Recreation Commission

COMMISSIONERS CITY OF MARLBOROUGH Mike Cabral RECREATION DEPARTMENT William Doherty 239 Concord Road Robert Kays: Chairman Marlborough, Massachusetts 01752 Melynda Gallagher Tel (508) 624-6925 TTY (508) 460-3610 Shanissa Sampson Mark Vital John Welch DIRECTOR Charles Thebado PROGRAM MANAGER Joseph Mulvey September 28, 2022 Pursuant to notice duly filed with the City Clerk, a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission was held at 5:30pm at the Recreation Commission Office. Present were Commission Members: Chairman Kays, Commissioner Sampson, Commissioner Gallagher, and Commissioner Cabral. Also attending Recreation Director Charles Thebado and Mr. Balakumar Ragunathan. Approval of minutes 05-18-22 On a motion duly made by Commissioner Gallagher and seconded by Commissioner Sampson, it was unanimously: VOTED: To accept the 05-18-22. Cricket Field - Mr. Balakumar Ragunathan: (Northborough resident and past Marlborough resident) Mr. Ragunathan introduced himself to the Commission. He stated the following: • He would like to bring the idea of building and developing a cricket field in the city of Marlborough. • Currently there are 60 teams in the Massachusetts League. • They are looking for green space that is about 4-5 acres. He presented pictures with the dimensions to the Commission for their view. • He requested for the Commission to consider renting or leasing a field so they can build a cricket pitch and facilities to develop and propagate the sport. • He asked if the Commission or Director Thebado would like to visit Shrewsbury or Acton’s cricket field, he will be available to join them. Mr. Thebado stated he would like to visit couple of cricket fields and will ask Mr. Chris White to join him. The Commission and Mr. Thebado thanked Mr. Ragunathan for his time and will contact him with any updates. Parks Report: Mr. White was not able to attend the Commission meeting. Mr. Thebado gave the parks report on his behalf: • Fertilize applications to fields • Fall clean ups • Ghiloni Park and Stevens Park Splash Pad are closed and winterized. Recreation Report - Charles Thebado, Director: Mr. Thebado gave the following Recreation Department report: • Memorial Beach in May continues to be an issue. It’s a safety concern. I had a meeting with City Councilman Don Landers who spoke with the Ft. Meadow Commission. They expressed their concern with multiple issues, loud music from portable speakers, swimmers dragging boat buoys onto beach, swimmers swimming in boating lanes, public drinking and smoking marijuana, trash, etc… Also, numerous complaints from Memorial Beach abutters. • Staffing was a concern this year. COVID prevented replenishment of staff due to no lifeguard courses being offered which forced our department to hire 10 new guards which is uncommon. Numerous instances of calling in sick, tardiness, overall lack of effort to fulfill the requirement of their daily duties, and complaints of working to many days in a row 3 to 4 days. Our department will do its best to recruit more staffing along with an extensive training session with all staff to take place next spring / early summer. • Pools and splash pads experienced no shutdowns to equipment failure or chemical issues. We will be replacing the chemical feeding systems at Farrell and Ward next spring. Will be speaking with DPW in regards to the city plans to replace both pool decks and pool floor surfaces. • The Department put on 9 summer concerts (Breweries, new lighting and benches were a big hit) along with 2 kid concerts with the help of the Rock Institute and the department also helped coordinate 2 Sr. BBQ’s / Concerts at Memorial Beach. • We held a Movie in the Park at the beginning of the summer at Kelleher Field which we had a great turnout of 400-500 people. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the late summer event due to inclement weather. • We had a great turnout on all concerts. We had nine Summer Concerts, two Kids Concerts and two Senior BBQ Concerts. • Skyhawks Sports Camps went very well. We were able to hold seven separate camps over the summer. • We installed new Kayak dock at the Hixson Boat Launch. This allows a separate area for kayaks to launch in a safe area away from boats being launched or incoming boats • Pollinator Garden was installed along the pathway on the back field here at Ghiloni. The garden club held two events to promote this new endeavor and to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and to learn the benefits of a pollinator garden. • Plans are underway for the construction of the new Dek hockey rink here at Ghiloni Park. • Build a Scarecrow Contest for residents and local groups of all ages, wooden frames available at our office. All submission will be showcased around Union Common during this year’s Horrible Parade, to be held on Thursday, October 27th. Three scarecrow designers will be selected for a prize, gift card, based on design and creativity. • Meeting with Mayor Vigeant and DPW Commissioner Sean Divoll, regarding Pickleball courts at Ward Park. On a motion made by Commissioner Sampson and seconded by Commissioner Gallagher, it was unanimously All in favor. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:11pm Attest to: Simela Perdikomatis Senior Clerk/Commission Secretary