Recreation & Community Services Commission

RECREATION & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION January 17, 2019 MEETING 6:00 P.M. MINUTES RECREATION & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION – In attendance: Mary Bartolotta, Ed Dypa, Anthony Jaskot, Sue Laribee, Winn Lee, Phil Pessina, Akbar Coffy , Lincoln Everest, , Salvatore Uccello Absent: Matt Fraulino Staff: Cathy Lechowicz, Director AGENDA: Call Meeting to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:00pm. Approval of the Minutes: Ed Dypa made a motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Tony Jaskot. Unanimously approved. Public Hearing: no additional members of the public in attendance Department Reports: Building Updates Foundation was sealed on the outside, there is still some seepage so we are having it sealed from the inside too. Waiting for contract to be approved. Quote on getting the bricks sealed – received one quote, waiting to see if we will receive any others. The quote received is for $48,000. Still waiting to hear from the contractor regarding the geothermal system and how much that will cost to fix. Program Updates This tends to be a slower season for programming due to weather. Going through re-registration process, including taking photos of our members. Questions on swiping in and electronic capabilities. Questions on cameras and locations. Commissioner Pessinna updated the group on the 21st Century Parks committee regarding commitment to making the trails accessible to all our seniors. Recreation brochures are available. Family Fun Night tomorrow night (1/18). Summer camp info is on-line and starting to accept registration, included extended camp hours. Rink has been going well. Last weekend the numbers were low but the previous weeks were very strong. Discussion regarding connecting with holiday on Main. City has a new website. OLD BUSINESS: Ahern Whalen wanting to recruit from out of town to sustain their league and how does it affect its eligibility for sports grant. After consultation with General Counsel, the decision is ultimately up to our commission. Spoke with Greg Brooks from the league and they are willing to charge non-residents at a higher rate. The commission is making an exception to allow non-residents paying a higher rate to register for the Ahern Whalen league to ensure sustainability of the league. Ed Dypa made a motion to approve and Winn Lee seconded. Unanimously approved. Department name – I received some pushback about the department name change as our department also includes ADA compliance and the new name would be fully reflective of  all of our work. In addition, there is still some reservation putting Senior into the department name as the trend is to move away from that language. Discussion ensued regarding benefits and drawbacks of changing department name or commission meeting. The group is interested in finding out the viability of change the commission name. Director Lechowicz will research and bring back next month. NEW BUSINESS: Rink Rates – Director Lechowicz presented modifications to the current rink rates (see resolution attached); adding non-resident passes, group rates and clarifications. Discussion ensued. Ed Dypa made a motion, Lincoln Everest seconded. Unanimously approved. Sports Grants – Director Lechowicz gave background on sports grants and the process moving forwarad. Lechowicz also gave some background on why there are 2 proposals for Middletown Tigers. We have not received Little League yet. Ed Dypa made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Akbar Coffy; all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:15pm.