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2003-03-11 .. AGENDA RECREATION COMM. MEETING MARCH 11, 2003 CALL MEETING TO ORDER PRESENT: RlH., K.D., S.R, J.C., lE., RF., E.K., S.M., lV. APPROVE MINUTES - February 4, 2003 Corrections Approved Seconded COMMENTS FROM GUESTS CORRESPONDENCE 1. Memo from Dutchess County Youth Bureau requesting nominations for Youth and Adults. 2. Copy ofletter sent to Town Clerk from Pete Sanfilippo, Race Director Sports Museum Hall of Fame - Requesting permission to hold race, Sunday A.m. 5/25. 3. Letter from New Hackensack Fire Company to use SL-l field at Robinson Lane on Friday nights 4. Bid received from Superior Sanitation for porta johns for 2003 - Regular units $75.00 and handicapped units $120. 5. Received copy of Town Board resolution endorsing the Sports Museum Hall of Fame. RlU~ 6. Call from Drew Marino of Northeast Baseball requesting to use Robinson Lane for a Baseball Camp in July or August - Sent note to Jim Chappas to follow up. 7. Received quote from Southern Industrial Sand for infield mix $32.25T 8. Received a resignation from Joanne Vazquez 9 Received a telephone request from Drew Marino to run a Baseball Camp Northeast Baseball 10. Letter from Ralph Buono Switch in Time re: concert for August 7, 2003 11. Letter from Penn Business Credit, Inc. requesting all payments be forwarded to them for Southern Industrial Sand. 12. Application from John Ferrara, Jr. for position at Robinson Lane Maintenance 13. Letter from D. C. Health Dept. regarding medications. 14. Letter from Hudson Valley Leisure Services re: becoming a member 15. Letter from Enviro Clean Porta Potty with Quote Regular Units $75.00 Handicap units $150.00 REPORTS K.D. E.K. S.R S.M. ~ .. lC. J.V. J.E. R.lH. R.F. OLD BUSINESS - Special Olympics Peter Gilman/Soccer Easter Playground Registration - April 25th, May 9th & 10th, June 13th & 14th Summer Playground - Fees, extended hours, Arts & Crafts Instructor, Leadership conference NEW BUSINESS - Terms for Stephen Miller and Ron Friedman expire in May Fees for "A" programs increased to $20.00 and $15.00 MEETING ADJOURNED NEXT MEETING OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE - FEBRUARY 2003 1. Memo to Supervisor Ruggiero and Town Board requesting permission to authorize Town Engineer to draw up specs and go out to bid for playground equipment at Martz. 2. Letter to Michael Cole and Roy Gallinger asking if they will be returning to work at Castle Point and Robinson Lane. 3. Memo to Supervisor and Town Board Members regarding increase in fees for Summer program. 4. Letter to Tim Ellsworth, Southern Industrial Sand for quotes on infield mix. 5. Letter to M. & O. Sanitation, Inc. requesting a monthly rental for portajohns. 6. Thank you letter from Kathi Delisa to Dr. Steven Moskowitz thanking him for sharing knowledge on diabetes, foot care and Medicare for the seniors. 7. Letter to Supervisor Ruggiero re- recreation meeting on March 11 th 8. Letter to Colleen Cannon of Deer Hill requesting permission to use facilities 9. Thank you letter to Linda Leopardi of Roy C. Ketcham thanking the Gourmet Food Class for help with Valentine Tea Party. . .~ i. ,""' I RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 11, 2003 NEXT MEETING APRIL 1,2003 AT 7:00 P.M. AT SCHLATHAUS PARK The regular meeting of the Town of Wappinger Recreation Commission was held March 11,2003 at Schlathaus Park, 126 All Angels Hill Road, Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York. The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by Chairman Ralph J. Holt. Others present were Kathi Delisa, Senior Citizen Director, Commission Members Joseph Ennesser, Ronald Friedman, Ellen Korz and invited guest Supervisor Joseph Ruggiero. Skip Rottkamp, Recreation Director arrived at 8:30 p.m. after making a recreation presentation at the Vassar Road Elementary School. The minutes of the February 4,2003 meeting were approved on a motion by Mr. Friedman seconded by Mrs. Korz with all in favor. SUPERVISOR RUGGIERO COMMENTED ON THE FOLLOWING: 1. He has asked Mr. Paggi to draw up specs for a new playground unit for Martz. 2. He looked over the finished product of the Recreation Guide before it went to the printers and he said that it was a super piece of work. He was very impressed with it. A copy of the Guide will be put on the Internet. They should start to work on this on Thursday. 3. The Town Board approved the request to increase the fees for both the winter and summer programs. Mr. Ruggiero said that the fees for the summer program will be put back into the program to make it better. 4. He mentioned the lights at Robinson Lane and the fact that he would like to diversify the activities there. He is looking to Recreation to come up with these activities and Mr. Holt said basketball and rollerblading. He said that he had hoped to have started construction on this but the winter has been so bad. We hope that we can start the project in the next two weeks. Supervisor Ruggiero said that he has spoken to Roland Norris and was told that he is working on the signs to be placed on the outfield fences for advertisements. Mr. Norris thought that we could raise $20,000. by having these signs and if so we could possibly cover the operation and maintenance of the lights. Mr. Holt said that we will have to get approval from the Town Board to put in a higher fence since the advertisers will want a good size sign. Mr. Friedman said that he would like to have free standing signs because if we raise the height on the fence it wouldn't be as easy to get the ball over it. Mr. Ennesser said that if we have free standing signs, it would pose a problem for maintenance unless we put item 4 around them. We will have to discuss this further. . , . .. Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 5. Memorial Day will be coming up and he asked Mr. Holt how we were coming on this. Mr. Holt said that Mr. Parsons will be taking care of the program as he did in previous years. We will order the flowers and pay the bills for the program. Mr. Ennesser asked about the GIS system. Supervisor Ruggiero mentioned that only the Assessors office is on GIS. We will be working updating the software and hardware for all departments this year and they will have GIS. Mr. Ennesser mentioned that he will be doing mapping for Greenway and the walk map so Mr. Ruggiero will talk to Kevin Jefferies about this. OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE - February 2003 1. Memo to Supervisor Ruggiero and Town Board requesting permission to authorize Town Engineer to draw up specs and go out to bid for playground equipment at Martz. 2. Letter to Michael Cole and Roy Gallinger asking if they will be returning to work at Castle Point and Robinson Lane. 3. Memo to Supervisor and Town Board Members regarding increase in fees for Summer program. 4. Letter to Tim Ellsworth, Southern Industrial Sand for quotes on infield mix. 5. Letter to M. & O. Sanitation, Inc. requesting a monthly rental for portajohns. 6. Thank you letter from Kathi Delisa to Dr. Steven Moskowitz thanking him for sharing knowledge on diabetes, foot care and Medicare for the seniors. 7. Letter to Supervisor Ruggiero inviting him to the recreation meeting on March 11th 8. Letter to Colleen Cannon of Deer Hill requesting permission to use facilities 9. Thank you letter to Linda Leopardi of Roy C. Ketcham thanking the Gourmet Food Class for help with Valentine Tea Party. CORRESPONDENCE A memo was received from the D. C. Youth Bureau requesting nominations for Youth and Adults. The YEA awards are for youngsters whose performance would be otherwise overlooked. The awards are not meant for the traditional students who have effective support systems and have always excelled. The adult nominations are for a volunteer with five years of youth service and for a paid municipal or not for profit agency who best exemplifies excellence in commitment and dedication to youth and for a teacher who promotes positive youth development. This letter was given to Mr. Rottkamp to follow up on and if anyone has any suggestions, please contact him. We received a copy of a letter from Pete Sanfilippo, Race Director for the Sports Museum Hall of Fame. They are requesting permission from the Town to run the 2 Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 2nd Annual Sports Road Race on Sunday morning, May 25,2003. We also received a Resolution from the Town Board approving this request. A request was received from the New Hackensack Fire Company for the use ofSL-I field at Robinson Lane for their Fireman's League Games. This request was forwarded to Jim Chappas for follow up but Mr. Farrell already indicated that there would be no problem with this. as follows: Bids were received for portajohns for the 2003 season from the following Superior Sanitation Envior Clean Porta Potty Regular Units $75.00 $75.00 Handicap Units $120.00 $150.00 A call was received from Drew Marino of Northeast Baseball requesting to use Robinson Lane for a Baseball camp in July or August. This request was sent to Mr. Chappas for follow up. A letter of resignation was received from Joanne Vazquez, from the Recreation Committee, effective immediately. Mr. Holt said that she was an asset and wished her well. Mrs. Roe will plan a dinner for her. A letter was received from Ralph Buono of Switch In Time which is scheduled to perform at Schlathaus Park on August 7th at 7 p.m. In his letter he states that he understands that the Town does not give deposits. However, he is concerned that no alternate site, such as school has been acquired in case of stormy weather. He mentioned that if inclement weather prevents their performance on August 7th and no rescheduling is possible, then the Town will be assessed the $300.00 deposit. Mr. Rottkamp has already given a rain date to them of August 21 st. Hopefully this will be sufficient. A letter was received from Penn Business Credit, Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa stating that Southern Industrial Sand has assigned all of their accounts receivable to them in connection with a credit facility they provide to them. They are requesting all payments due to them, under any existing invoices, be sent to them. At the present time we have no current invoices due and we will check with Southern before any payments are made. A letter was received from the Dutchess County Health Department stating that "it will no longer be acceptable to use generic standing orders for the administration of over the counter medicine to campers. It is required that each child's health care provider complete a form that approved or disapproves the use of each over the counter medication that you may stock". This letter was given to Mr. Rottkamp for follow up. 3 Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 A letter was received from the Hudson Valley Leisure Services Association regarding becoming a member. We received an application from John Ferrara, Jr. for the position at Robinson Lane. Mrs. Roe will be making an appointment for him to come in and speak to Mr. Holt. SENIOR CITIZEN DIRECTOR REPORT Mrs. DeLisa handed out a report on the senior activities for the month of February. This report is attached to these minutes. She mentioned that she has some people interested in yoga so she would like to start a Yoga Class for the seniors to be held on Tuesdays from 10:30-11 :30. This will be a trial 8 week class taught by Sue Borchardt who is trained in yoga. Mrs. Delisa feels that the seniors should pay for this because we have to bring in a specialized instructor and unless they commit to it they will come once or come just when they feel like it. The charge will be $20.00 for this class in keeping with the regular recreation fees. A letter will be sent to the Town Board regarding this. Mrs. DeLisa mentioned that this is in her budget. Mrs. Delisa mentioned that the computer classes have resumed at Schlathaus with the new computers and the Internet is now hooked up and ready for surfing. Supervisor Ruggiero asked if we could use more computers and Mr. Holt said that we could use two immediately. We need to replace the one we took from Mr. Rottkamp to use in the computer classes and an updated one for Mrs. Roe. Supervisor Ruggiero'mentioned that they are purchasing 14 new computers to upgrade some computers at Town Hall. Mrs. Delisa mentioned that she loves her new computer but she still has to do her newsletter at home because we do not have the proper software program. Supervisor Ruggiero said to send him a letter regarding this. The computer classes are going well and everyone loves John Macek. He is a great teacher. The Office of the Aging Picnic will be held at Robinson Lane on July 16th. Mr. Farrell has been notified. OUTSTANDING GRANTS Mr. Ennesser re-negotiated for the $2,000.00 grant for Reese Park to extend the time to June. The paperwork went in and he is waiting for the vouchers to come back from the state and he will start to process the bills. We have close to $4,000. in bills including the labor so we should have no problem recouping the $2,000.00 from the state. 4 Recreation Minutes March II, 2003 Mr. Ennesser mentioned that while he was away the Town received the remaining $2,150.00 from the DOT grant. It is small but it is done. Before Mr. Ennesser went away, he attended the State quarterly meeting for Greenway and the Town has been awarded a $15,000.00 grant for Reese Park which is a 50/50 match for rest room facilities. He is in the process of going out and looking at different bathroom facilities to get all the information together. One thing he is looking at is something that would fit in with a nature atmosphere with a containment type of building. It could be waterless or water but in either case it is a pump out situation. Mr. Ennesser mentioned that he was contacted by the Greenway waterway trail to put in an announcement sign at Chelsea and Reese Park. The sign is a 4-panel sign which describes water safety with a map of the River and trail. Supervisor Ruggiero mentioned that he would like to promote Reese Park and would also like to take a tour of the area when the weather gets better. Mr. Ennesser mentioned that he has five events already scheduled at Reese Park. The Dutchess Land Conservancy called and they want to have two events there, the first in April and the second in June. On July I st, 2nd or 3rd, we will again have the overnight encampment with people coming in with their canoes and kayaks. The Hudson Valley Ramble will take place there in September. We are also expanding the nature study with the summer camps. The Supervisor mentioned that we are making up extra maps which we can give out. MASTER PLAN Mr. Ennesser mentioned that he has been asked by Supervisor Ruggiero to be on the Town's committee to upgrade the Master Plan. He would like the Commission members to jot down items that they would like to see in the Town in the future. Please leave the notes in the recreation office. FENCING AT REESE PARK Mr. Ennesser, Mr. Holt and Supervisor Ruggiero will be meeting with a Vicki Losier regarding the fence that was placed behind her property. They are meeting to discuss the problem she has with the fencing. SAFETY INSPECTIONS Mr. Friedman mentioned that he will be starting the safety inspections as soon as the weather breaks. MARTZ FIELD There was a question on the Martz Field rest rooms. Mr. Tompkins had indicated that there were some things that we had a question on and we are not sure that 5 Recreation Minutes March 11,2003 MARTZ FIELD CON'T they had been addressed for example the locks on the building, putting the walkway over the opening of the septic etc. Supervisor Ruggiero mentioned that he thought that he had signed off on the payment for the rest rooms but that we should check with the Comptroller. If there are problems they should be addressed prior to this payment being made. SPECIAL OL YMPICS Mrs. Roe mentioned that she had spoken with Mr. Chappas and Special Olympics are interested in using 3 softball fields at Robinson Lane and they are also looking to use some soccer fields. The time frame for this usage will be October. He is meeting with the woman in charge to take her to Robinson Lane and Rockingham. Mr. Chappas indicated to Mrs. Roe that they are also looking for an area that they could use for a track. Mr. Holt asked the Supervisor if we were still going to do the track at Robinson Lane and he said that we are suppose to. If that is the case then they could use that track. Mr. Holt said that he would talk to the Highway Superintendent about this. USE OF SOCCER FIELDS FOR A CAMP A decision has not been made regarding Mr. Peter Gilman's request to run a soccer camp at the Airport Park facility. Mr. Miller was following up on this and we were waiting for an answer from Soccer before we commit. REQUEST FOR USE OF ROBINSON LANE At a meeting earlier this year, Frozen Ropes had requested use of Robinson Lane for a baseball camp. They have sent in more information on this and it would be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the cost would be $185.00 per child and they would supply insurance. We try not to interfere with anything Little League is running so if Little League is not doing anything like this we could entertain this request. They said that they would take whatever time we could give them. We will check and see if Little League has a problem with the camp. Most felt that we should let them do this and charge them the normal fee. This will be given to Jim Chappas to follow up on to get a time frame from Little League etc. SUMMER CAMP ISSUES At a recent meeting with the Supervisor, we were told that the money that comes in as fees would be given back to Recreation as long as we improve the program. One of the things that was discussed was the hiring of an Arts & Crafts Director who 6 Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 CAMP ISSUES CON'T would be in charge of planning crafts for each site, ordering the supplies and teaching the kids. Mr. Rottkamp is looking for a person to do this. Another issue that came up was water (both drinking and playing.) Someone said that we need drinking water. Mrs. Roe mentioned that all sites have Town water and there are fountains at each site but maybe there isn't enough "cold" water or it doesn't taste good. We will check into prices for the coolers similar to the one at Schlathaus. Mr. Friedman mentioned that he saw in the paper that we would be opening 2 camps with extended hours and asked why it would be only 2 camps. Mrs. Roe said that Mr. Rottkamp sent in a list of pros and cons on the subject as follows; Pros- Great for working parents. Some counselors/directors will welcome making more money Cons - Wait until next year - residents do not know of this. Wait until next year - counselors, directors did not know or apply for a longer day. Camps become babysitting service. Tough to find counselors/directors to work a longer day Will this require that a "Break be given during the day to counselors/directors Kim & Claire -longer day-not in favor- maybe try I camp this year. A discussion took place regarding the extra hours. We still have to decide how we are going to split the counselors i.e are they all working 8-4, are we dividing them into Group A and Group B and have half work 8-2 and the others 10 -4 and how does this effect the trips since they leave mostly at 9: 15 will there be enough coverage. A suggestion was to have parents by $15.00 extra if they use the extended hours. After discussing this, we don't feel that we have enough time to iron out all these details and implement the program this year. Supervisor Ruggiero suggested that we plan it for next year and plan it in our budget. We had a discussion with the Supervisor a few weeks ago and it was decided that we would pay the counselors on an hourly basis instead of a flat salary. Thereby the counselors and directors would get paid for their participation in the CPRlFirst Aid training and orientation programs. They will not be paid for holidays. Supervisor Ruggiero mentioned the fact that during our discussion we talked about hiring a motivational trainer. Mrs. Roe said that Mr. Rottkamp has spoken with Mr. Tom Connelly to be the consultant and he has agreed to conduct a meeting on June 28th at Greystone from 9-12. We still have to find out the price for this. Mr. Rottkamp suggested that we invite East Fishkill to join us for this conference and it was decided that we should do this. 7 . . . " Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 CAMP ISSUES CON'T When we had the meeting with Supervisor Ruggiero one of the items discussed was water for the parks (for play). Mrs. Roe showed a flyer we just received from Universal Play Systems with pads with a donut spray and this was $6,000.00 +. We would have to discuss where we would put it and solve many issues. Supervisor Ruggiero asked if we thought that this type of equipment could go in Reese Park. Mr. Ennesser said that he didn't think that this was the type of apparatus was appropriate for this park since it is more for nature. Maybe we should have a representative visit our parks and give us some ideas on where or what would be good to install. Mrs. Roe mentioned that Mr. Rottkamp has been working on finding an Arts & Crafts Director and looking into ways to make our Camps better this year. Mr. Rottkamp asked if we could have a Counselor In Training program at the camps and Mrs. Roe explained that we had it before and it really didn't work that well. Mr. Holt said that we previously had a some experiences that were not positive. The maturity level that we need, we are not getting at that age. A question came up about putting a section on the application regarding "special needs" children. Mr. Rottkamp said that if we know about this type of child that we might be able to watch for his needs. On the other side of the issue, would we have to train our counselors and directors to handle these needs. Maybe we should talk to the Town Attorney to see how much information we can request before putting ourselves into a problem. Mrs. Korz said that maybe that would open the door for more "special" people and subsequently new issues to be taken care of. Maybe what we already have on our application if sufficient. EMPLOYEES Mr. Holt mentioned that Mrs. Delisa should be looking for people who could come in on a part time (as needed) basis for when we have people out sick or on vacation. There also was a problem with the 17 ~ hours because when Mrs. Waldron is the escort on trips she goes over the hours. Supervisor Ruggiero said that this is not a problem since there are a few weeks allotted during the year when you could go over. There also was a discussion on the hiring of John Youngman for the full time maintenance position. Mr. Holt said that he had interviewed him and he fit the position. We would be starting him off at the Grade 4 Step One salary of$21,650.00. Supervisor Ruggiero mentioned that if we are comfortable with this to go ahead. 8 Recreation Minutes March 11, 2003 EMPLOYEES CON'T Mr. Holt mentioned that in looking at Robinson Lane, the function out there with the new lights and field usage will be a big job. He said that he felt that this job would be too much for one of the Commission members and said that ifhe could come up with someone we should hire him for this position. It was felt that this position come under Mr. Rottkamp's direction. We will look into this. AEROBICS Mr. Rottkamp mentioned that the Dance classes are going very well they had 7 couples sign up for the last class. The women's aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday had 37 register and everyone just loves the instructor Rosemary DiGennero. They have requested that we continue a class in the summer and Mr. Rottkamp and Mrs. Roe discussed this and we came up with several problems. In the summer we would only be able to use the school until 3 p.m. because of custodians leave at that time, we didn't plan on that when we did the budget and we don't have enough money. It was suggested that we could use Greystone during the summer months but first we will have to check the budget. EASTER PROGRAM Mrs. Roe handed out a flier on the proposed set up for the program. We are hoping to have a little more structure to our program this year. We will be purchasing a bunny suit for Mr. Rottkamp and he will be greeting the children and giving them a small packet of jelly beans. We will also have two pools with straw/hay in which we will hide plastic eggs filled with candy. Each child ages 3-5 and 6-8 will be able to get 4 candy filled eggs. Instead of having the children find the eggs with the "numbers" each child will get a raffle ticket to fill out and the special baskets will be raffled off at 11: 15. The children do not have to be there to win. We will call them if they win. We will also have two or three crafts they can do if they wish and face painting. Refreshments will also be served. Mr. Rottkamp is working on getting the orange juice container from McDonald's and he has been in touch with the Roy C. Ketcham Gourmet Club to do some cookies. He has also been speaking to Patty Wells of the Interact Club at Ketcham to get some kids to help with crafts etc. Mr. Friedman was told that his term expires on May 1 st and was asked if he wanted to be reappointed for another term and he indicated that he would. The meeting was adjourned at 9: 15 on a motion by Mr. Ennesser seconded by Mr. Friedman with all in favor. Peggy Roe Recreation Secretary 9