Recreation & Community Services Commission

RECREATION & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION June 20, 2024 MEETING 5:30 PM MINUTES RECREATION & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION – In attendance: Jeanette Blackwell, Leslie Spatola, Harold Panciera, Andrea Dallas, Sowgol Zakarian, Dan DeConti, Rogers Pylant, Betsy Bielefield, Tammy Kapacziewski Absent: Kristen Jensen, Lincoln Everest, Staff: Cathy Lechowicz, Director AGENDA: Call Meeting to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:31pm. Public Hearing: No members of public in attendance. Approval of the Minutes: Leslie Spatola made a motion to approve minutes from May 23rd, 2024. Dan DeConti seconded. Approved unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: Sports Grant Final Recommendations Director Lechowicz noted that these meetings are public, but when it comes to Sports Grants it’s prudent to have some discretion until after decisions have been made. Director Lechowicz shared with commissioners a table outlining previous budgets and the current recommendations. All numbers are recommendations and are up for discussion. Discussion ensued. Tammy Kapacziewski made a motion to approve the recommended amounts for Ahern Whalen, Middletown Youth Soccer Inc., Middletown Youth Lacrosse, Middletown Youth Football and Cheer, and Middletown Youth Baseball/Softball. Andrea Dallas seconded. Approved unanimously. Yoga in Our City This is a program that Senator Matt Lesser, State Representative Kai Belton, State Representative Brandon Chaffee, State Representative Jan Hochadel brought to Middletown by connecting Director Lechowicz to the organizer. They do yoga in different cities throughout the state in different public parks. The organization received state funds directly to support this initiative. They will be hosting a yoga class in various Middletown parks 6 days a week. Runs May to October. Details, times, and locations are on the Recreation website. No registration required. Discussion ensued. Summer Break Historically this committee does not meet in July or August. There’s difficulty maintaining quorum with everyone’s schedules. If there is an emergent issue we can still have a meeting, but Director Lechowicz will sent out updates during these months. OLD BUSINESS: Department Updates Recreation- Vets pool opened Saturday 6/22. We’ve been in full training and set up mode, everything is in very good shape. Reminder of Vets pool policy, is as follows: Middletown residents only on weekends, non-residents during the week, Middletown residents can purchase household memberships, non-residents can only purchase daily passes. Household is the people that live in your home, not grandkids, nephews, cousins, etc. Splash pad is open and free to all, just like a playground. Vets Pool hours are Monday-Thursday, 1pm-7pm, Friday-Sunday, 11am-7pm, June 22nd-August 18th. Recreation camp started on Monday 6/24. Every camp is full this year. We were able to award over $30k in camp scholarships, in addition to other sources of funding. We are one of the few municipalities that accepts Care4Kids. Senior- Very busy season in terms of activities. Many night events, dinners, bus trips, entertainment, etc. ARPA Project Updates The city received funds from the federal government. We applied for two grants, $285k for infrastructure investments, to be used at Rec and Senior Center, and $491k as a collaborative grant with Russell Library and the Arts & Culture Department. Funds must be encumbered by end of year, but can be used up until 2026. For $285k grant, we have about $70k remaining, will go towards doors at Rec center and cooling apparatus in Senior center kitchen. For $491k grant, we have about half left, some funds were used for a new mural at the splash pad. The city does have an ARPA committee that reviews all grants and ensures all requests are eligible. They want all funds encumbered by early fall of this year. MISCELLANEOUS: None ADJOURNMENT Tammy Kapacziewski made a motion to adjourn, Andrea Dallas seconded. Approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:10 pm.