Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Monday, November 20, 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 Laura Ringer. Absent - Rodney Roy and Arthur Kirk. PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Director of Recreation and Facilities Amy Lovisek, and Secretary Liza Lovisek. Absent- Asst. Director of Recreation and Facilities Matt Mansur. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of October 16, 2023 Commissioner Deanna Guyer moved to adopt the minutes from October 16, 2023, meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Laura Ringer. All were in favor. I. FACILITY USE REQUEST FORM: A. 603 bandits- Robbie Mills & Memorial Field- May 1, 2024, through August 10, 2024, Friday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 9:00am to 9:00pm for 603 Bandits 13U Baseball. Commissioner Guyer motioned to table the request due to no representation. Commissioner Ringer seconded the motion. All were in favor. B. Laconia Youth Soccer- Robbie Mills, Leavitt Park, Opechee Park – August 1, 2024, through October 19, 2024, Monday through Friday from 5:30pm to 8:00pm and Saturday from 7:30am to 3:00pm for Laconia Youth Soccer League 2024 season. Commissioner Ringer motioned to accept the request with all the requirements listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. II. OLD BUSINESS: A. Robbie Mills Fencing- no update. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION IV. NEW BUSINESS: V. ANNOUNCEMENTS:  VI. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: VII. PUBLIC COMMENT: VIII. COMMUNICATIONS: IX. OTHER REQUESTS REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: Commissioner Guyer motioned to cancel the December Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. The next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting will be Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Seconded by Commissioner Ringer. All were in favor. X. PARK ASSOCIATION REPORTS: A. Leavitt Park Association- October 4 and November 1, 2023, minutes. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- No report XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Director’s Report submitted by Amy Lovisek This month has been very project oriented for me personally. I have been working on the Leavitt Park and Bond Beach projects mostly. This is the best time of year for this type of work. The Bond Beach project is coming along slowly. We have hired CK Landscaping as our contractor. We are currently working on the hazardous materials testing and removal of the building. At this point we know we have asbestos and are still awaiting our results for lead. The Leavitt Park project is going more smoothly. We have quotes now for changing out the lighting in the hall to energy efficiency lights, which will benefit the hall and the city. Once complete I will have the floors replaced with new VCT tiles throughout. We have awarded the playground to Burke Playgrounds. You have all seen the color scheme and what the elements will look like. I am very pleased with this playground. It will be installed first thing in the spring. Pumpkin Fest and the associated programs we held were a success. 1 st the pumpkin carving ended up attracting more users than we thought which was great. We did need to carve a bunch of pumpkins but not as many as we expected. 2nd was the Runaway Pumpkin and they had an amazing turnout of participants. They had 665 who registered earning the board $26,000! What a day for them. Lastly was the scavenger hunt we put on at the festival. This was less of a success in my opinion. We didn’t have a lot of participants who wanted to join in the fun. It is something we will need to decide whether or not we will continue next year or how else we could assist. Our newest hire decided to leave our employment as he was unable to find housing. Fortunately, we have hired not only his replacement, but also our Facilities Maintenance Tech. Our 2 new hires are Scott Salway as the Parks Tech and Jim Bourdon as the Facilities Maintenance Tech. If you see them in the field, please go up to them and introduce yourself to them. I think that would go a long way. I spent most of this week at a Financial Sustainability Certification Class. It was quite eye opening to hear how other parks & recreation departments throughout the country handle themselves. We are very different here, but I do plan to discuss with you, the city manager, and the council some of the things I took away from the training. Some of them will make people look at our department differently and with a better understanding. All good things. B. Assistant Director’s Report submitted by Matt Mansur Greetings! I hope everyone is ready for winter! Beaches The beaches have looked pretty good this fall. No issues. Our staff from this previous year have been staying in touch. I am hoping to have a holiday party with them within the month to keep them engaged and to communicate next steps if they would like to return. Community Center Programs Christmas Village is in full swing. Skip tells us that there are numerous volunteers who are helping and things seem to be pretty organized going up. We are hoping to clear out some room in the storage garage in the back of the gym once the Village is fully erected. It has been a goal of ours for a few years to clean out that garage to make retrieving things like pickleball nets a little easier. Even though Christmas Village is here, we still have folks coming in to play pickleball. The demand is so high. We’ve had mostly good feedback about the Laconia resident only days. For the most part, people understand. It is not a surprise to them that there is a high demand for places to play the sport. We will be setting dates for Christmas Caroling and Santa’s Calling soon. We recently discovered that the racquetball court floor has begun to warp and appears to have some water damage. Before we do any repairs, I wonder if that room can be re-thought of. Conferences Amy and I have decided not to go to the NNERPC Conference this year. The price is getting a little too much and we’re just not sure that the return on investment is what we are looking for. I have looked into the American Camping Association conference in Manchester and may try to go this year. I have been to that conference before and I think that would be a solid investment. When I know whether or not Kegan would like to return for Opechee Day Camp, I may try to extend an invitation to her as well.  C. Foreman’s Report submitted by Dane Anderson COMPLETED Column2 Project Additional Notes Horticulture Fall annuals care and watering Mowing Seasonal mowing operations of Parks, Sports Fields, Cemetery's, Facilities, Rights of Way Sports Fields Fall Sports- Field painting and chalking, skin grooming, net repairs Seasonal Restrooms Janitorial/Maintenance- Routine checks, cleaning, stocking and repairs Winterization- Water shut off, meters and backflows removed, lines and fixtures Seasonal blown out, valves taken apart, water heaters drained, plugs removed, RV Restrooms antifreeze added to fixtures and p traps, fixtures wrapped/Tape off Winterization- Water shut off, meters/backflows, pumps removed or drained. Irrigation Mainlines, laterals, heads, QCs blowned out. Repair needs noted. Water Bubblers Winterization- Water shut off, lines blown out, wrapped fixtures. Sports-LACS game preps Memorial LFD Central Plumbing- Decontamination Room, plumbed in new washing machine. Opera House Event- Assist with event set up and take down Hillside Cemetery Flag Pole- Reno Work. Sports Fields Aeration- Punch Robbie HB and Soc, Opechee, Smith, Leavitt, Memorial HB and SB. Weirs Beach ADA- Removed and stored ADA beach mat. Colby Flag Poles- Began repair/modification work. Primed and installed pulleys and cleats. To be completed in spring. Downtown Winter Prep- Removal of seasonal benches. Downtown Horticulture- weeding and fall bed clean up. Sports Fields Netting Systems- Removal and storage of batting tunnel nets and foul ball nets Hillside Cemetery Sink Hole repairs Gale Library Graffiti removal Gale Library Window trim repairs Gale Library Installed Window Blinds Gale Library Light Timer Adjustments Gale Library Lighting- ADA ramp foyer light cleaning and insect removal LCC Plumbing- Employee restroom toilet leaking- Rotted out flange replaced LCC Carpentry- Desk drawer repairs LCC Plumbing- Gym water bubbler repairs Event- Downtown properties clean up and preparation. Pumpkin deliveries. Lighting installs. Event Electrical Panel set up. Pumpkin Fest Graffiti checks and removal. Sports Fields Flag Poles- Removal of flags from Leavitt, Memorial, Colby and Robbie for the season. Opechee/Wow Event- Run away pumpkin prep. Wow trail pruning and clean up efforts, Parking lot clean ups, Dead tree removal, Smith Trail storage garage lock repair. Damage parking bumper replacement. Event trash can delivery. Staffing Reviews Staffing Michael Trent Departure Welcome Jim Bourdon Staffing New Facilities Position and Vacant Tech 1 Position hiring and orientation and Scott Salway Stewart Vandalism- Damaged bench removal. Snow Removal Sidewalk clearing operations- 1st storm of the season 11/9/2023 Stewart Event- Christmas tree lighting install and repairs 50' lift rental Lakeport Event- Christmas tree lighting install and repairs. Bad GFI Replacement. 50' lift rental Elections Set up and take down of election materials. Smith Storm Drainage- Missing storm drain grate located and reinstalled Ice Rink Liner ordered, purchased, seamed together and staged for rink set up. Training Chainsaw safety all staff Daylight Saving Electrical- clocks and timer adjustments throughout facilities. IN PROGRESS Location Project Additional Notes Fall Clean Up Final mowing and leaf clean up work, clearing of tennis and basketball courts. Maint. Garage and Winter Prep- Convert areas from growing season ops to snow removal ops. Yards Equipment PM services and storage of summer equipment Sports Fields Winter Prep- removal and storage of goals, nets, benches, bases, tarps, etc. Trash Trash- Routine trash and ground litter removal. Rotary Sun Dial repairs Department Wide Dog Bags- Checking and filling dog bag dispensers ERP Parking Lot- Entry gate modifications to allow ease of operation. Forestry- Brush Clearing Bartlett Rotary Events- Clean up and prep work Facilities Electrical- Lighting timers adjustments as needed Vandalism Graffiti- continual monitoring and removal throughout parks and facilities. Leavitt Storm Water mitigation along Elm, planning and troubleshooting with DPW Memorial Electrical- Baseball scoreboard repairs. LCC Plumbing- Faucet replacements LCC HVAC- Steam trap replacements 9 replaced City Hall Plumbing Faucet replacements Vets Sq Power to Irrigation/Fountains and Lights shut off due to misuse. Gordon Lawerence Cemetery Forestry- Down limb removal Tardif Forestry- Dead/Hazardous tree removal. Trees to be removed marked and pictures taken. Opechee Electrical- Smith field scoreboard troubleshooting. Equipment CIP Commercial Landscape Mower Replacement RFP Review and Ordering XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Guyer motioned to adjourn at 6:25pm. Seconded by Commissioner Ringer. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel Secretary Chair Commissioner