Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Monday, May 15, 2023 Laconia Community Center 6:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Mitch Hamel called the meeting to order at the above date and time. RECORDING SECRETARY: Secretary Liza Kelleher recorded this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Deanna Guyer and Rodney Roy. Absent-Laura Ringer and Arthur Kirk. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Director of Recreation and Facilities Amy Lovisek, Asst. Director of Recreation and Secretary Liza Kelleher. Absent-Asst. Director of Recreation and Facilities Matthew Mansur. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of April 17, 2023 Commissioner Guyer moved to adopt the minutes from the April 17, 2023, meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Roy. All were in favor. I. FACILITY USE REQUEST FORM: A. Nor’Easter Softball Club – Opechee Fields A, B, C & D, Memorial Field- Thursday to Sunday, July 27 to 30, 2023, from 7:00am to 7:00pm for Nor’Easter Softball classic tournament. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. B. Holy Trinity Catholic School- Opechee track and Smith Field- Tuesday, May 30, 2023 (June 1st rain date) from 8:00am to 3:00pm for Holy Trinity Field Day. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. C. Partnership for Public Health- Leavitt Park Field- Sunday, August 6, 2023, from 10:30pm to 7:00pm for LYA party in the park. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. D. Weirs Community Parks Assoc.- Weirs Amphitheater and Pavilion- Sundays from June 25 to August 13 from 10:00am for yoga in the park and July 9 & 23, August 6 and 13, 2023 for Kids Yoga. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. E. Belknap County Democrats- adjacent portion of Leavitt Park House- Sunday, July 30, 2023, from 12pm-7:00pm for blue bash 2023. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor.  F. Lakes Region Vineyard Church- Sunday, August 13, 2023, from 12pm to 6:00pm for the annual church picnic and water baptism. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. G. 603 United- One Leavitt Park Basketball court and Laconia Community Center Gym- Thursdays, June 15 to August 31, 2023, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for outdoor basketball and Thursdays, August 20, 2023, to August 29, 2023, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm for Pickleball games. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application and to waive the user fee. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. H. Real Life Church-Rotary Park & Gazebo- Sunday, July 9, 2023, from12:00pm to3:00pm for Corn Hole Tournament. Commissioner Guyer motioned to alter the request changing the location from Rotary Park to Tardif Park with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. Another option that was given was to use the City Hall Parking lot, but that authorization will need to be with the Special Events Committee. Director Lovisek will help assist with this process if that is the way they would like to move. I. Laconia Middle School-Opechee Park field- Wednesday, June 14, 2023 (June 15, 2023, rain date) from 6:30am to 3:00pm for 7th grade celebration. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. A special note stating that no inflatables will be permitted. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. II. OLD BUSINESS: A. Real Life Church – Rotary Park, ramp to river access- Sunday, July 9, 2023, from 12:00pm for water baptism. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. B. Real Life Church- Opechee Point, picnic area and bathrooms- Saturday, August 20, 2023, from 7:30 to 3:00pm for church family picnic/BBQ. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with conditions listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor. C. Laconia School District- Opechee Track/Bathrooms- Tuesday, June 6, 2023, from 7:00am to 2:00pm for Grade 5th annual track meet. D. Discussion regarding athletic field lighting. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the increase of $20.00 for the daily light fees of the park fields (Memorial Baseball/Softball and Robbie Mills Baseball). Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION A. Laconia Middle School- Opechee Softball field and Track and Memorial Baseball Field- March 21 through June 9, 2023, from 22:30pm to 5:00pm for Middle School Baseball, Softball and track & Field. B. Laconia High School- Opechee Softball and track, Robbie Mills and Bobotas- March 21 through June 9, 2023, for Opechee Softball and Track, Robbie Mills & Bobotas  C. Bethany Abbott- Rotary Park and Gazebo- Sunday, August 27, 2023, 6for the wedding ceremony. D. Amber Nadeau- Weirs Pavilion & playground- Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm for the kid’s birthday party. E. Todd Robinson- Rotary Park & Gazebo- Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 3:00pm for a wedding ceremony. IV. NEW BUSINESS: Commissioner Hamel mentioned what to do with the “ugly” green monster at Robbie Mills. Commissioners recommended dismantling the green monster. Director Lovisek mentioned that we need to put up a fence if we are taking out the monster and will include it in her CIP for next year’s budget. Commissioner Roy motioned to dismantle the green monster. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: 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. Director’s Report submitted by Amy Lovisek May is always a busy month for our department and this year has been no different. Ball fields are being prepped, spring cleanups are happening everywhere, and the budget is in the works. All this happens along with all other normal duties that are assigned. This department is never bored! The city council has now had a public hearing on a new ordinance regarding Naming Rights. This is in direct connection with the naming of the Community Center Gym and the skate park. Both will be brought up again to the Council once the ordinance is in place. They are moving forward with this process. The grant that was discussed last month for Leavitt Park has been submitted and we are eagerly awaiting news. I was invited to be the guest speaker at the men’s club at the Taylor Home. I explained everything we do for the city, and they were all amazed with the department. Go team!! The Winnisquam Watershed Network asked us to dig a test pit for soil sampling at the Gale Avenue Park. This did require us to use the backhoe. They also used a drone to get more information for the design of the rain gardens. We should hear about that process in the coming months. The city had a table at the recent Career Fair at the LHS. Our department along with DPW was there to recruit. I was there for seasonal positions and DPW for full time laborers. The city manager, police chief and I had a meeting this month to discuss the enforcement of the rules at Weirs Beach this summer. I wanted to explain to them both that I will not place a seasonal employee in a position to enforce these rules if the police will not be there to back them. I hope this year we will see a difference in policing at the beach. The Pumpkin Fest had their press conference this past month. Our department is heavily involved and we hope to assist where we can. We had our Arbor Day Celebration on April 28th. We planted 3 new red maple trees in the Opechee Cove area. Lastly, we were approached by a production company out of Canada who work on an HGTV show. They would like to use the Weirs Community Park to film a family that is moving to our city. They will have a picnic and play on the playground. This is a great opportunity for the city. They will also be using a drone and other cameras at other parks like Weirs Beach, Opechee and Robbie Mills to take some additional scenic pictures and videos for the show that will highlight the area!! All great. They will be filling out a Facility Use Request, but they will be shotting this at the beginning of June and will need administrative approval, which I will give with your permission. B. Assistant Director’s Report submitted by Matt Mansur Beach Prep We are still looking for one more guard over at Weirs Beach. I have had one fall through. I am confident we can find this third LG. I am still struggling to find Beach Caretakers to work the Weirs. We are going to experiment with a “Carry In/Carry Out” policay at the Weirs. We will see if it backfires, but given the fact that we can’t find people Beach Caretakers to work the beaches I think we are given very little options here. Opechee Day Camp  We’ve got 189 of 320 Camper Weeks filled so far for this coming season (59%). I have interviewed, and feel confident in hiring, our fifth Day Camp counselor. Our next step will be setting up training for out team. Community Center Programs Pickleball has increased with the rainy weather and many people returning from Florida. Most of the Florida returnees are expecting a little bit more from us than what we are providing. We are currently hovering just below 300 registrants for Pickleball. We are updating our Community Center schedule come Memorial Day. It will look something like this: Adult Basic Strength and Stretch started strong but seemed to peter out. We are awaiting payment from the instructor. United 603 finished very strongly, but we are awaiting payment from them as well. Evening programs will wrap up on Memorial Day. We have been having issues with vaping and drinking during the basketball session, so closing this up is probably for the best. C. Foreman’s Report submitted by Dane Anderson MONTHLY REPORT 4/14/2023 - 5/12/2023 COMPLETED Location Project Additional Notes Wyatt/Bartlett Gates- monitior and open daily Maintenance Garage Equipment- Inventory mower blades, clean, sharpen, organize, dispose of bad and damaged. Department Trash- Tranfer of Servicing of exterior trash cans throughout parks, trail, and facilities to waste management Wide service for season. Opechee Point Bathhouse Paint- Complete repainting of restroom walls. Equipment Summer Seasonal equipment moved from storage locations and prepped for use. Weirs CC Post for push button installed for ADA compliance updates Colby Replaced National and State flags. Seasonal Plumbing- Prep for charge up. Check and replace any worn or damaged gaskets/diaphragms/valves/etc. Facilities Reinstall flushometers/stop valves/disconnected lines/backflows/meters/tanks/filters/pressure switches. Robbie Mills Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. ERP Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Weirs Community Park Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Memorial Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Bartlett Bach Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Little League Plumbing- Concession assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Leavitt Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Opechee Plumbing- Restrooms assembled, charged up, checked and repairs as needed. Spring Sports Sports Fields- Prep and repair work for safe usable conditions Opechee Installed 200' fence Leavitt Playground- Damaged place piece fenced off for repair/replacement/or removal TBD Memorial Storm Damage- Fencing- HB Backstop Repaired lift rented Additional mounting bracket previously installed by contractor to be warrantied LFD Weirs Plumbing- Repaired and reattched damage vent stack. by roofing company. Opechee Skate Park Landscape- finish grading, compost and seed. Post lighting construction repair work. Memorial Tennis- Courts cleared and blown off, Posts and Nets installed Leavitt Tennis- Courts cleared and blown off, Posts and Nets installed Tardiff Storm Damage- Basketball Court- Hoop Replaced Robbie Mills Irrigation- System charged up and checked for needed repairs Opechee Irrigation- System charged up and checked for needed repairs Grounds RFP Review and first round of orders submitted- Grounds maintenance supplies, bulk materials Maintenance Tardiff Volunteer clean up leavings removal River Walk Volunteer clean up leavings removal Opechee Arbor Day tree planting (x3) Leavitt Graffitti removal from basketball courts Memorial Baseball- Foul ball netting installed lift rented Equipment Additional Toro sport field mower repairs. Staffing Onboarding of new full time staff member. Rotory/Belknap Mill Tamper resistant spigot installed. Gale Beach Soil profile test dig. City Hall Botanicals- Dead plants removed, pots returned to owner. Gateway Compost and seeded median. Downtown Put out seasonal benches. Opechee Storm Damage- Tree limb removal around point. Sledding Hill Winter trash can removal and sledding party bonfire clean up. Facilities Electrical- Lighting- Exterior light timer adjustments Rotory/Belknap Mill Gazebo- Pressure washed concrete pad Memorial Parkhouse- Egress Lighting and Smoke Detector repairs and replacements Memorial Softball Field- Sink hole repairs/fill in. Memorial Flag- repair and modifications for safe raising and lowering. Maintenance Garage Exterior hose reel replacment. Gale Library Homeless Trash clean up IN PROGRESS Location Project Additional Notes Spring Sports Game and Event Preps for Highschool and Middleschool baseball, softball, track and field. Horticulture New tree and plant watering. Horticulture Plant Beds- clean up, weed, fertilize, mulch Snow Removal Plow damage repairs. Mowing Seasonal mowing opperations of parks, sports fields, and facilities properties Development of 5S standards- Cleaning and Reorganization of maintenance garage to improve safety, better utilization Each staff member of space, and create a more organized and productive work space. had been designated a Maintenance section of Shop and maintenance Office garage. Trash Seasonal trash cans- clean and place in designated seasonal locations. City Hall Botanicals- City Council Chambers- Plant replacements requested Department Wide Trash- Routine trash and ground litter removal. Department Wide Dog Bags- Checking and filling dog bag dispensers Grounds RFP Review- Grounds maintenance supplies, bulk materials Maintenance Gale Memorial Library Electrical- Lighting- Move and update occupancy sensor in Family restroom. Occurred over LCC Carpentry- Windows- Foreman Office window into gym broken. weekend. Hinge repair/replacement or shimming, squaring frame City Hall Carpentry- Door to furnace room not operating properly, badly sticking in door jamb. possibly needed. Weirs CC Door repair projects and ADA compliance updates Parking Lots Replacing and repositioning parking bumpers and debris clean up UPCOMING/TBD Location Project Additional Notes Leavitt Playground- Damaged place piece LFD Central Carpentry- Cosmetic cracks in platoon/pantry and admin areas LFD Weirs Electrical- Install Exit sign coming out of back bedroom. LFD Weirs Carpentry- Cosmetic cracks in laundry/gym door ceiling, apparatus area walls, stairway ceiling Electrical- Random wires/cables protruding from sheetrock (walls/ceiling), Patch holes in walls after removing wiring. LFD Weirs City Hall Janitor closet- 1st floor slop sink drain repairs ERP Parking Lot- Entry gate modifications to allow ease of operation. City Hall Electrical- Lighting- Replace light between public restroom with broken/missing lens cover. Gym closure and Scaffolding set up LCC Electrical- Gym Lights - Bulb/Ballasts replacements needed required. Consider snow fall prevention over front door, continual problem and safety concern Goss Roof/Gutter- Requested to have gutter moved out to better collect rain. debris in corners removed in winter. Goss Carpentry- Seal hole around oil fill pipe. Electrical- Lighting- Light fixture replacement (front door exterior), Bulb replacement needed (side building exterior) Goss Office Create additional PM work orders to assist with maintenance schedule tube light bulbs, Maintenance ballasts, batteries, Garage Waste Removal- Electronic and hazardous waste removal. old liquid fert., Maintenance Garage Keys- go through and organize. Weirs CP Electrical- Replace lighting timer for park/paths/pavilion. All Facilities Plumbing- Shut Offs - Update/Tag/Label/Location List Seasonal Facilities Electrical- Mark and label circuits to be shut off/turned on with seasonal opening and winterization LFD Central Plumbing- Plum in washing machine in decontamination room. Connect to existing plumbing for utility sink. Bond Beach Plumbing- Pump System reconfiguration/solution to restore water supply. Robbie Mills Paint- Complete repainting of restrooms, including drywall repairs and cove basin replacement XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motioned to adjourn at 7:10pm. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel Secretary Chief Commissioner