Recreation Advisory Board

Norwich Recreation Advisory Board April 19, 2023, 6pm Rose City Senior Center 8 Mahan Drive Minutes Attendance: Jeff Brown, Peter Camp, Grant Neuendorf Erin Haggan, Kara Kochanski Call to order Jeff Brown 6:00pm- Second Kara Kochanski Approval of Minutes Jeff Brown -Second Peter Camp Program/Facilities Update  All playgrounds have had new engineered wood chips added for safety.  The concern about the large space at the top of the bleachers at Dickenman has been addressed.  Over 1500 feet of rotten guardrails have been replaced at Ouellette Park.  More supports were added at the Stanton tennis courts to prevent balls from rolling under the fence.  8 trees in decline were removed from the Lake Street park, as well as 3 trees from Elizabeth Street playground.  The fence capping has been completed at Dickenman, and a windscreen/sun blocker has arrived and will be put up in the outfield tomorrow.  We are waiting to hear back from the contractor for the Armstrong Courts to determine when they will resume the last stages of that project.  The bid for the adjacent parking lot construction will go out this week.  The Lake Street Basketball Courts have been bid and are being awarded. Work should begin in about a month.  The Park Master Plan project was awarded to FHI Studio, and we had our first meeting with them, and Department Heads.  May 30th-Chris Herren @ Kelly Middle School 7pm-Register Online-FREE Survey Data/Results  For what Team/League/Sport are you completing this Form? 7 responses o IDCS o Norwich Youth Lacrosse o Norwich Free Academy  o Norwich Little League o Norwich Technical High School o Basketball o Norwich PAL  How old are the players/participants on your Team? (range is fine) 7 responses o 8-14 o 5-14 o 14-18 o 4-16 o 14-18 o 11-17 o 4-14  During what months do you need space to practice? 7 responses o September- October, March-June o Sept1-Oct30 (for fall practices) March15-June30 (regular season) o Sept. through Nov. and Mar. through June o April-June o Depends on the season. Only Fontaine Field track is used. o April, May, June, July o Norwich PAL runs sports programs all year  What type of space do you need to compete? 7 responses o Soccer field & Track Full Field (Full soccer field) Ouellette Main Field, McKeon Park Main Field, Ouellette Mini o Fields for younger kids o Same as practice: Fields space: Soccer, lacrosse, baseball, softball. Courts: Tennis o Baseball field o NA o Gym with basketball court o soccer fields (regulation and smaller spaces for younger players); baseball fields for all ages (T Ball size through regulation size); basketball courts (full size)  What other program details are important to note? 7 responses o Our school does not have any space to play or practice for sports!!! o We require field painting. We require storage of our goals (we keep them locked up against the fence at Ouellette). We are currently looking into purchasing a conex box to store all of our equipment (goals, helmets, etc.) We would like to have a conversation about installing a storage container  at Ouellette park to figure out placement, and providing a crushed rock foundation for the storage container to sit on. o We would utilize a pool if there was one, we currently travel out of town with our Fall and Winter Swim Teams o none o Only the Outdoor Track team in the spring uses Norwich Rec facilities. o We are currently in our spring AAU team season. Which will start in April and run for about 20wks. This includes tryouts, practices, and games. o Our program costs are minimal and we offer scholarships to allow families of all income levels to participate  What would you like from Human Services, Youth, Family, Recreation Division in order to make this the best season yet? Think space, advertising, any support...7 responses o To know that we can have the space needed for our students to be able to participate in sports!! o Advertising. We’ve been working with Bob Kilpatrick and providing free lacrosse clinics a couple times a year, but more advertising would be great. Also somehow being able to get into the school system and teach/coach lacrosse to promote lacrosse in our schools. I am a certified level2 coach with US Lacrosse and have a background check. Been coaching for 6 years. If you know of have a contact that you can help me get in touch with to achieve this goal - I would greatly appreciate it. o Seriously consider upgrading grass surfaces and plan for Turf wherever possible. o Despite improvements witnessed on some fields in the past few years, the lack of grass on some of the fields is a matter of safety. o Make field booking process easy and streamline communication o NA o We would like support in terms of space, advertising, volunteers, cost and supplies advertising, volunteers, field maintenance VI. Public Comment-none VII. Adjournment 6:50pm Jeff Brown- Second Peter Camp