Parks & Recreation Commission

LACONIA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Monday, April 15, 2024 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 ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY: Administrative Secretary Liza Kelleher recorded this meeting. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Hamel called the roll with the following Commissioners in attendance: Deanna Guyer, Arthur Kirk, and Laura Ringer. Absent- Rodney Roy, PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF PRESENT: Director of Recreation and Facilities Amy Lovisek, Asst. Director of Recreation and Facilities Matt Mansur and Administrative Secretary Liza Kelleher. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of March 18, 2024 Commissioner Deanna Guyer moved to adopt the minutes from March 18, 2024, meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Laura Ringer. All were in favor. I. FACILITY USE REQUEST FORM: A. Laconia Multicultural Festival-Rotary Park- Saturday, September 7, 2024, from 10:00am to 3:00pm for Laconia Multicultural Festival. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. B. Northern NH Soccer Club-Leavitt Park-Thursdays, April 25 th through June 20th, 2024, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for U19 soccer club training/U12 program. Commissioner Guyer motioned to table the request due to lack of representation. Commissioner Ringer seconded the motion. All were in favor. C. Laconia Little League- Opechee A, B, C, and Colby Field- June 10 through 16, 2024, Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00am to 5:00pm for a baseball Tournament. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Ringer seconded the motion. All were in favor. D. Laconia Little League- Opechee A, B, C and Colby Field- June 17 through 23, 2024, Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00am to 5:00pm for baseball Tournament. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Ringer seconded the motion. All were in favor.  E. Laconia Little League- Opechee field B- June 24 through July 31, 2024, Monday through Friday from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, Saturday from 8:00am to 5:00pm for Baseball Tournament. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. It was recommended that LLL provide the department with the actual dates of the District Tournament no later than May 31 st. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. F. Lakes Region Vineyard Church- Opechee Point- Sundays, August 11, 2024 (rain date August 18, 2024, from 12:00pm to 5:00pm for Annual Church picnic and water baptism. Commissioner Ringer motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. G. Lakes Region Community Services- Opechee Park- Saturday, June 1, 2024, from 10:00am to 2:00pm for Fishing with Families. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Kirk seconded the motion. All were in favor. H. Lakes Region Community Services- Tardif Park playground- Fridays, May 3 through September 27, 2024, from 9:00am to 10:00am for traveling playgroup. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. I. Laconia Chiefs- Memorial Park Baseball Field- July 29 through October 31, 2024, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm for Football and cheer practice. Commissioner Kirk motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Ringer seconded the motion. All were in favor. II. OLD BUSINESS: A. Advantage Kids- Memorial Park Tennis court- Mondays and Wednesdays, June 24 th through August 5, 2024, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm for Advantage kids Free Tennis, Yoga & Mentorship. Commissioner Ringer motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Guyer seconded the motion. All were in favor. B. Laconia Kiwanis-Skate Park and Opechee Park parking lot- Saturday, May 18, 2024, from 6:00am to 2:00pm for Laconia Kiwanis Bike n’ Board. Commissioner Guyer motioned to accept the request with all the requirements and changes listed in the application. Commissioner Kirk seconded the motion. All were in favor. C. Robbie Mills Fencing- No update. III. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS-ROTARY PARK, BEACHES, WEIRS AMPHITHEATER & PAVILION IV. NEW BUSINESS: A. Laconia Rotary Club- asking for $1000.00 donation towards Rotary Park landscaping. This was tabled and will be discussed at the next Commission meeting. 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- April minutes of the meeting. B. Weirs Community Park Association- No report C. Tardif Park Association- No report XI. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: A. Director’s Report submitted by Amy Lovisek Welcome Spring!! This has been quite the month for weather. We have had nearly 70 degrees to a Nor’easter! The Bond Beach project is moving along. There have been a couple of snags but all in all things are moving ahead well. We did have to have the rooms redesigned due to structural issues for construction. This has been handled and we are back on track. The Leavitt Playground is currently being removed. Our department took the topcoat of playground mulch and used it over at Opechee, which was a great use of the resource. DPW will be removing the equipment during the week of April 15th. They were delayed due to the storm. The new playground is already at the park and waiting to be installed. The city went out to bid for the Janitorial Services as we need to do often. We received 2 bids for the project and since Joyce Janitorial has removed themselves from the bid. We will have a new contractor starting in June for all 5 municipal buildings. This spring with its wild weather has caused some major issues in the spring sports schedule. All teams have been pushed out to at least April 15th. We do this to protect the fields and keep them in good shape. The Hout Tech School is looking to start a new program next year. It is the Sports and Recreation Program. This will be a very broad curriculum as the field itself is broad. There were several stakeholders at this meeting to discuss the curriculum including myself. This will help the sports/rec field and will assist us in acquiring seasonal help. Sportskey is operational now. The Commission asked for the calendar to show everything for the month and that is not a possibility. It would be too congested to make sense. I do have to accept a request within 7 days, but on the website, it requires users to click on a button to acknowledge that this acceptance is provisional upon the Commission’s approval. We have a new hire that will start May 6th. His name is Nick Patterson, and we look forward to getting him onboard and ready to help with the spring season. The Kiwanis and Key Club at the high school will be doing a spring cleaning at Bond Beach Saturday, April 13th. We thank them for this extra hand they have given my team. B. Assistant Director’s Report submitted by Matt Mansur The Spring Squeeze The Spring Squeeze is still happening. This year it has been illongated. We are hoping that fields will be ready soon. The rain at the end of last week kept us off the fields this past weekend, but we are hoping that that is the end of it. I know our spring sports are looking forward to getting out there. Community Center Programs The recent snow drove many folks back inside for pickleball. Every third person who comes in has a comment about the amount of people playing pickleball or the lack of parking at the community center. Regardless, we have had a very smooth indoor season. Opechee Day Camp Registration has opened and we have a few registrations so far. Many people coming in and saying how much fun their camper had last year. Kegan, Ashlynn, and Maddy will all be back and I am trying to lock in Declan and Lucius. Kegan, Ashlynn, and Maddy means that our supervisor will be returning along with two of our three Lifeguards and two of our Laconia staff. I am excited about this. It looks like the tiles are coming up in the main room, so we will try to get that fixed up before the start of the summer season. Beaches We are off to a good start in terms of retention of staff. Skip will return as Beach Supervisor and Elizabeth, JP, Reid, Hoyt, and Dakota are all interested in returning. We have a lot of high hopes for building off of last year’s success. C. Foreman’s Report submitted by Dane Anderson 3/15/2024-4/11/2024 COMPLETED Column2 Project Additional Notes Bond Signage- Carpentry- Park sign rehung after wind storm damage. City Hall Locks- Cam lock replaced for new councilor's mailboxes cabinet and keys made. City Hall Plumbing- Public Men's Restroom- Faucet replacement. City Hall Furniture- Mobile server box relocated to LFD Central. City Hall Men's Public Restroom- Plumbing- Flushometers and shut offs rebuilt, Urinal salt removal treatment, Faucet mounting adjustment. City Hall Men's Employee Restroom- Plumbing- Urinal Flushometer rebuilt and Urinal salt removal treatment. Gale Library Carpentry- Door closer cover repair. Gale Library Furniture- Shelving unit assembly Gale Library Electrical- Lighting- Out light repairs. Grounds RFP- 2024 Grounds RFP developed and submitted. LCC Fishbowl- Carpentry- New TV installed. LCC Snow Removal Ops- Snow piles hauled away. LCC Gym- Carpentry- Completed trim work and wall repairs for newly installed water fountain Leavitt Grounds- Damaged picnic table removed. Leavitt Events- Easter egg hunt site prep. Memorial Baseball Field- Foul ball netting installed (x4 nets) 50' lift rented. Memorial Baseball Restrooms- Electrical- Lighting- Replaced failed lighting with LED fixtures Memorial Baseball Concessions Bldg/Restrooms- Plumbing- Assembled and charged up plumbing system. Memorial Baseball- Plumbing- damaged POC supply line repaired. Opechee Flag pole modifications made to be able to raise and lower flag without lift. 50' lift rented. Opechee Grounds- Kite removed from tree. 50' lift rented. Opechee Cove/Day camp Bldg- Plumbing- Assembled and charged up plumbing system. Opechee Electrical- Lighting- Cove Restroom- failed lighting replacements. Opechee Point Restrooms- Plumbing- Assembled and charged up plumbing system. Opechee Colby Little League Bldg- Plumbing- Assembled and charged up plumbing system. Opechee Playgrounds- Salvaged play mulch from Leavitt playground demo delivered and spread. Robbie Mills Plumbing- Solid waste collection pit pumped for season. Robbie Mills Concession Bldg- Carpentry- Drywall repairs throughout building Robbie Mills Concession Bldg- Carpentry- Damaged kitchen cabinet repairs Robbie Mills Concessions Bldg- Painting- Complete repainting of all walls through facility Robbie Mills Concession Bldg- Venting- Restroom vent fans repaired. Robbie Mills Concession Bldg- Plumbing- Assembled and charged up plumbing system. Robbie Mills Grounds- Pruning around sign Seasonal Facilities Plumbing- water meters ordered and picked up from water works. Snow Removal Daily walkway checks and treating for snow/ice. Moved to checking on an as needed bases. Snow Removal Snow Storm Operations 3/23-3-25 Snow Removal Snow Storm Operations 4/4/1945 Sports Fields Tools and Supplies orders put together Sports Fields Flags installed. Staffing Vacant Position- Interviews Stewart Events- Xmas lights removed 50' lift rented. Torrey Flag pole modifications made to be able to raise and lower flag without lift. 50' lift rented. Torrey Flag Pole- Electrical- Lighting- Replaced photocell, converted light fixture to LED due to failed ballast system Torrey Events- Xmas lights removed 50' lift rented. Winter Trash Services Trash- Routine trash can servicing complete, trash can servicing operations shifted over to outside contractor. Wow Trail Grounds- Trail lean up and gate opening efforts IN PROGRESS Location Project Additional Notes Adopt a Spots Assessing, planning and development for 2024 growing season. Bond Beach Site prep work and tree removal for new bathhouse and septic construction. City Hall Plumbing Faucet replacements Department Wide Dog Bags- Checking and filling dog bag dispensers Facilities Winter temperature and fuel level, plumbing, building locked and secure, 1-2 times per week. Facilities Electrical- Lighting timers adjustments as needed Gordon Lawerence Forestry- Down limb removal Cemetery Grounds Annual Beds- Prep work. LCC Plumbing- Faucet replacements Leavitt Playground- Special Projects- Demo of old playground and site prep for new play equipment install. Memorial Electrical- Baseball scoreboard repairs. Opechee Electrical- Smith field scoreboard troubleshooting. Paint Paint standards, colors, and procedures project. 4/4-4/5 Snow Storm Parking Lots Parking bumper log replacements. Rotary Sun Dial repairs Shop Carpentry/Plumbing- Paint/Cleaning Room Phase 2 reorganization, painting, plumbing fixture repairs/moving. Shop Carpentry- Tool Room Phase 2 reorganization. Sports Fields Spring Sports Season Field Preparations. Spring Clean Ups Grounds- Acorn/Leaf/Pine Cone and Down Limb removal. Storm Damage Grounds- Downed and damaged tree and limb removal throughout properties. Vandalism Graffiti- continual monitoring and removal throughout parks and facilities. Vets Sq Power to Irrigation/Fountains and Lights shut off due to misuse. XII. PRESENTATIONS XIII. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Guyer motioned to adjourn at 7:10pm. Seconded by Commissioner Kirk. All were in favor. Respectfully submitted, Liza Kelleher Mitch Hamel Secretary Chair Commissioner