Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING August 21, 2017 Laconia Community Center- Parks & Recreation Office 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Deanna Guyer called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Recreation and Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy recorded this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Deanna Guyer called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Deanna Guyer, Arthur Kirk and Tony Pederzani. Absent- Mitch Hamel and Rodney Roy Parks & Recreation staff: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of July 17th, 2017 Commissioner Tony Pederzani moved to adopt the minutes from July 17th, 2017. Seconded by Commissioner Arthur Kirk. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. Coldwell Banker Cares- WOW Trail- Sunday, September 17, 2017 from 10:00am to 1:00pm for Putting Kids & Families First Charity Poker Walk. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request for the walk. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. B. Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region- Bartlett Beach/WOW Trail/Riverwalk Trail- Sunday, October 22, 2017 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm for the 1st Annual Strengthen Community of the Lakes Region Walk. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request conditioned upon a loudspeaker permit and City Council approval. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Hands Across the Table - Opechee Park Cove Picnic Area- August 23, 2017 from 4pm to 7pm for an outdoor picnic. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to table the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. Kevin Dunleavy said he would reach out to the organizers and find out if they intend on having this event. All were in favor. B. Granite United Way- Opechee Park parking lot and Park House- Thursday, September 7, 2017 from 10am to 2pm for the annual Day of Caring event luncheon. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request for the walk. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. C. Under His Wings Preschool- Opechee parking lot and Smith Track – Sunday, October 15th, 2017 from 9am to 1pm for the UHW Monster Dash 5K Run/Walk. Commissioner Pederzani  motioned to approve the request subject to $100 special event fee. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. D. Lakes Region Community Services – Leavitt Park lawn area next to park house – September 15, 2017 for an annual employee appreciation barbeque. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request for the walk and waiver for propane tank use, subject to a loudspeaker permit for any amplified sound in the park. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. E. Laconia Middle School - Middle School interscholastic sports • Smith Field for LMS Field Hockey – August 28, 2017 to October 20, 2017 for field hockey practice and games, 2:30pm to 6:00pm M-F. • Opechee Field for LMS Soccer - August 28, 2017 to October 20, 2017 for soccer practice and games, 2:30pm to 6:00pm M-F. • Opechee Field B for LMS Softball - March 26, 2018 to May 30, 2018 for softball practice and games, 2:30pm to 6:00pm M-F. • Memorial Park Baseball Field for LMS Baseball - March 26, 2018 to May 30, 2018 for baseball practice and games, 2:30pm to 6:00pm M-F. • Smith Track and Field for LMS Track and Field - March 26, 2018 to May 30, 2018 for track and field practice and meets, 2:30pm to 6:00pm M-F. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the requests for Middle School interscholastic sports. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. F. Tritanium Sports- Opechee Park – August 8, 2018 to August 13, 2018 for the City on the Lakes Tri Festival from 8am to 5pm daily. Jan Buitendag of Tritanium Sports said that the event was well received and he expressed his appreciation for all the support the event received from the City. Mr. Buitendag said that they are looking to have two race days next year on Saturday and Sunday. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request for the walk and subject to a $480 special event fee and conditioned upon City Council approval. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. G. Wilkins-Smith Post 1 American Legion Baseball – Memorial Park Baseball Field – Sundays from August 27, 2017 to October 29, 2017 from 8am to 2pm for American Legion Fall Baseball. Joe Dee of American Legion Baseball said they are looking at a handful of Sunday games at Memorial as part of the fall American Legion baseball league. Commissioner Guyer asked if there were going to be non-resident players. Joe Dee said there would be a couple. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request subject to $10 non- resident fee for those players who did not pay a fee earlier in the year. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION • Robert Catlin and Emma Lynch – Rotary Gazebo- Saturday, July 14, 2018 afternoon for a wedding ceremony. • Melodie Hughes and Brad O’Hara 2:00pm to 5:00pm for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: A. Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Program Request Discussion - Recreation and Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy provided a draft summary of the proposed CIP items for the Commission to review. Kevin said he is looking to provide information on the items and also to get feedback from the Commission. Kevin stated that most of the CIP requests from last year were approved by the City Council and the Department appreciated the funding to help keep our parks well maintained. Kevin said that the Council approved some funding for engineering for drainage improvements at some of the beaches. The further request is for the construction phase and engineering at two other beaches. Kevin explained that Gale Avenue waterfront is suffering from storm water erosion and the docks are in need of replacement. Kevin said he recommending a new dock system that can be a canoe/kayak launch area. Kevin said that he is recommending we continue funding repairs and revitalization of our playground systems. Kevin said that repairs need to be kept up with. Kevin said that Leavitt Park courts are the next courts that are in line for resurfacing in order to keep up with the maintenance of the surface. Kevin explained that a centralized irrigation control system would help the Department manage its 20 plus irrigation systems in a more effective and efficient way by allowing remote oversight of the system. Kevin said that the Memorial Softball irrigation system would be the last irrigation system to install at our major athletic fields. Kevin explained that the skate park is in unusable condition due to the rot of the wooden elements. Kevin said that it might be a consideration to look at a regional skate park that neighboring communities could partner with to share the initial costs and maintenance. Kevin said that he would be looking to have the Commission take action on the CIP program request at the September meeting. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION:  X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association – Minutes of July 12th, 2017 meeting. Minutes of August 9th, 2017 meeting B. Weirs Community Park Association- No Report C. Tardif Park Association- No report XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Asst. Directors Report submitted by Amy Lovisek Mid-August and things are starting to quiet down for the summer. The in-town beaches no longer have lifeguards (this year has been very difficult to find and keep good lifeguards). August 20th was the last day for lifeguards everywhere and the Bond Beach Attendants to monitor the beach. The Weirs Enforcement crew will remain through Labor Day. We usually have guards at least on weekends at the Weirs, but this year everyone left early. I had only 1 guard able to help until Labor Day. I can’t have just 1 guard at any facility. There are no lessons happening currently. I am just starting on the Fall/Winter Program Brochure and should have that finished by the next month’s meeting. This is a difficult time of year to be focusing my attention on it. Now that things are quieting down I can move forward on the brochure. The Opechee Day Camp is finished as of August 25th. The camp went well this year. We did have a couple of medical situations that were handled appropriately The camp kids and the Boys and Girls Club have been using the Gaga Ball Pit constantly. The kids absolutely love the game and always choose that game over any other option! It is a great addition to the park and paid for by the camp. B. Directors report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Work orders/repairs at City Hall, Library, park houses, LFD and LPD Athletic field preparation for Muskrats, youth soccer and interscholastic sports. Planting area weeding, watering and maintenance Trash removal and litter pickup Pet waste bag restocking Bark mulching  Mowing and trimming Event support – Triathlon, RR Station Anniversary, Leavitt Park Carnival, Noreaster Tourney Busy Corner Project Irrigation repairs Beach cleaning Bath house cleaning • Summer maintenance staff has tasked with the usual activities associated with mowing, litter cleanup, beach cleaning, bath house cleaning and athletic field maintenance. Staffing levels have diminished with seasonal staff finding other jobs or going back to school. We will continue to look for more staff to assist with the Fall maintenance work. • City on the Lakes Tri Festival – The triathlon at Opechee Park had a successful first year and it featured a sprint race. Plans are in place next year for two days of races. The event was professionally organized and Opechee Park proves to be an ideal location for this event. This event has the potential to be one of the major annual events in the Lakes Region each year and Parks and Recreation looks forward to working with the organizers next year. •Happy Tails Dog Park – Additional survey work has been requested by Eversource to ensure compliance with any regulations relating to the access drive to the dog park. Review of the draft agreement between the City and Happy Tails is ongoing. •Memorial Park- A new tennis net was installed to replace a damage net at the tennis court complex. A new sign for the scoreboard has been completed and will be installed when DPW can assist. •Normandin Square Park Area – Ingham Landscaping has completed the hardscape portion of the project. Parks and Recreation staff has installed planting material for the planning areas. Remaining work includes irrigation installation and the installation of the plantings. • Weirs Beach Restoration – No update. The City is working on gathering more information relating to mitigation of impacts of the project inside the shoreland. Once this information is gathered, the City will be meeting with the mitigation specialist at NHDES to discuss options for the City relating to mitigation requirements. • Upcoming Events – Laconia Multicultural Festival- Sept. 9, NH Pumpkin Festival- Oct. 13-14, and various charity events and walks. • WOW Trail – Parks and Recreation has been working with the WOW Trail to install signage along the trail. Various events and charity walks will be occurring this Fall along the trail. • Robbie Mills Water Supply – The two wells have been hydro-fracked resulting in sufficient yield to supply the facility with the necessary water for the concession, bathrooms and irrigation. Gilford Well continues to work on the necessary water connections at Robbie Mills Complex and the State of NH water tower. • Native American Sculpture – With the assistance from DPW, a pole was installed to brace the statue from the back as a precaution. Fundraising continues for the project. • New Dump Truck - Parks and Recreation has received our new dump truck. The truck is being fitted with a leaf vacuuming system which will be significantly more efficient than cleaning leaves and debris by hand.  • Meetings that I have attended the last month include multiple meetings for the City on the Lakes Triathlon, various meetings regarding the Robbie Mills water supply, Special Events Committee, meetings with Boy Scouts for Eagle projects, City Staff Meeting, Downtown TIF District meeting, DPW project meeting, Laconia Rotary recognition luncheon. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Pederzani motioned to adjourn at 8:15pm. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Dunleavy Mitch Hamel Recreation and Facilities Director Commissioner Chair Acting Secretary This meeting facility is ADA accessible. Any person with a disability who wishes to attend this public meeting and needs additional accommodations, please contact Mary Reynolds, meeting ADA coordinator, at City Hall by calling (603) 527-1265 at least 72 hours in advance so that the City can make any necessary arrangements.