Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Monday, June 19, 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: Rodney Roy, Deanna Guyer, Arthur Kirk, and Laura Ringer. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Director of Recreation and Facilities Amy Lovisek, Asst. Director of Recreation and Facilities Matt Mansur and Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of May 15, 2023 Commissioner Roy moved to adopt the minutes from the May 15, 2023, meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. I. FACILITY USE REQUEST FORM: A. Christmas Village – Laconia Community Center Gym – November 10, 2023, to December 10, 2023, for Christmas Village Festivities. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Kirk seconded. All were in favor. B. Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region- Rotary Park and Gazebo- Thursday, August 31, 2023, from 4:00pm to 8:00pm for international overdose awareness day vigil. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Ringer seconded. All were in favor. C. Laconia Police Dept.- Opechee Smith Field- Thursday, August 11, 2023, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for National night out. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Ringer seconded. All were in favor. D. Lakes Region Community Services- Leavitt Parkhouse lawn area- Thursday, June 22, 2023, from10:00am to 3:00pm for LRCS summer kickoff luncheon. Commissioner Roy motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded. All were in favor. E. Laconia Chiefs- Memorial Park Baseball Field - July 31 through October 31, 2023, Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and Saturdays from 8:00am to 11:00am for Youth Football & Cheer season. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Roy seconded. All were in favor.  II. OLD BUSINESS: A. Robbie Mills Fencing- no update. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION A. SBE Productions US, LLC- Weirs Community Center and the beach area-June 1-4, 2023, Thursday to Sunday from 7:30am to 7:30pm for House Hunters television show. B. Woodland Heights School- Tardif Park playground and bathroom - Friday, June 9, 2023, from 9:00am to 2:30pm for outside/playground use. C. Jeremy Kahle- Opechee Cove- Wednesday, June 14, 2023, from 9:30 to 11:00am for the DDYP Yoga Warrior Workout/Be the One. D. Celia Wallen- Weirs Pavilion & Bathroom -Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 2:00pm for Engagement party. E. Laconia Middle School-Opechee fields and track- Monday, June 19, 2023, from 8:00am to 1:00pm for LMS Field day. IV. NEW BUSINESS: V. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Commissioner Hamel asked for a moment of silence in honor of the late Bob Hamel. VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association- Minutes of the meeting, May 3, 2023. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- No report XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Director’s Report submitted by Amy Lovisek With summer just around the corner we are gearing up for a busy season. The maintenance staff are constantly on the go and Matt is working to get the beaches ready for visitors. We had our budget presentation on the 12th of this month. I’m confident that we will get what we asked for, but the Council would like some more information on our department. They would like some matrix for our department but were unable to provide what type of matrix they would like to see. We cannot compare ourselves to departments like the police or fire as we don’t have call logs or arrest information to determine how often we are used. We do have the Facility Dude, which shows us how often we are at one facility or another and that will help. I am currently compiling numbers of youth and adult sports that use our facilities as well as other users as well. We will hopefully get them what they would like to see. Joyce Janitorial has been awarded the city’s cleaning contract for another year and will be cleaning the beach and ballfield bathrooms until Labor Day. This is a huge benefit to the Parks Technicians as they can focus their attention on our parks. Fay George, one of our Parks Technicians has given her notice. Her last day will be Friday, June 16. We wish her well. We will be placing the ad in the paper shortly. The homeless that were removed from the Spruce Street location have become an issue in our parks. They have moved to the WOW Trail and Bond Beach. We have been in communication with the police to have them removed. The Memorial Park Tennis Court Resurfacing should take place in mid-July. They are planning to line 5 pickleball courts as well as tennis. The configuration is a little different and we will be using portable nets that will be left onsite in a lockbox. I was able to meet with the other department heads and with the developer of the State School property this month. It doesn’t appear that there will be much for us at this facility. This is good news for this department. The Bond Beach bathhouse and sewer construction will take place this fall. According to the engineers we should be getting the designs this week. B. Assistant Director’s Report submitted by Matt Mansur Beach Prep We have three guards and LG training was this past weekend. Hopefully all of them passed. We should be fully staffed on Weirs Beach Caretakes with some Laconia athletes applying in the final minutes. I am hoping the carry-in/carry-out will work during the summer months while we are giving trash bags. I have spent a few hours picking up garbage at Weirs this week during Bike Week and it has been hard to tell which is more efficient Carry-In/Carry-Out or using trash bins. Regardless of system, the trash itself that I had to handle was disgusting and was demoralizing. Opechee Day Camp We are fully staffed and on a wait list for seven of the eight weeks. I am asking a lot of Kegan and her team this summer as I have not been able to put as much upfront work into this as I would have liked. Community Center Programs  We are still getting pickleball throughout the summer fairly consistently. I am sure it is very warm in the gym, but they are committed. I have signed up to go play in Concord in July. I am interested in seeing things through the participants’ lens. We will occasionally get questions about more times we can open up in the summer. The Council had quite a few questions about Pickleball during our budget presentation, but I am not sure anything actionable came of them. I believe we are waiting on Councilman Cheney to send us a picture of a “tent” that can be placed over memorial courts to keep them open year-round. Budget Presentation We gave our Budget Presentation on Monday. We continued to remind City Council that our Operating Expenditures per capita ($57.16) are despairingly low compared to other cities and towns our size ($120.79). Given that we have Facilities and massive tourist attractions, like Weirs Beach and athletic competitions, that leaves few resources for the actual resident. C. Foreman’s Report submitted by Dane Anderson COMPLETED Location Project Additional Notes Wyatt/Bartlett Gates- monitor and open daily Maintenance Garage Equipment- Inventory mower blades, clean, sharpen, organize, dispose of bad and damaged. Trash- Transfer of Servicing of exterior trash cans throughout parks, trail, and facilities to waste Department Wide management 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. Plumbing- Prep for charge up. Check and replace any worn or damaged gaskets/diaphragms/valves/etc. Reinstall flushometers/stop valves/disconnected lines/backflows/meters/tanks/filters/pressure Seasonal Facilities 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 LFD Weirs Plumbing- Repaired and reattached damage vent stack. contractor to be warrantied 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 Tardif 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 Tardif Volunteer clean up leavings removal River Walk Volunteer clean up leavings removal Opechee Arbor Day tree planting (x3) Leavitt Graffiti 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. Rotary/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 Rotary/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 replacement. Gale Library Homeless Trash clean up COMPLETED Location Project Additional Notes Wyatt/Bartlett Gates- monitor and open daily Maintenance Garage Equipment- Inventory mower blades, clean, sharpen, organize, dispose of bad and damaged. Trash- Transfer of Servicing of exterior trash cans throughout parks, trail, and facilities to waste Department Wide management 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. Plumbing- Prep for charge up. Check and replace any worn or damaged gaskets/diaphragms/valves/etc. Reinstall flushometers/stop valves/disconnected lines/backflows/meters/tanks/filters/pressure Seasonal Facilities 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 LFD Weirs Plumbing- Repaired and reattached damage vent stack. contractor to be warrantied 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 Tardif 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 RFP Review and first round of orders submitted- Grounds maintenance supplies, bulk materials Grounds Maintenance Tardif Volunteer clean up leavings removal River Walk Volunteer clean up leavings removal Opechee Arbor Day tree planting (x3) Leavitt Graffiti 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. Rotary/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 Rotary/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 replacement. Gale Library Homeless Trash clean up XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Roy motioned to adjourn at 6:46pm. Seconded by Commissioner Guyer. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel Secretary Chair Commissioner