Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING January 22, 2019 Laconia Community Center- Parks & Recreation Office 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Chair Mitch Hamel called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Director Kevin Dunleavy recorded this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commission Chair Mitch Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Deanna Guyer, Arthur Kirk and Tony Pederzani. Absent- Rodney Roy. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Recreation & Facilities Director Kevin Dunleavy. Secretary Liza Kelleher absent. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of November 19, 2018 Commissioner Toney Pederzani moved to adopt the minutes from November 19, 2019. Seconded by Commissioner Deanna Guyer. The motioned passed unanimously. I. OLD BUSINESS: A. Letter from Normand Morin regarding the banners on the green wall at Robbie Mills Field. Director Kevin Dunleavy said that he believed there was still a banner or two that were in poor condition on the wall. Mitch Hamel said that it is important for the Muskrats to maintain the banners so they look good. Director Dunleavy said he will look to have the Muskrats come to an upcoming meeting for an update. B. Native American Statue-Repair Discussion Peter Brunette explained that he is looking to set up a Go Fund Me page but needs a place for the money to go. Peter asked if the City is able to be the entity that will hold the money. Peter said that he is still looking to get some answers and asked the Commission if he could have more time to get more information and fundraise. Chair Mitch Hamel asked what would happen to all the money if the restoration does not happen. Peter explained that he was not sure but the money could go to another display memorializing the statue. Dennis Wright of Reliable Crane service said he has been following the discussion of the statue on social media and had concerns about some of the information and ideas. Mr. Wright said that a large crane is needed to lift the statue due to its weight and a tree removal boom truck is not what should be used. Mr. Wright said his cranes need to be on or inside the track. Mr. Wright said the major issue is the track and how to cross it since there is no way to know if a crane would damage the track. Mr. Wright said there are cranes that could set up outside the track but there are maybe one or two in New Hampshire and it would be costly. Chair Mitch  Hamel asked how much. Mr. Wright said at least $10K and you need to consider support vehicles like the truck and trailer to haul it off and vehicles for counterweights. Mr. Wright said crane mats could be used or a temporary bridge over the track. Mr. Wright also said that he cut the rebar that extends from the base into the statue during the original installation and he remembers them being about 5 feet tall. Mr. Brunette said he is trying to get a civil engineer to look at the statue and offer some ideas. Mr. Brunette said maybe a public meeting to new ideas would be helpful. Chair Mitch Hamel said that $10K could be spent on the removal and it could fall apart during the removal process. The Commission agreed to extend the time needed to formulate a plan for the removal for restoration of the statue until the March 18th meeting with an update at the February Commission meeting. C. Parks & Recreation FY 2019-20 Budget. Director Dunleavy explained that there were some minor adjustments with the Parks and Recreation budget for the upcoming year. The Director summarized the following items: $1000 increase in the Overtime line item $1300 increase in the Telephone line item to cover cost of cell phones and tablets. $2500 increase in the Fuel line item to account for project fuel oil costs. $2000 increase in the Supplies-Office line item for the purchase of new computers. $2000 increase in the Outside Contracts line item to cover the cost of hazard tree removal. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to accept the budget request as submitted. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. II. FACILITY USE REQUESTS: A. Christmas Village- Laconia Community Center- November 15, 2019 to December 15, 2019 for the 2019 Christmas Village event. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request for the 2019 Christmas Village event. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. B. Lakes Region Sled Dog Club- Pump Station Field, Old North Main Street – February 15-17, 2019 from 9:00am to 4:00pm for the 90th World Championship Sled Dog Derby. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request for use of the Pump Station Field for event parking conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance for the 90th World Championship Sled Dog Derby. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. C. Laconia Youth Soccer- Opechee Main Field, Rotary Field-Robbie Mills, Woodland Heights School Field, Elm St. School Field, Leavitt Park Field and Bobotas Field (tournament only) - June 26, 2019 through October 19, 2019, weekdays from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, Saturdays from 7:00am to 5:00pm and Sundays optional for 2019 soccer games. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to approve the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance, submission of the team rosters, storage bay fee ($240.00/yr), payment for non-resident users’ fee ($10 per child for the season), field lighting charges(to be determined) and a key deposit of $25.00 per key issued. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. Commissioner Guyer abstained.  D. Weirs Action Committee- Weirs Beach Fireworks- Wednesday July 3, 2019 from 5-3am, Saturdays- July 20 & 27, August 3, 10 (August 17 rain date), September 14, 2019 and Sunday September 1st from 6pm-12:00am for the 2019 Weirs Beach Fireworks displays. Commissioner Guyer motioned to approve the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. E. Weirs Action Committee- Weirs Beach Parking Lot parking fundraiser- July 3 from 9pm to 1am, July 20, 27, August 3, 10, 17, September 1 from 7pm to 11pm and September 14, 2019 from 8pm to 12am for a 2019 parking fundraiser. Robert Ames of the Weirs Action Committee explained that this request is for the use of the Weirs Beach parking lot for a fundraiser that would go directly back to the cost of the fireworks. WAC would have staff to monitor the parking lot and collect money. Commissioner Guyer asked how the parking stickers would work. Robert Ames said that was not something that was thought of. Director Dunleavy said that those with beach stickers could pay a reduced rate. Chair Mitch Hamel expressed concerns about asking people to leave the beach when they had plans to be there all day. Robert Ames said that signs would be posted at the beach entrances and at the kiosks so there would be advance notice. Chair Mitch Hamel asked how much revenue the City typically receives after 7pm on Saturdays. Director Dunleavy said he would need to see if that information can be obtained from the Finance Department. Commissioner Pederzani motioned to table the request for the parking fundraiser at Weirs Beach until further information can be obtained. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were on favor. F. Lakes Region Girls Softball- Softball Tournament - Opechee Fields A, B, C, D, Woodland Heights School Field and Memorial Softball field- July 19-21, 2019 Friday from 4pm to 10pm, Saturday & Sunday from 8am to 10pm for USA Softball NH “C” Division State Tournament. Commissioner Guyer motioned to approve the request conditioned upon submission of a certificate of insurance, $100 tournament fee, light fee (if lights are used at Memorial Park softball field) and security deposit of $25 per key for any keys issued. Seconded by Commissioner Pederzani. All were in favor. G. Lakes Region Girls Softball- Softball Season - Woodland Heights School field, Opechee field D, Elm St. School Softball field, storage room & access to bathrooms, Monday thru Friday, April 1st to October 31, 2019, from 5pm to 8pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 8pm for the 2019 softball season. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance, payment of non-resident users’ fee and security deposit of $25.00 per key for any keys issued. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. H. Holy Trinity School- Field Day – Opechee Smith Field- Tuesday, June 4, 2019, from 8am to 2pm for an annual Field Day. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request conditioned upon the submission of a certificate of insurance for the field day event. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION The following request have been approved administratively: 1. Brianna Pandolfi- Rotary Park Gazebo- Saturday, August 31, 2019 from 400-5:00pm for a wedding ceremony.  2. Sebastian Young- Rotary Park Gazebo- Friday, June 21, 2019 from 6-8pm for a wedding ceremony. 3. Mary Higgins- Rotary Park Gazebo- Saturday, July 27, 2019 from 1-3pm for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Belknap Mill Society-Facility Use Request procedures for Rotary Park Events Director Dunleavy presented a proposed policy for facility use requests that involve use of the Belknap Mill in conjunction with Rotary Park. The Director said that there is much confusion with applicants when they are dealing with both the City and the Belknap Mills Society. The Director said this policy would simplify the process for the applicant. The Director said this arrangement is primarily for weddings but would apply to other requests. The Commission unanimously approved the policy as written. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Thank You Letter from American Cancer Society. Commission Chair Mitch Hamel read the letter into the record. IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: Mark Dadian asked the Commission if he could tap the maple trees at Hillside Cemetery again this year. Chair Mitch Hamel said that he can tap the trees but he will need to submit a Facility Use Request. Commissioner Kirk motioned to approve the request for the tapping of maple trees at Hillside Cemetery conditioned upon submission of a facility use request. Commissioner Guyer seconded. 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 month I have been working on the maintenance manual still. However, we are changing the title a bit to encompass the entire department. This will help anyone starting as a new employee in any position. It will be very helpful. I went to my annual NNERPC conference which is for the parks & rec professional. I got a number of ideas out of it for both camp and for our staff as well as our customers. I am planning to implement a few of the ideas soon. My goal for these starters will be to boost morale in the department. That can always be beneficial. I have been researching ways to attract lifeguards to our department. There are a number of ideas and I believe we will be implementing some of them. 1. Pay for their training throughout the summer. Not up front. 2. Offer flexible scheduling. Part time and ½ days. 3. Try to attract retirees to be lifeguards. It is not just a young person’s job. This is going to be the most difficult task as we aren’t allowed to speak about age in our job advertising. If you have any ideas, I would be happy to hear them. 4. Lastly, we may offer a guaranteed number of hours. That way rain doesn’t hurt their bottom line in the long run. Again, I am always looking for new programs to offer the public. If you have any suggestions I would be happy to listen and try to implement the idea. B. Directors Report submitted by Kevin Dunleavy Department Updates: • Recent maintenance projects and activities include: Work orders/repairs at City Hall, Library, park houses, bath houses LFD and LPD Ice rink flooding Trash removal and litter pickup Pet waste bag restocking Storage area reconfiguration at Daycamp Snow removal and sanding/salting Christmas Village breakdown City Hall interior window trim work Holiday lighting breakdown Equipment maintenance All of our remaining seasonal maintenance staff left around Thanksgiving. The primary work this time of year involves snow removal and regular treatment of walkways. Maintenance staff has also been busy with brush removal and cleanups in our parks and cemeteries. Other work has included equipment maintenance and tool repairs. • Events – With the help of many volunteers led by Bob Hamel, Christmas Village was once again a big success here at the Community Center. Parks maintenance staff helped with the setup and breakdown of the Village and we are glad to be part of this great community event.  • Weirs Beach Restoration –An update to the City Council is expected at the end of January. The concept of a created wetland along the shore to meet the mitigation requirement will be presented. • Native American Sculpture – Peter Brunette is expected to provide an update on his progress with an initiative to restore the sculpture at the January Parks and Recreation meeting. • Bond and Bartlett Beach drainage projects: Final engineering plans are complete and the Bond Beach project will be going out to bid in January. Wetland permits have been applied for. • Laconia Downtown Riverwalk – Busby Construction and Belknap Landscape has completed what they can of the Riverwalk segment behind Walgreens. Additional work is behind the Landmark Inn is now expected to be completed in early spring due to weather delays and the current work by the Inn. Construction of the Riverwalk from the City Hall parking lot to Church Street has been shut down for the winter. A new river wall has been completed along with the installation of the bridge foundation work. The bridge over the Perley Canal inlet was installed by crane in November. Work will be completed in the spring. • Perley Pond – Discussion on the brush clearing at the pond will take place on January 28th during a meeting of the Land and Buildings sub-committee of the City Council. Questions have arisen over the extent of the clearing that can be done. • Memorial Softball Irrigation System – Gilford Well has been awarded the Memorial Park Softball Field irrigation system project. With the early onset of winter, work on the irrigation system will take place in the spring. • POMC Memorial – I have been in contact with the National POMC organization and they have pledged to fund repairs to the Memorial. This work is anticipated on being completed in the spring. • Parks and Recreation CIP – The Parks and Recreation CIP request was presented to the CIP Committee on October 17th. • Laconia Community Center projects: Fire Alarm system testing and repairs Heating system repairs • Meetings that I have attended the last two months include City Council, City Staff Meeting, Special Events Committee, Riverwalk Construction meetings and inspections, DPW Construction Synchronization Meetings, Weirs TIF Advisory Board, Downtown TIF Advisory Board. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT:  Commissioner Guyer motioned to adjourn at 8:47pm. Seconded by Commission Kirk. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Dunleavy Mitch Hamel Director of Recreation and Facilities 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.