Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING September 17, 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, Tony Pederzani and 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 August 20, 2018 Commissioner Rodney Roy moved to adopt the minutes from August 20, 2018. Seconded by Commissioner Arthur Kirk. The motion passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. The Winnipesauke Muskrats- Robbie Mills & Memorial Baseball Field - Friday to Monday, October 12th thru 14, 2018 for the Muskrats Fall Classic Senior Baseball Tournament. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request conditioned upon payment of $300 tournament fee, payment for lights, submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for raising funds at the City property. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. B. Weirs Action Committee- Endicott Rock Park parking lot- June 8-16, 2019 from 8:00am to 12:00am for the Laconia Motorcycle Week parking lot fundraiser. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with the understanding that the parking be staffed from 8:00am to 12:00am, submission of a certificate of insurance and approval from the City Council for raising funds on City property. 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. Director Kevin Dunleavy said the applicant has withdrawn the request. Commissioner Roy motioned to remove the item from the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. D. Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Program Request FY 2019-2020 Director Kevin Dunleavy presented his recommendation for CIP items for the upcoming fiscal year and beyond. 1. Beach Facilities Drainage Improvements- $60,000 Construction Phase – Bartlett Beach 2. Gale Avenue Waterfront Improvement $65,000 3. Beach Facilities Drainage Improvements-Design $40,000 Opechee Cove & Opechee Point 4. 4x4 Pick Up Truck w/plow $40,000 5. Steel Storage Building (40’x60’) $85,000 6. Bond Beach Road Paving $50,000 7. Playground Revitalization $15,000 8. 4x4 Dump Truck with Crew Cab $50,000 Director Kevin Dunleavy said that the design for improvements at Bartlett Beach has been completed and the construction phase request will implement elements to prevent erosion from the parking lot and beach. Director Dunleavy said the parking lot would be sloped so the drainage would be directed to the back of the parking lot where drain pipes would carry stormwater to a discharge pipe a the shoreline near the entrance to the property. Director Dunleavy explained that the dock system has been removed from Gale Ave and he would recommend that it get replaced with a dock system that accommodates canoes and kayaks. The Director said there is now a public launch and docks at the Fish and Game launch a short distance away that is better suited for power boats. The Director said this area is also experiencing shoreline erosion that needs to be addressed. Director Dunleavy said the 4x4 plow truck would supplement the Departments only other plow truck and would provide a back up to the existing 12 year old plow truck that is becoming less dependable. Director Dunleavy said that the existing storage building that the Department uses at the Lakes Region Facility has roof leaks and an alternative is needed. The Director said the existing building is owned by the State of NH and no repairs are feasible due to funding and the potential development of the site. The City has no know agreement with the State for use of the building. Director Dunleavy said he is proposing a steel storage building as a replacement that would be located on City property.  Director Dunleavy explained that Bond Beach Road is in poor condition and the lower third of the access road is in urgent need of replacement. Director Dunleavy said that the playground revitalization request is for upkeep of the City’s playground structures. The Director explained that equipment needs to be replaced annually due to wear and vandalism. Director Dunleavy explained that the Department needs to replace the 18 year old dump truck due to its condition and cost to maintain it. The Director said this vehicle would replace a truck that is used for mowing crews and snow removal in the winter. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel asked with the Department would be presenting the CIP request to the CIP Committee. Director Dunleavy said the presentation of the CIP will take place on October 16, 2018. Commissioner Roy motioned to approve the Parks and Recreation CIP request as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce- Rotary Park - October 12 & 13 from noon to 5pm Saturday for NH Pumpkin Festival. Commissioner Roy tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. B. LAYBL- Community Center Gym- December 15 through March 17, 2019, Saturday from 8:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the request with the understanding that LAYBL will hire a janitorial service to do the cleaning on Sundays and conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. C. Project Sweet Peas-NH Division- Opechee Park- Saturday, June 29, 2019 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm for Forever in Our Hearts event. Commissioner Roy tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. D. Downtown Gym/Real Life Santas Pubmania Team- Wow Trail (Fair Street to Belmont), Saturday, November 24, 2018 from 8am to noon for Santa Shuffle and Family Fun Run event. Commissioner Kirk tabled the request due to no representation. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. 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. Katie Durgin & Caitlin Jones- Gazebo Rotary Park- September 28, 2019 Saturday for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS:  V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: Dave and Anne Day, residents of Laconia, explained that they came to the meeting to ask about the rules and regulation regarding no dogs allowed in the Laconia beaches. Mr. Day explained that he and wife have always brought their dog to Endicott Rock Park beach early and before opening time with no issues. Mr. Day said that he recently was told by Parks staff that they could not have their dog on the beach. Mr. Day asked the Commissioners why the dogs are not allowed in the beach. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel said the rule has long been in effect for all City beaches. Director Kevin Dunleavy said that it is not uncommon to have such a rule and many communities do not allow dogs on their beaches for safety and health reasons. Director Dunleavy said that recent complaints from the public about dogs on the beach has caused the Department to increase its enforcement efforts. Director Dunleavy said that his staff needs to do a better job of enforcing the rules. Mr. Day asked if service dogs are allowed in the beach area. Director Dunleavy said he did not have an answer but would seek clarification from the City Attorney. Kevin explained that improved signage is being planned to address rules about dogs and other rules. Commissioner Hamel also explained that the Commission cannot change the ordinance but can only recommend an ordinance change to the City Council. Director Dunleavy said that the Department is looking at all its rules and regulations and will get feedback from the City Attorney on rules regarding dogs and other park rules. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel thank the Day’s for attending and making their concerns known. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel explained that the Commission has received a letter from Normand Morin regarding the banners on the green wall at Robbie Mills Field. Chair Mitch Hamel asked Director Dunleavy to speak with the Muskrats organization and find out what it would take to remove these banners. Director Dunleavy said he would reach out to the Muskrats and will report back to the Commission next month. 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 things on my end have calmed down significantly. The beaches no longer have lifeguards. As of yesterday, the Weirs Enforcement crew is done. The only seasonal employees we have currently are the maintenance crew, which unfortunately is bare bones. I did however just hire a new gym attendant for the open gym times we have here. He is a former police officer from Massachusetts and should fit in nicely with our environment! Labor Day was quite popular this year at Weirs Beach. There were quite a few people up there for the holiday. Traditionally that is not the case. It is something we may need to plan for in the future though. I have purchased something different for the on-going goose problem. You will soon see an eagle kite at Opechee Cove above the sign. You will only see the bird fly when the wind comes. This is supposed to keep the geese away from the area. We will see though. We are always trying something new to keep them away. If this works at the cove we will have to put more up in obvious locations around the parks. I took a much needed vacation this month as well and am now catching up. I am still working on the Fall/Winter program brochure and that should be done as soon as next week. I will email it to you as soon as it is complete. We worked with the United Way on the Day of Caring last week. We had a total of about 20 volunteers help us with different tasks. They weeded at the Weirs Boardwalk, cleared the trails at the Weirs Community Park and painted picnic tables at Opechee Park. They were a huge help and have our gratitude! B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy 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 Installation of soccer goals Athletic field preparation Irrigation repairs and monitoring Aeration, over seeding and fertilizing of fields Event support Planting bed cleanup/weeding/preparation Election setup and breakdown With the end of beach season pretty much behind us, maintenance staff has some time to focus on other tasks as we enter the fall season. We will keep our bath rooms open at some of our facilities as long as staffing and weather allows. Once Columbus Day hits, we will look to start closing and wintering irrigation and bath room facilities. Maintenance staff will continue to perform work on our turf fields, but we also look at the fall to catch up on routine maintenance tasks that we never seem to find time to address in the summer. • Events – There is one more concert on September 15th at the Weirs Community Park Amphitheater. We will be assisting with some minor support for the NH Pumpkin Festival in October. There still remains some charity fundraisers along the WOW Trail and Opechee Park this fall. •Lezama Family Happy Tails Dog Park – Construction has been completed on the dog park project and a grand opening was held on September 1st. There was a nice crowd of people and dogs at the event and many positive comments have been received about the facility. • Weirs Beach Restoration –No update. • Weirs Community Center Improvements- Broadview Construction has been working on the public restroom bathroom renovation at the Weirs Community Center. Work is expected to be completed within the next two weeks. • Weirs Bath House Door Replacement – Broadview Construction has completed the door replacements at the Weirs Beach Bath House. • Native American Sculpture –No updates. • Bond and Bartlett Beach drainage projects: We are awaiting final engineering plans from the consultant. We will look to bid the improvement work in the near future. • Laconia Downtown Riverwalk – Busby Construction has started construction on the Riverwalk segment by Walgreens and the Landmark Inn. Work is expected to continue through the fall on this segment. Construction on the segment behind the Laconia Spa is slated to start right after Columbus Day. • Opechee Fence Repair – The new ornamental fence at Opechee Park was damaged by a tractor trailer. The City’s insurance provider is handling the damage claim. I have been in contact with our fencing contractor who will be completing the repair as soon as they can. • Perley Pond – No updates. • Memorial Softball Irrigation System – The Request for Proposal has been advertised and proposals are due on September 28th. • POMC Memorial – No updates. • Meetings that I have attended the last month include City Council, DPW Project meeting, City Staff Meeting, Special Events Committee, Happy Tails Dog Park, Riverwalk Construction meetings and inspections, DPW Construction Syncronization Meetings, Downtown TIF Advisory Board, Boy Scout project meeting, construction oversight at Weirs Bath House and Weirs Community Center Bath Room projects.  Commission Chair Mitch Hamel asked what the status of the Native American statue at Opechee is. Director Dunleavy said that he believes the statue is in poor condition and will explore options for its removal and possible reuse at another location. Director Dunleavy said it is a safety concern. Director Dunleavy said he was contacted by members of the Human Relations Committee about the issues with the statue and they may be able to assist with how we move into the future. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel asked to have an item put on the agenda for next month to continue discussion about the statue. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motioned to adjourn at 8:25pm. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. 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.