2008-01-09
Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 2008
RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
NEXT MEETING FEBRUARY 6, 2008 AT SCHLATHAUS PARK
The regular meeting of the Town of Wappinger Recreation Commission was held
. January 9, 2008 at S~hlathaus Park, 126 All Angels Hill Road, Town of Wappinger,
Dutchess County, New York.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Ralph J. Holt. Also
present were Scott Cheney, Recreation Director, Kay VonReyn, Acting Senior Director
and Bob Sheridan, Maintenance Supervisor. Commission Members present were Bruce
Lustig, Gary Trudell, and Uma Satyendra.
Mr. Chad Ummel was .invited as a guest but could not attend..
The minutes of the DecemberS, 2007 meeting were accepted with no. corrections.
INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE:
1.' E-mail from Gina Basile with information about a band interested in performing
,. fqr <?urSu1'l1II\~r Concert Series. E-mail was from Samual Costanzo but no band
." mime'was given."'Copy 'given to Scott Cheney'. .
2. An employment application was received from Russell J. <:;:ascio to work in
Maintenance: Copies were given to Ralph Holt and Bob Sheridan.
3. An employment application was received from Deborah Cascio, applying for a
clerical position (Computer and Accounting work).
4. . Letter from the D.C. Youth Bureau announcing the availability of mini-grants for
2008. Copy given to Ralph Holt. Mr. Holt stated that we should learn more
llbo~t gr~t~and pow toapply for them. Mr. Holt would like to. have Bruce
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Lustig look at'the application and suggested that sometime in the future that he
should attend a class to learn more.
5. A flyer was received from Pesticide Training and Consulting with an application
form for Pesticide Spraying course 3A. This course is the one suggested by Doug
Haan, the Town Safety Inspector, as the most useful to our needs. (Copies given
. to Ralph Holt and Bob Sheridan) Mr. Holt suggests that we order the books in
advance so that preparation may be made ahead of time. (This is the suggestion
of the PT &c.) Mr. Sheridan wanted to know if the course was available on line.
Mrs. Mannlng:said she would check.
6. An employment application was received from John Migliore to work in
Maintenance. Copies were given to Ralph Holt and Bob Sheridan.
7. Resolution #2007-255 was adopted at the Town Board meeting on December 10t\
2007. It authorizes the exploration of a proposed Dog Park at Castle Point. Mr.
Holt stated that the project would require a fenced in area near the smoke pipe
field at Castle Point. He finds the location a little too far south in the Town to be
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Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 2008
convenient to most of the Town's residents. If an additional dog park was
planned in a more northern location it might be convenient to more residents.
(Possibly part of the 27 acres at Robinson Lane.) Mr. Cheney suggested that all it
takes to make a dog park is a fenced-off area. We could then add features each
year to make it more special.
8. A letter was received from County Executive Bill Steinhaus awarding the Town
of Wappinger a Youth Bureau grant in the amount of$6,726.00 for our 2008
program.
9. Resolution #2007-265 was approved unanimously by the Town Board at the
. December 26~, 2007 meeting, accepting Recreation's Grant Application for the
year 2008 under the Youth Bureaus YDDP Program. The amount of this grant
usually runs between $6,000 and $7,000, and is based on our expenditures for our
"Learn to Swim" Program.
10. A letter and newspaper were sent to Ralph Holt from Uma Satyendra, a
Commission member, reql;lesting that a sign be put up on the board atSchlathaus
in November wish~ng area, residents a "Happy Diwali".
11, Letter from Bill Farrell of Little League requesting the usage of the fields at
Robins~ti 'Lang 'for the 2008 season. Our programs require everyday use from
March 18th thrUOctober 30th. The teams that traditionally use the fields.
(Wappinger Yatikees, the MSBL, 30 Over.and 40 Over and the WCSD) will still
be accommodated. . All other requests for fields may have to l;>e CUI, tailed. We will
do our best to fit in tournaments but can not guarantee rain dates. Mr. Holt
explained that t~ams requesting to use our fields bring in additional revenue
especially when the lighted fields are used at night. Another'source of revenue is
the sale of a;dyertising signs displayed on the fields. Roland Norris and Mrs. ,. ,
MariIiii1f,ire):workiiig ohsending out letters to solicit additional funds for existing
signs. Mr. Holt would also like to see three or four additional signs sold for these
fields.
12. Letter from the WCSD'~ Superintendent of Schools, Dick Powell, thanking Eileen
Manning for attending Career Day atRC Ketcham HS in November. Notification
, will be sent out for n,ext year' ~ event. Mr. Holt indicated that Mrs. Manning
attended in Skip Rottkamp's absence and that Mr. Cheney should plan on
attending this year. ,Mr. Cheney said that because this event occurs during the
, seHa61;~iiy fmhdy,,:edifflccltfor him to attend.
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OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE
1. Fax sent to Jason Holden at the Casperkill Country Club, per Ralph Holt, with
information about our Summer Golf Program for adults and children. No word
has been received as, of this time, as to whether he will be able to work with us on
. this program. Mr. Holt continued by elaborating on our Summer Golf Program.
Ye~t~rcHiy(hIs'{rgqhest td lCasperkill Country Club was turned down due to
scheduling conflicts. Peter Shea will again be affiliated with East Fishkill Golf
Center Negotiations are in progress.
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Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 2008
2. A brochure was received from the Tri-State Camp Conference for a seminar being
held in March. Brochure given to Scott Cheney.
3. A memo was sent to Supervisor Ruggiero from Ralph Holt requesting the carry-
over of four vacation days for Eileen Manning, Recreation Secretary.
4. Memo to Supervisor Ruggiero listing the names of the award-winning teams of
the Pop Warner Cheerleading Squads. He honored them at the December 26th
Town Board meeting with certificates of accomplishment.
5. Letter sent to Charles Reinhardt in the Comptrollers Office to amend the Home
Depot account deleting Anthony Musarra, Nancy Cito, Joe Ruggiero, Joe
Ennesser and adding Joe DeRosa and Christopher Colsey. Still ort list are Bob
Sheridan, Fred Youngman and Ralph Holt. Kay V onReyn asked if she might be
included on that list. Mr. Holt agreed that she should.
6. Memo sent to Supervisor Ruggiero from Ralph Holt with regard to the old
computers being stored in the basement at Schlathaus Park. No word has been
received as yet in regard to this matter. It is hoped that this situation will be
rectified as soon as possible. Most of these computers. were never purchased by
the Town but were donated to us.
7. M~mo sent to the Town Board outlining the salaries for our Recreation Programs
for 2008. These include Aerobics, Volleyball, Baton Twirling, Gymnastics and
WinterBasketbalL'"'' .
8. Letter fromJimM~Govem of Pop' Warner requesting the use of the Large
Meeting Room at Town Hall for registrations on April 5th, May 3rd and June ih.
These dates may interfere with Recreation's Playground sign-ups. In the past we
have used the first weekends in May and June for ourselves. Do we wish to
adjust our schedule or shall we ask them to adjust theirs? A letter will be sent to
Jim McGovern asking that his May date be changed to suit Recreation's needs for
the use of the Large Meeting Room.
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Mr:'Holt explilned that we now have a copy of the Carnwath Master Plan. He
would like each member to look through it and make any suggestions that come to mind.
Gary Trudell will take this first since he is the one who presented the Commission with
his ideas at the last meeting outlining the many uses of Carnwath.
The Commission discussed the dates for our 2008 Holiday Events.
follows:
EVENT' ,;" ' .;".,,:,:rlDATE
Easter Egg Hunt* .I! ";Mar. 15th
Community Day Sept. 7th
Halloween Parade Oct. 25th
Christ. Tree Light. * * Dec. 6th
They are as
TIME
lOAM
All Day
2:30 PM
3PM
LOCATION
Town Hall
Schlathaus Park
Schlathaus Park
Schlathaus Park
RAINDA TE
Sept. 14th
Oct. 26th
Dec. 7th
*Easter Egg Hunt could be held outside if the weather permits.
* * Christmas Tree Lighting will be held earlier in the day with the culmination of the
event being the tree lighting~. . .
Eventsare scheduled'for Saturdays (with the exception of Community Day) so that the
rain date can be scheduled for Sunday.
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,,'RecreationCommissionMinutes
January 9, 2008
RECREATION DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Mr. Cheney began by informing the Commission that letters have gone out to all
Recreation Guide participants and that all updates to the information that he could do
himself are done. It is his intention to streamline the guide to save on cost of printing and
to make it more user friendly. A FAQ page will be included to minimize phone calls. In
past years we have not mailed out our guides until the first week in March, which will be
the case this year. He would like to consider getting the guide for 2009 out in the first
week of January as other surrounding towns do. This possibility will be discussed at a
future Commission meeting as it may require some budgetary adjustments. Mr. Cheney
will see to it that any events held early in the year would be sufficiently publicized.
As updates come in, Mr. Cheney is putting all current information into the
computer so that in future years we will only have to plug in new times and dates. This
process will save time, effort and money in the future. Mr:' Holt added that Supervisor
Colsey is very cOIIlPuter literate and will appreciat~ these efforts. Mr. Holt also indicated
t~at he intends to ask the Supervisor to attend a Commission m~eting, possibly in March.
There was a general discussion about the number of guides that should be printed
and ifthe voter registration rolls was the best list to use. 'I~we don't have an option to
change the list for this year, it will be necessary to order extra copies so that we don't run
out when people request ol1e. , In-school distribution is also an option.
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SENIOR CENTER ACTING DIRECTOR
Ms. V onReyn had no report at this time..
MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR'S REPORT
. All that is listed ~~re is abqve and beyond the regular duties of the maintenance
departtnent! ,y,' ! ""<:,": ':'1:.:: ' '" .
Mr. Sheridan began by explaining that the small room by the silo on the barn had
a leaky roof. He put flashing over the seam and tarred it to fix the leak. Insulation was
then added to allow the room to be used for storage.
Geo testing was done at Castle Point and no problems were found.
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The. Christm~s Tree Lighting and the Elks parties went well despite the
postponements. The maintenance crew had to salt the parking lot at the Elks to make it
safe for the Seniors to make their way to the building. For the Tree Lighting he
recommends using the 18 x 18 tent again. The heater worked better in the smaller space.
1. On Dec. 11 th the bucket truck was used to replice 25 to 30 light bulbs in the
Town Hall, Emergency Services, Camwath and Barn parking lots.
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Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 200S
2. On Dec. 13th Philly Baisley was at Carnwath with the Village Mayor and asked
Joe DeRosa to help move the sofa that Alex Reese donated to Carnwath. They
said it was being brought to the Mesier Homestead. Mr. Sheridan wants to be
sure that it's understood that the sofa is expensive and belongs at Carnwath.
3. With the three snowstorms already this season much plowing and sanding has had
. to be done.
4. On Dec. ISth Gentech came and did the final repair on the generator at Carnwath.
It is now in full service. Because the damage was caused by lightning, Marshall
. & Sterling was notified and the Town received a check for approximately $6,600.
5. On D~c. 19th Joe DeRosa and Rodney Diaz started stripping the floors in Town
Hall in preparation for the Inauguration.
6. Dec. 2Sth li~ht bulbs were changed in the Town Hall and the Emer. Services Bidg.
7. On Dec.29t & 30th Joe DeRosa & Rodney Diaz waxed the floors in Town Hall
for the Inauguration.
S. On January 3rd Doug Haan picked up sports equipment being stored in the garage
~t Schl,!thamiPark. This equipment is the property of the WCSD but it is not .
certain why it\vasbeingstored there. Two deliveries were made to the barn. A
backstop and bleachers for .the Challenger field to be set up at Robinson Lane.
9. Onlan. '4th the dumpster at Carnwath was moved to an area clear of the fencing so
.thatit 'is-not necessary for someone to be th~re when it is eJ;l1ptied.
1.0. art Jan. 7th the bucket truck passed it's inspectio.n. .
11. Six sections of pipe were replaced at Carnwath where a leak had developed near
. the. boiler in the dormitory building. '
12. Three mowers are in the Barn being overhauled and readied for Spring use.
, 13. Ceilirig'Hles'#ere'.picked .up for repairs of the Courtroom ceiling as well as the
" bathroom in the Police Barracks. Courtroom ceiling tiles were moldy.
14. NIr. Sheridan made a diagram that was his concept of the walkway / roadway
needed at Carn~ath the skirt the fence to allow access to the Dutchess Co. Sports
M4seum. Plans will be submitted to the Building Dept. for their approval.
15. Mr. Sheridan would like Recreation to be able to get a steelstorage shed for
Castle Point. It would be used to store a lawn mower and also equipment for our
Summer Playground Program. Price estimated at about $1,000.00. Mr. Holt said
t6 prdceedwitb:'thikidea.:.. :..
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16. Mr. Bheridan has been given permission by Mr. Holt to call Camo Pollution
Control and ask Mike Tremper what would be necessary to repair an underground
pipe line leak that was a constant problem last year at Robinson Lane.
Maintenance did patch jobs on this line 6 times last summer. It's time to fix it
correctly.
17. The Tennis Courts onPye Lane are in terrible shape and dangerous. They may
need to be closed if something isn't done about their condition. Mr. Holt said that
,. . w~shbl.:ild-be')ifHet'O"llseithe Parkland Fund for this repair. However, it is up to
the Town Board as to how that money is spent even though it must be used for
Recreation. Estimated cost is about $130,000.
UMASATYENDRA'S REPORT
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Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 2008
Ms. Satyendra has no report at this time. She did comment on how nice the
Christmas Tree Lighting was, although quite cold.
GARY TRUDELL'S REPORT
Mr. Trudell has no report at this time.
BRUCE LUSTIGS REPORT
Mr. Lustig has no report at this time
CHAIRMAN'S REPQRT
Mr. Holt indicated that he will be serving as Chairman of the Commission for
another year.
He would like Supervisor Colsey to,receive a tour of ALL of Recreations
properties, especially the barn. Mr. Holt explained to the Commission some of the
history of the barn. When the Town acquired the property, the Town Board granteq
Recreation$8,OOO totear downthe building. John Vorndran, a former employee,
convinced Ralph that the building had enormous potential, so the Town Board alloWed us
to use the $8,000 to restore the'building instead. It now not only houses all o:f our
equipment, hut there is now an office, a washer & dryer, lockers for the men and a 30
gallon hot water heater. Mr. Sheridan and his men have done a fantastic job." , '
The fence around the mansion at Carnwath will be posing a probl,em for the
Dutchess County Sports Museum when it re-opens., Mr. Sheridan has drawn out a plan
for a walkwayl roadway from the upper parking lot to circumvent the protective fencing.
Mr. Holt said that he would be meeting with the Town engineer to determine how we
may proceed,
,Mr. Holt has been asked to speak to the Town Board at the January 14th meeting
to discuss the salaries for the winter programs, the vandalism in our parks (based on a
thorough list provided by Mr. Sheridan) and the alarm systems, specifically the one
planned for Carnwath. Mr. Holt spoke about last years talks with ADT to set up a system
that woulc;l,i~l(:;l~de,'ca1nerlfS linked to the Town's and the Sheriff's computers. For
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reasons unknown thes'enegotiations were never finalized. On a significant number of
occasions our maintenance men have gone to Carnwath and found one or more doors
unlocked. No vandalism was evident but this situation would be prevented with an alarm
system in place.
Mr. Holt thanked Sylvia Holt, Eileen Manning, Kay V onReyn, Peggy Roe and
Kathi Delisa for a wonderful job in the inaugural ceremony on January 1 st. The
S\lP~1Y~sor wa~ very,plea~ed. '
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Mr. Holt is asking that the Commission members continue to monitor their
assigned playgrounds for any safety hazards. Our maintenance crew does go out on a
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Recreation Commission Minutes
January 9, 2008
Mr. Holt is asking that the Commission members continue to monitor their
assigned playgrounds for any safety hazards. Our maintenance crew does go out on a
regular basis but are not there all the time. It is our hope that this year we will be able to
upgrade our playgrounds so that they meet current safety standards. Most importantly,
redoing the materials under the equipment with FIBAR placed at the proper depth to meet
requirements.
Mr. Holt asked if Mrs, Manning would arrange a small luncheon for Anthony
Musarra, a former maintenance worker, to be held at Schlathaus Park in the near future.
Mr. Holt addressed a statement made by Supervisor Colsey at the Inaugural about
having a quarterly budget meeting. It is his understanding that we would have to produce
a budget of projected spending for the entire year, something we have not done before.
Mrs. Manning suggested that maybe the Supervisor simply wants to meet to determine
what has been spent thus far against our budg~t. If so, records are already being kept that
. show.our spending. . Mr. Sheridan ask~d. abou.t the status of the truck and mower that
were approved for Re~teationmiderthe capital plan. Mr. Holt has not heard anything on
this matter as yet. .
Mr. Holt will be on vacation and has a~ked Bruce Lustig and Gary Trudell to sit
. in for him in his absence.
Eileen Manning
Recreation Secretary .
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