needed maintenance tasks in the Downtown area including weeding, planting seasonal flowers, brush cutting, loam and seeding, and sod installation in the Gateway area. •WOW Trail – Construction is reaching the final phases. Recent work has included bridge abutments, fencing installation, drainage, paving, loam and seeding, brick paver installation and bridge work. •Happy Tails Dog Park – We have received feedback from the NH Parks and Recreation and National Park Service. The National Park Service has reviewed the project and has indicated that the proposed use of the property is in compliance with the original intent of the LWCF acquisition and the project does meet the criteria for a significant change of use. We are awaiting further review by the NH Division of Historic Preservation to ensure the project will not impact potential historical features. • New payroll software – The City is in the process of implementing an automated payroll system. Parks and Recreation has been chosen to be one of the first departments to utilize the new software and we are now using it to track payroll and leave time. • Pumpkin Festival – Parks and Recreation staff is busy making Downtown look as good as it can for the upcoming Pumpkin Festival event. Amy has been working with the Chamber of Commerce with the organization of the parade. The event does not involve our department to a high degree. We will provide some minor support and some staff may be helping with trash pickup during the event. •Memorial Park- Irrigation proposals have been received and installation will be occurring in the next few weeks on the baseball field. Installation of new bleachers is still anticipated for this fall. • Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Staff meetings, City Council meetings, Special Events Committee, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Weirs TIF Advisory  Board. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motioned to adjourn at 7:55pm. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel Secretary Commissioner Chair