Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING August 20, 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, Arthur Kirk and Tony Pederzani. Absent- Deanna Guyer. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy and Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of July 16, 2018 Commissioner Rod Roy moved to adopt the minutes from July 16, 2018. Seconded by Commissioner Arthur Kirk. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. The Winnipesauke Muskrats- Robbie Mills- Friday to Monday, October 5th thru 8th, 2018 for Muskrats Fall Classic Senior Baseball Tournament. Commissioner Roy motioned to table the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Weirs Action Committee- Endicott Rock Park parking lot- June 8-16, 2019 for the Laconia Motorcycle Week parking lot fundraiser. Commissioner Roy motioned to table the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. B. Lakes Region Community Services- Robbie Mills- September 21, 2018 from 8:30am to 3:00pm for annual employee appreciation day. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request subject to payment of $100.00 special event fee. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. C. Tinkergarten- Weirs Community Park - Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, free classes August 27th to September 8, 2018 from 10:00am to 11:15am and paid sessions on Monday & Wednesday September 24th to November 14, 2018 from 10:00am to 11:15am. Commissioner Roy motioned to table the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor.  D. Coldwell Banker Cares- WOW Trail- Sunday, September 23, 2018 from 10:00am to 12:00pm for Putting Kids and Families first 2nd Annual Poker Walk. Commissioner Roy motioned to approve the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. E. Weirs Community Park Assoc.- Weirs Community Center Parking Lot and the lower bay of the Weirs Community Park Parking Lot- June 8 through June 16, 2019, Saturday thru Sunday from 8:00am to midnight for 2019 Laconia Motorcycle Week Parking Fundraiser. Commissioner Roy motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance and City Council approval for the fundraising event. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. F. Navigating Recovery- Rotary Park- Thursday, August 30, 2019 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm for Overdose Awareness Memorial. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. G. District II AA- Opechee Point- Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 11am to 5pm for end of summer party. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. H. WOW Trail – Opechee Park south parking lot, Smith Track and WOW Trail, Friday, October 12th, 2018 from 7am to 10pm for setup and Saturday, October 13th for event, 5am to 10pm for the 4th Annual Runaway Pumpkin 10K & 5K Run/Walk. Commissioner Roy motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance and City Council approval for the fundraising event. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION The following wedding/event requests for Rotary Gazebo, Weirs Pavilion and Amphitheater have been approved administratively: 1. Karyl Fletcher- Weirs Pavilion & Amphitheater – Saturday, October 20, 2018 from 10:00am to 2:00pm for a wedding ceremony. 2. The Lakes Region Partnership for Public Health- Weirs Pavilion- Friday, august 31, 2018 from 11am to 1:00pm for Network Appreciation Ice Cream Social. 3. Jessica Haskin- Rotary Gazebo - Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 12:00pm for a wedding ceremony. 4. Leavitt Park Community Club- Area of Leavitt Park adjacent the clubhouse- August 17, 2018 from 5:00-8:00pm and August 18, 2018 from 3:00pm-6:00pm for Leavitt Park Carnival. IV. NEW BUSINESS:  A. Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Program Request FY 2019-2020- Director Kevin Dunleavy said that he provided the Commission with a copy of last year’s CIP request. Director Dunleavy went through the projects that were funded and completed and the requests that for last year that were not funded. The Director said that he would like to get two new vehicles in the next CIP cycle including a new dump truck and a new pickup truck with plow equipment. The Director said that skatepark funding request will likely be dependent upon private funds supplementing any City funding. The Director said that a regional effort between several towns would be another option for the skatepark. The Director said that the beach erosion projects are projects that should be a priority. The Director said that the bath houses at Bond Beach and Bartlett Beach are very outdated and could be considered for projects sooner than later. The Director said that the item relating to the Disposal Gardens Master Plan can be removed because a solar garden is being installed on this landfill site. The Director asked the Commission to contact him with any other ideas they may have. The Director said he would send along a draft CIP request to the Commission in a couple weeks with the goal of having the Commission approve the request at the September meeting. B. Parks and Recreation Rules and Regulations – Proposed Changes Director Dunleavy said that the Department would like to implement some language additions to the existing Park Rules and Regulations. The Director reviewed the proposed changes with the Commission and these changes included: Rule #6 to read: “Animals are not allowed in the water, on the beach or on athletic fields. Animals walked on park property shall be leashed, and owners are responsible to remove all animal waste.” Rule #17 to read: “All parks and beaches shall open at 7:00am and close at 10:00am with the exception of Weirs Beach (midnight) and scheduled events approved by the Commission or City Council.” Rule #22 to read: “There is absolutely no launching of boats, jet skis kayaks, canoes or any other water apparatus from a City beach or park except in designated areas.” Rule #27 to read: “The use of tobacco, vaping, electronic cigarette products is prohibited in any City recreation area and facility.” The Director said he would need to present these changes to the City Council as well. Commissioner Roy motioned to approve the presented Parks and Recreation Rules and Regulations changes. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS:  VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: 1. Leavitt Park Community Club request to purchase and place a storage shed in the back corner of Leavitt Park Club House. Director Dunleavy said this request was withdrawn by the Leavitt Park Club. Commissioner Roy motioned to remove the request from the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association –August 8, 2018 minutes of the 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 This month things are starting to wind down. The Opechee Day Camp will have their last day on August 24th. The camp will have run 9 weeks and all weeks were full! We did lower the number of campers allowed to 40, which worked better at the facility. The tennis lessons are finished now, but they did have about a quarter of the classes with the new youth lines painted on the courts. We had the 36’ and 60’ lines painted on the Memorial Courts with a 100% reimbursement from the USTA (United States Tennis Association). Just another thing we can offer our users. These lines are like having smaller goals in soccer for kids. It just makes sense. The lifeguards will be done with guarding at Bond on 8/17 and at Weirs Beach on 8/21. This is very early this year, but we were very limited this year and we just didn’t have any left. We don’t even have any for the Labor Day Weekend. I would really like to look next year at the possibility of paying for the training, which is very expensive for our youth. Or as an alternative, offer a bonus at the end of the year if they stay through Labor Day. Just some options. I am working with the Granite United Way for the Day of Caring. We have given them about 10 options to help us out around our parks. So far we have 4 people registered to help us! Great news. I will be working on the Fall/Winter Program Brochure this week. With the beaches closed or not manned, I have more time to devote to the task. If you have any programs you would like to see me add this year, please let me know as soon as possible so I can get them set up. B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Directors Report August 20th, 2018 Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Work orders/repairs at City Hall, Library, park houses, bath houses LFD and LPD Mowing and trimming Bathroom cleaning Trash removal and litter pickup Pet waste bag restocking Beach raking Walking path maintenance Athletic field preparation Irrigation repairs and monitoring Aeration, seeding and fertilizing of fields Event support Planting bed cleanup/weeding/preparation We have gone from a severe lack of rain in July to an overabundance of rain for the last few weeks. Our maintenance department typically sees a slowdown in the need for mowing frequency but we are now faced with frequent mowing and trimming duties. Our beach season continues with moderate use of our beaches continuing into August. We will soon be transitioning away from beach maintenance and onto other tasks. Interscholastic sports have begun along with youth soccer and youth football well underway. A few of our seasonal maintenance employees have left for the year and we have had minimal luck with new seasonal hires. • Events – Several major events have happened at our parks including The City on the Lakes Triathlon and the NorEasters Softball Tournament. Smaller events have been occurring primarily on weekends including entertainment at the Weirs Park Amphitheater and Rotary Park. Other events include Childrens Fair, Cornhole Tournament, weddings, picnics and the Leavitt Park Carnival. •Lezama Family Happy Tails Dog Park – Construction work is nearing completion with fencing and other finishing touches remaining. A grand opening is scheduled for September 1st at 1pm. • Weirs Beach Restoration –No update. • Weirs Community Center Improvements- Broadview Construction has been selected to perform the work. I have been working with the WCPA on submittals for colors and materials. Work is expected to begin after Labor Day. • Weirs Bath House Door Replacement – Broadview Construction has been selected for this project as well. Work is slated for after Labor Day when beach season is over. • Native American Sculpture –No updates. • Bond and Bartlett Beach drainage projects: We are awaiting final engineering plans from the consultant. • Laconia Downtown Riverwalk – Busby Construction is looking to start the Landmark Inn/Walgreens  section at the end of August with the City Hall to Church Street segment being completed in October/November of this year. A pre-construction meeting is slated for August 28th. • Court Resurfacing – All court resurfacing projects have been completed including Leavitt Park Basketball Courts, Tardif Park Court, Sanborn Park Court and new youth tennis lines at Memorial Park Tennis courts. • Perley Pond – Concerns over the condition of the Perley Pond Conservation Area were brought to my attention from the Perley family. Concerns are fallen trees, brush along the edge of the pond and condition of the tree. DPW has assisted with the removal of some of the dead trees in the back of the pond. I have met with the Community Forester with the State of NH Division of Forests and Lands for guidance on what can be done with the Perley Oak. I am also working with the Conservation Commission on what can be done with the brush along the edge of the pond. • Memorial Softball Irrigation System – We are finalizing a RFP which will be advertised this coming week for the softball irrigation system project. • POMC Memorial – I have been approached by a concerned member of the public about the condition of the POMC Memorial at Stewart Park. Several of the memorial bricks have been cracked and are in poor condition. My attempts to contact the local POMC Chapter were unsuccessful and my further research has discovered that this local group has disbanded and no longer exists. I was never contacted or notified by any of them about their status. I contacted the Victim Assistance Bureau of the NH Attorney General’s Office. They were not aware of any active POMC Chapters in NH at this time. They have offered to reach out to any other potential groups or individuals that might be interested in assisting with the memorial. • Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Council, DPW Project meeting, City Staff Meeting, Special Events Committee, Happy Tails Dog Park, Leavitt Park Community Volunteers, Weirs Community Park Association, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Weirs TIF Advisory Board, Perley Pond Conservation Area, Trustees of the Trusts. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motioned to adjourn at 8:15pm. 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 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.