Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING March 19, 2018 Laconia Community Center- Parks & Recreation Office 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Commission Chair Mitch Hamel called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Secretary Liza Kelleher recorded this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commission Chair Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Deanna Guyer and Arthur Kirk. Absent- Rodney Roy and Tony Pederzani. Parks & Recreation Staff: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy and Parks & Recreation Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of February 20, 2018 Commissioner Deanna Guyer moved to adopt the minutes from February 20, 2018. Seconded by Commissioner Arthur Kirk. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. American Cancer Society Inc.- Opechee Park House and Field- Wednesday to Saturday October 17-20th from 5pm-9pm (set up and registration), Sunday October 21st, 2018 (event) from 9-3pm for the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising event. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for a fundraising event on City property. Commissioners waived the special event fee and all keys are subject to $25.00 security deposit if needed. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. B. Advantage Kids Tennis- Memorial Park Tennis Courts- Tuesdays, May 1 through June 5, 2018 from 3:00-6:00pm for NH Lakes Region Middle School Tennis program. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of non- resident users’ fee and a certificate of insurance. A security deposit of $25.00 per key is required if needed. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. C. Laconia Motorcycle Week Assoc. - Weirs Beach- Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 6pm-11pm (rain date June 14, 15 or 16, 2018) for Laconia Motorcycle Week Fireworks. Commissioner Guyer tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. D. Laconia Motorcycle Week Assoc. - Opechee Park- Friday, June 15, 2018 from 7am -3pm for City of Laconia Bike show and swap meet. . Commissioner Guyer tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. American Red Cross- Laconia Community Center Basement- starting May 31, 2018, once every two months from 11am-7:00pm for Laconia Community Blood Drive. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request for the use of Laconia Community Center basement for Community Blood Drives. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. B. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention- Opechee Park parking lot and Cove area- October 14, 2018, Sunday from 7am -1:00pm for out of the darkness walk. Commissioner Kirk tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. C. Celebrate Laconia- Opechee Park- July 7, 2018, Saturday from 10am to 10pm (July 8, 2018 rain date) for Celebrate Laconia “Party in the Park”. Becky Guyer said that they are planning on having fireworks, vendors, stage with live music, a second stage for performances, parade and possibly a beer tent at Opechee Point. Kevin Dunleavy said that this event will be taking the place of the usual Fourth of July event and will be similar in nature but on a larger scale. Becky said that they may have a hot air balloon and inflatable elements for kids. Kevin Dunleavy asked if there were going to be any amusement rides. Becky said there were no plans for them. Becky asked the Commissioners what information she would be needing if they want to have a beer tent during the celebration. Commissioner Hamel advised her to provide the Commission with information on who the company is that will be selling the beer. Commissioner Hamel asked that a vendor list and layout of the event also be provided. Kevin Dunleavy recommended that Celebrate Laconia get together with the Police to get their input on the possible beer and wine area. There was discussion on vendor fees and Kevin Dunleavy said that Celebrate Laconia should discuss this with the Licensing Department. There was also discussion regarding the need for certificates of insurance and what would be required from individual vendors. Kevin Dunleavy said that it may be a good idea to have certificates from some of the vendors like the hot air balloon and inflatable attractions. Kevin said you could get a park map to Becky. Kevin said he will also get clarification in regards to certificates of insurance. Kevin recommended to the Commission that they could approve the event and hold off on any approval of the beer and wine area until further information is available. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request for the event without the beer and wine area, conditioned upon submission of a vendor list, site map of the event layout, certificates of insurance if needed and final approval from the City Council. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. D. Laconia Multicultural Festival- Rotary Park- September 8, 2018, Saturday from 7am to 5pm for Laconia Multicultural Festival. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request to use Rotary Park for the Multicultural Festival event. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. E. Evangelical Baptist Church- Leavitt Park Field & Bathrooms- June 24 through June 30, 2018 from 8am to 4pm for the annual On Goal Soccer Camp. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request subject to field conditions, payment of non-resident users’ fee, propane tank waiver and final approval from the City Council. A security deposit of $25.00 per key is required if needed. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. F. Faith Alive Christian Fellowship- Memorial Park- Saturday May 26, 2018 (June 2, 2018  rain date) from 7am to5:30 pm for their annual Kids Carnival. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. G. Laconia Chiefs Football Spirit and Cheer- Memorial Park Baseball Field- August to October 2018 for Laconia Chiefs Football Season. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request conditioned upon payment of the storage fee, non-resident users’ fee, field lighting fees, security deposit of $25.00 per key if needed, and submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION Commissioner Hamel stated that the following wedding requests for Rotary Park were approved administratively: A. Jacob Fitzpatrick – Rotary Gazebo- Sunday, September 9, 2018 from 11:00am to 3:00pm for a wedding ceremony. B. Nicole Austin- Rotary Gazebo- Saturday, July 21, 2018 from 12:00-3:30pm for a wedding ceremony. C. Steve Drum- Rotary Gazebo- Saturday, September 29, 2018 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: A. Kevin Dunleavy stated that Deanna Guyer and Tony Pederzani were reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission. B. Election of Parks and Recreation Commission Chair and Clerk Kevin Dunleavy said that elections could be held next month when more Commissioners would be in attendance. All Commissioners were in agreement. VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association –No report. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- No report  XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Asst. Directors Report submitted by Amy Lovisek This month has definitely been interesting with this weird weather. We have gone from temps in the 60’s to three nor’easters in the last 2 weeks! It has caused some serious problems with my programs. During the February vacation this year I had a sledding party, ice skating party and cardboard sled race planned. All of those had to be cancelled due to poor conditions. All open gym times were well used though. I have spent this month planning for summer though. I have most of the summer program brochure finished. I am just waiting for a couple of dates still from outsiders. I’m hoping to get it out via email at the end of this month. Most programs will start the 1st of April for registrations. This will get the word out before that happens. The Easter Egg Hunt will be Sunday, March 25th at 1:00pm at Leavitt Park. If possible, please try to be there to help us spread eggs for the kids. The extra hands would be greatly appreciated. This is a rain or shine event so bring your boots if it is raining! Thank you in advance. All regular programs are running smoothly with good participation. 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 Winter maintenance – plowing, snow blowing, salting, sanding Ice rink and sledding hill maintenance Trash removal and litter pickup Pet waste bag restocking Snow clearing at parking lots City Hall window trim work Painting at Community Center and maintenance shop Preparations for field restroom openings • In between snow removal and winter maintenance tasks, our maintenance staff has been performing indoor tasks like painting, City Hall window trim installation, various work orders for other municipal departments and other building repair work. Once the winter weather departs, we will be scrambling to get our outdoor facilities open for use for the spring. • Community Center Improvements – New electric hand dryers are being installed in the public restrooms at the Community Center. This improvement should cut down on long term costs with  paper products and will also have an environmental benefit. • Seasonal Employees – We have started advertising for seasonal staffing. We have full and part time positions available. •Happy Tails Dog Park – The City met with the selected firm Raymond’s Landscaping on February 20th to discuss revising the scope of work. The City will is expecting to award the project to Raymond’s Landscaping and construction work is expected to be begin this spring. • Weirs Beach Restoration – No update. Woods Hole Group is working on conceptual mitigation approaches that will be presented to the NHDES for consideration. • Native American Sculpture –Testing on the integrity of the Native American statue was performed on February 19th. Testing involved boring small holes into the structure to determine how much rot is present on the inside and how much of an intact shell remains. Results of the testing are expected in the near future. We will be placing a more secure temporary chain link safety fence around the statue once the snow melts. • Bond and Bartlett Beach drainage projects: I met with Loureiro Engineering on March 16th to review preliminary design of drainage and erosion control improvements. Loureiro Engineering is looking to finalize design work in the next month. • Skating Rinks/Sledding Hill – Our skating rinks have been closed for the season. With the new onslaught of snow, we have reopened the sledding hill and the lights are on daily until 10pm. • Laconia Downtown Riverwalk – Two new segments of the Downtown Riverwalk have been advertised for bids. Construction work on the segment behind Walgreens is planned for this spring while work on the segment from the City Hall parking lot to Church Street is planned for this fall. • Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Council, Riverwalk project meetings, City Staff Meeting, meeting with Boy Scouts for Eagle projects, Special Events Committee, beach drainage/erosion project meetings, Sewage Discharge Permit workshop. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Guyer motioned to adjourn at 8:55pm. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel  Secretary Commissioner Chair 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.