Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING May 21, 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 Mitch Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance. Rodney Roy, Deanna Guyer and Tony Pederzani. Absent – Arthur Kirk. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy and Parks and Recreation Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of April 16, 2018 Commissioner Rodney Roy moved to adopt the minutes from April 16, 2018. Seconded by Commissioner Deanna Guyer. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Holy Trinity- Opechee Main Field– Tuesday, June 12, 2018 from 9:00am to 2:00pm for Annual Field Day event. Director Dunleavy explained that it is a challenge to provide water for the dunk tank and slip and slide because the outside water sources are left off so the public does not tamper with them. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance from Holy Trinity and a certificate of insurance from the company providing the inflatable elements, with the understanding that this company will install and monitor the inflatables. Additionally water for the dunk tank is Holy Trinity’s responsibility and the location of the dunk tank is to be coordinated with the Parks and Recreation Director. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. B. Lakes Region Vineyard Church- Opechee Point- Sunday, August 5, 2018 (August 12 rain date) from 12:00pm to 6:00pm for the Annual Church Picnic and water baptism. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance, payment of $100 special event fee and a deposit of $25.00 per key issued if needed. The propane tank restriction to be waived if needed. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. C. Laconia Chiefs Youth Football & Cheer Association- Leavitt Park Field- Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 22 through July 26, 2018 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm for Laconia Chiefs Cheer Camp. Director Dunleavy said that he recommends this program use Leavitt Park Field instead of Memorial Park as originally requested due to conflicts with other uses.  Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request at Leavitt Park Field conditioned upon payment for non-resident users’ fee and submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. D. Partnership for Public Health- Opechee/Smith Track- Saturday, May 26, 2018 from 10:00am to 12:00pm for the 3rd Annual Stomp the Stigma Walk for 2018. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon submission of the certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. E. Hartford, Vt. Class of 2018- Weirs Beach- Wednesday, June 6, 2018 from 3:00pm to 8:00pm for Hartford Senior Trip. Director Dunleavy said that due to how far the applicant would need to travel to attend the meeting, would the Commission consider approving the request without a representative from the group being present. There was no objection for the Commission. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request conditioned upon payment of $100 special event fee and submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. All were in favor. F. Hands across the Table- Opechee Cove Picnic Area- Wednesday, June 27, 2018 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm for the annual Picnic. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request to use the Opechee Cove for the annual picnic. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. All were in favor. G. Groups Recover Together- Opechee Smith Park- Saturday, August 18, 2018 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm for 2018 Laconia Corn Hole Festival and Annual Strengthening Community Fair. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request conditioned upon the payment of the $100 special event fee and submission of a certificate of insurance and City Council approval for fundraising on City park land. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. Commissioner Hamel asked what they planned for vendors. The applicant stated they may have a food truck. Director Dunleavy said vendors are permitted as long as they are associated with event and they have the appropriate vendor license. All were in favor. H. Lakes Region Community Svs. - Opechee Park- Saturday, June 2, 2018 from 10:00am to 2:00pm for Fishing With Father Figures. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request for use of Opechee Park for the Fishing with Father Figures event with the propane tank restriction waiver. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. I. AJL Babe Ruth League- Memorial Park Baseball Field- May 23 through August 1, 2018 for the regular season baseball games and practices. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon, payment of non-resident users’ fee, submission of a certificate of insurance, waiver of the concession stand fee and compliance with the banner policy. Additionally, payment for lights and non-resident users’ fee for 2017-2018 season should be paid by May 31, 2018. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. J. Wilkins-Smith Post 1 American Legion Baseball- Memorial Park Baseball Field and Robbie Mills - May 20, 2018 through November 1, 2018 for the regular season at Memorial Park Baseball Field and June 28 to July 1, 2018 for a tournament at Robbie Mills and Memorial Park Baseball Field . Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request for the regular season of May 20 through 1, 2018 conditioned upon payment for non-resident users’ fees, light fees, storage fees, concession stand fee, tournament fee of $100.00, submission of a certificate of insurance, banner policy compliance and final approval from the City Council for the fundraising in the City property. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION Commissioner Hamel said the following wedding requests for Rotary Park have been approved administratively: A. Caitlin Lynch & Michael McClory- Rotary Gazebo- Sunday, October 14, 2018 from 11:00am to 3:00pm for a wedding ceremony. B. Samantha Benton & Ryan Deschenes- Rotary Gazebo- Saturday, October 6, 2018 from 1- 3pm IV. NEW BUSINESS: A. Leavitt Park Basketball Court Resurfacing- Director Dunleavy said that after recent discussions with the City Manager, next year’s CIP request for resurfacing of the Leavitt Park basketball courts was reconsidered to be included in this year’s court resurfacing projects along with Sanborn Park and Tardif Park. The Director said that funded was made available through impact fees and two other funds that were applicable which the City Council approved recently. Director Dunleavy said that $6,461.64 would come from impact fees, $1,292.36 would come from the Summer Basketball fund and $2,225 would come from the Opechee/Leavitt Park Renovations fund. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: Tony Felch of Celebrate Laconia said that the group along with the 405 Pub is interested in having a beer tent at Opechee Point for the Celebrate Laconia 125th Anniversary Event. Mr. Felch said that he realizes this is a late request that did not meet the agenda deadline, but the group would like to pursue it. Commissioner Hamel said that he would like to see further information and further approvals from the Special Events Committee and City Council before the Commission takes up the matter. Director Dunleavy commented that late approvals are challenging for City staff and much time and work is required at the last minute, and these requests should be submitted several months in advance so proper planning can occur. Director Dunleavy said that the Commission could consider the request at their next meeting on June 18th. Director Dunleavy recommended that Mr. Felch have discussions with the Police Department about their requirements, connect with the Planning Department so the matter can be discussed at the Special Events Committee, and that City Council and Licensing Board approvals be obtained soon. Director Dunleavy explained that there is no electrical source or lighting in this area of the park. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS:  IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: A. River Crew Art/Navigating Recovery-Mural- Director Dunleavy said that Navigating Recovery was requesting to paint the lake side of the Bartlett Beach bath house with a mural that focuses on the City’s 125th Anniversary. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request to paint the lakeside of Bartlett beach with a mural. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. 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 spring has been a bit stressful in regards to hiring. We currently have only 4 lifeguards that are coming back from last year. This means we need another 9 lifeguards for a fully staffed summer. It’s not looking good. I have 3 that have applied and am waiting to hear from them if they want to job or not. Laconia is not alone in the situation. The area parks & rec departments all got together and wrote a press release and sent it to the area papers. The Sun did an article on us and I am hoping that helps get people interested. With a limited number of lifeguards we will not be able to open all beaches. The Opechee Day Camp is filling up quickly. We have between 27 and 35 kids signed up each week. 40 is our maximum number allowed this year. All employment positions have been filled. We are planning to train one of our camp counselors as a lifeguard so the kids can still use the beach this year. I went to the Primex training up in Bretton Woods this month and learned lots and was able to network well. It’s always nice to hear from other towns what is happening that we are not alone in anything. The Adopt A Spot is doing fair. I would love to see more interest from the community to participate, but we can’t force the hand! Cross your fingers that we can find more lifeguards and we will have a great summer. Enjoy yourself.  B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy May 21st, 2018 Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Work orders/repairs at City Hall, Library, park houses, LFD and LPD Mowing and trimming Bathroom startups at athletic fields and bath houses Trash removal and litter pickup Pet waste bag restocking Spring cleanups Painting of bath houses Athletic field preparation Irrigation startups • The Parks maintenance division is extremely busy this spring with the usual annual tasks. With the late winter weather, we are working on a compressed schedule. Maintenance staff has been busy with spring cleanups, mowing and field preparations for interscholastic sports events. With Memorial Day around the corner, we have been cleaning up our cemeteries and have started preparing planting areas. • Community Center Improvements – The consultant, MacFarlane-Johnson is in the process of preparing a report for the HVAC system and options for the future. • Seasonal Employees – We continue to struggle with securing seasonal positions. Our lifeguard search has had minimal response and we may need to consider having no lifeguards at some of our beaches. This problem has not been unique to Laconia as other towns are struggling as well. •Lezama Family Happy Tails Dog Park – The City Council has approved the $100K donation for the construction of the park. Raymonds Landscaping of Concord has been selected to construct the park and is planning on starting construction right after Memorial Day. I will be working with Happy Tail Dog Park to finalize an agreement for their oversight of the dog park. A ground breaking ceremony is planned for May 30th at noon. • Weirs Beach Restoration – No update. Woods Hole Group has submitted a conceptual design to NHDES for a created wetland north of the beach area to address mitigation requirements. We are awaiting a response from NHDES on this concept. • Native American Sculpture –Additional fundraising is needed to complete any repairs. • Bond and Bartlett Beach drainage projects: We are awaiting final engineering plans from the consultant.  • Laconia Downtown Riverwalk – The project was awarded to J. Parker and Daughters as the low bidder. J. Parker and Daughters defaulted on the award and the City is now in the process of working with the next lowest bidder, Busby Construction. This process has resulted in a delay with the start of construction on the Landmark Inn segment. • Fencing Projects: Ornamental fencing projects have been completed at Opechee Park, Rotary Park and Robbie Mills Complex. • 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, Happy Tails Dog Park, Eversource, WOW Trail, WOW Trail Maintenance Advisory Committee, Consilidated Communications (Fairpoint), Leavitt Park Community Volunteers, DPW construction meeting, Celebrate Laconia, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Weirs Bath House door replacement pre-proposal meeting. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motion to adjourn at 9:04pm. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. 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 Cheryl Hebert, 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.