2008-08-07
RECREATION COMMISSON MEETING
August 7, 2008
NEXT MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 2008
The regular meeting of the Town of Wappinger Commission was held
August 7, 2008 at Schlathaus Park, 126 All Angels Hill Road, Town of Wappinger,
Dutchess County, New York.
The meeting was called to order at 6:39 by Chairman Ralph J. Holt with
the following persons present: Scott Cheney, Recreation Director, Kay Von Reyn, Senior
Director and Commission Members Bruce Lustig, Uma Satyendra, Gary Trudell, Max
Dao. Jim Chappas arrived at 6:50 p.m.
The minutes of the June 11,2008 meeting were approved by Mr. Trudell
seconded by Mr. Lustig with all in favor with the following correction: Mrs. Von Reyn
said that the second to the last paragraph of the minutes state that the elevator at
Camwath is right by the ramp and it is not. She said that they have to walk all the way
thru the museum to get to the elevator to get downstairs.
INCOMING CORRRESPONDENCE:
1. At the July 23rd Town Board Meeting the following resolutions were adopted.
a. #2008-216 - Appointing a Recreation Assistant to the Wappinger Senior
Center. This assistant is Dorothy Groark.
b. #2008-219 - Authorizing the Greenway Trails Committee to submit an
application for a 2008 Greenway Conservancy Grant.
c. #2009-223 - Authorizing the adjustment of Mileage Reimbursement
Rates. The new rate is .505 cents per mile.
2. An e-mail was received from Supervisor Colsey outlining the raise in rates from
Central Hudson. This was meant for business purposes as well as informational
for employees personally.
3. A letter was sent outlining a class action suit that we may be a part of as owners
of a 2003-2005 Chevrolet Silverado. A copy of this was forwarded to Bob
Sheridan to be sure that any recall problem was fixed and not a danger to the
drivers of that vehicle.
4. An official letter of resignation was sent to Ralph Holt from Scott Cheney
effective August 15,2008.
5. A letter were sent to Joe Ennesser from Supervisor Colsey thanking him for the
invitation to the September 13th reunion at Camwath and the October 5th
Induction Dinner at the Elks in Poughkeepsie. A second letter thanks him for his
Recreation Commission Minutes
August 8, 2008
work in extending and improving the trail system through the Town of
Wappinger. Mr. Holt mentioned that years ago there was a team in Poughkeepsie
by the name of the "Brewers" and they played all over the country. These
gentlemen are coming back for this event on September 13th. It will be a catered
event and they will be using the chapel. There will also be an open invitation,
with something in the paper, inviting the public to attend and see the museum.
They will be there from 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Mr.Cheney asked ifthe stairs to
the upper and lower parking lot would be fixed and Mr. Holt said that they would
be totally replaced by the 13th. Mr. Holt spoke with the Supervisor and asked
him what responsibility the maintenance dept. had other than opening and closing
the gate and mowing. Supervisor Colsey mentioned that Mr. Kolb, building
inspector was with him when they went over the stairs and he was asked to get
some estimates for repair. He also told him that they have to be repaired and
workable by September 13th.
6. A letter was received from the office of Al Roberts thanking all who contributed
to the fund raiser for Karen Alexander and her family. $9000 was raised to help
with their financial needs.
7. Additional information was received from the Dept. of Health outlining updates
and outbreaks of the Gastroenteritis that has been a problem at area camps. A
copy was given to Scott Cheney.
8. An e-mail was received from Supervisor Colsey stating that Nicholas Johnson of
Central Services has indicated that we must use State Bid pricing for the
procurement of the mower that Recreation has been trying to obtain since last
year.
9. A letter was received from June Ellen Notaro of the Youth Bureau stating that, as
a result of her inspection at the Learn to Swim program at Cross Court, we are in
compliance with all regulations.
10. An e-mail was received from Supervisor Colsey outlining the specifics on lunch
breaks for ALL Town employees. Anyone working OVER 6 hours was required
to take a Yz hour lunch break.
11. A letter was sent to Ralph Holt from Joe Ennesser asking for the Greenway
budget to be increased for next year's budget. Mr. Holt asked all members to get
a copy of the budget and review it for anything that needs to be increased and any
new items that we think should be included.
12. A final camp safety report was brought in by Doug Haan with a very good report.
The maintenance men have been replacing the surfaces under our playground
equipment and will continue to do so as the materials are made available to them.
Copies were given to Bob Sheridan and Ralph Holt. Mr. Cheney mentioned that
they maintenance dept. has been busy especially at Martz. Mr. Holt noted that it
seems every couple of years the children (or older kids) do something to the rest
rooms. This year we tried to pump it out and ended up digging it up only to find
that the kids had placed sticks in the toilets and it finally built up a dam and
clogged the pipes. We had to shut down and order portajohns.
13. A request was received from Albert Lee for a refund of playground fee for his two
children at Martz. The refund would be $300.00. The camp director confirmed
that they only attended once. Mr. Holt asked ifthere was a policy that stated that
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August 8, 2008
once they attend, they do not get their money back. Mr. Cheney said that there
was nothing in writing to that effect and Mr. Holt said that we should have
something that says that once you pay and you go, you cannot get a refund. Once
they sign up we plan around them being in the program.
14. A request was received from Pushkan Sharma for a refund of$60.00 for Adult
Swim. He and his wife signed up for two weeks with classes cancelled four out
of the 10 classes scheduled. This request was approved.
15. A memo was received from Sup. Colsey outlining the Recreation agenda for the
July 23rd Town Board meeting. It included the replacement of Jeff DeChristopher
with Riley Finnigan and the acceptance of Scott Cheney's resignation. The
Supervisor noted that Mr. Cheney's replacement would have to fit the Civil
Service title. Mr. Holt said that he did forward to Civil Service, Mr. Bishop's
resume and we have to get an okay from them that Mr. Bishop fits their
qualifications for the position. Mr. Holt said that he didn't think that there would
be a problem.
16. A letter was sent to Mycor Holding asking for permission to have the portajohn at
the parade lineup sight for a week and to notify the tenants of the building so that
they may be forewarned of our event. A response was received stating that all
tenants were notified and the portajohn would be okay there for the week.
OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE
1. A fax was sent to Steve Liewald of Kurt S. Adler about receiving a catalog for the
Christmas ornaments used for the Tree Lighting, the Elks Party and the Senior
Villa party. We usually receive this catalog in March.
2. A letter was sent from Kay V onReyn to Roger DeJ ordy thanking him for his
donation of 160 video tapes and a VCR.
3. A memo was sent to Supervisor Colsey outlining Ralph Holt's vacation from
August 8, 2008 to September 2, 2008. In his absence he has asked Gary Trudell
and Bruce Lustig to sit in for him. Mr. Trudell will be authorized to sign off on
any bills. Mr. Holt asked Mr. Trudell to speak to Mr. Farrell and tell him that
they (the Town) will be honoring the Senior Little Leaguer at Community Day on
September ih. He said that it would be nice for them to attend and come up on
the stage to be honored.
4. A memo was sent to Supervisor Colsey requesting salary adjustments and the
addition of two lifeguards to our swim program so that we could be fully staffed
at all time. These lifeguards would only substitute in the event of absences. They
were approved at the July 23rd Town Board meeting.
5. A memo was sent to the Town Board requesting the approval of Richard D.
Bishop as replacement for Scott Cheney as Recreation Director. As stated above,
Mr. Bishop's approval rests with Civil Service and ifhe qualifies for this position
according to their guidelines.
6. Because new phones were issued to Recreation for use by our playground
directors, a list of new phone numbers was sent to Joe Incoronato and Charles
Rhinehart.
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7. A memo was sent to Supervisor Colsey and the Town Board from Kay VonReyn
asking that since the lease on the copier in the Senior Center expires this month
would it be possible to acquire a copier more suited to our needs. We request
features such as double sided copies and use of paper larger than 8 Y:z x 11. Mrs.
Von Reyn said that they are working on it.
SENIOR CITIZEN REPORT
Ms. Von Reyn mentioned that the attendance for July was 53 which is
down a little from 2007. She also indicated that there was a couple of closings during the
month. Of course there was Independence Day on the 4th. The other closings were for
the Office for the Aging Picnic on July 16th at Robinson Lane and for the Father's Day
Brunch which was held at Dutchess Diner on July 31 st. She said that the picnic was
very well attended with about 25% from the senior center. She also mentioned that the
maintenance men saved the day by running out and getting propane tanks for the men
that were doing the cooking the chicken because theirs were defective. They also had
some special parking for the handicapped attendees which helped them get to and from
the tent.
Fifty-one members attended the Father's Day Brunch at the Dutchess
Diner. This number is down from last years' attendance of66 and she doesn't know
why.
The Mamas and Papas Run on July lih had 45 attendees. Twenty-seven
were walkers with 5 of them from the Senior Center. Mr. San Filippo mentioned that he
would like to schedule next year's event on July 11, 2009. Ms. Yon Reyn told him that
she would bring it up at this meeting. No one at the meeting had a problem with this.
Mr. Holt mentioned that everyone who participated had a great time but he would like to
see more attend. Mrs. Manning said that Mr. San Filippo came in and she told him that
he should put in a letter to the Town Board the beginning of next year. She said that the
Town Board would probably not approve something that will be held next year.
The senior painting classes have been discontinued since Martha Peterson
retired. It was noted that they are going to start again in September with Kathi DeLisa as
Instructor. It will still by on Tuesday and will basically run the same time. The class will
be more on art in general and not just painting.
The bus trip attendance is down. We have had enough to continue the
trips but the numbers are not what they use to be. She said that she put ads in both the
Poughkeepsie Journal and the Southern Dutchess News. Maybe it is just the economy.
The public library is bringing Wii to the Center once a month on Tuesday.
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She mentioned that the furniture for the back room is on hold. It hasn't
been defeated; it is just tabled until other issues are resolved.
Weare in the process of writing an ad for an additional person whose time
will be split between the Senior Center and Recreation Administration. Ms. Von Rein
said that she sent an ad to the Supervisor to make sure it was appropriate and she noted
that she has not heard from him. Mr. Holt mentioned that we had a number of
applications on file and asked Mrs. Manning and MS.Von Reyn to review them. The
ones that are not acceptable can be sent a letter stating that they do not have the
qualifications we are looking for at this time.
BRUCE LUSTIG REPORT
Mr. Lustig had no report at this time.
MAX DAO'S REPORT
Mr. Dao mentioned that the trip to Lake George went well and that
everyone enjoyed it. He also volunteered to chaperone the Mohegan Sun Trip on
September 21 st.
RECREATION DIRECTOR REPORT
Mr. Cheney mentioned that the summer went extremely well and that they
were set up for the end of summer picnic next Tuesday. He noted that there were only a
couple of injuries and one broken bone. Two employees left, one quit and one was
forced to resign.
He also handed out a list of his recommendations for future summers. His
report is attached to these minutes.
GARY TRUDELL'S REPORT
Mr. Trudell mentioned that he visited both of his camps and everyone said that
things were going very well. He said that the kids at Spook Hill really enjoyed the
"Mister" during those incredibly hot days. He asked why there was a problem getting
one for Quiet Acres. He said that the hole is in the ground but there is no water to it. Mr.
Holt said that when he was at Spook Hill he asked why they were not using their "mister"
and he was told that the kids keep filling the hole with stones. Since, Mr. DeRosa, was
there at that time, Mr. Holt asked him to clean the stones out and to make a cover so it
could be used. Mr. Holt asked Mr. Trudell if the hole at Quiet Acres was clear and
usable and he said yes so Mr. Holt said he will look into why it wasn't there. Ifwe don't
have one, we should get one for next year.
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We had received a call from one of the parents whose child was attending Spook
Hill and was told that the children were not able to use the playground equipment. Mr.
Holt mentioned that he made a trip to Spook Hill to ask about this and the Director said
that there was suggestive graffiti on a piece of equipment so he was keeping the children
off it. When asked how long it was on the equipment, he was told a month. He said
that he didn't call it in because it would just happen again. Mr. Holt told him that the
equipment was there to use and ifneed be we will clean it everyday. He had Mr. DeRosa
clean it immediately.
Mr. Holt said that he is working on getting LD. badges for the Commission
Members and the maintenance men. We really should have something to identify
ourselves when we go to the playgrounds.
Mr. Trudell said that the Director mentioned to him that the porta john had only
been cleaned out once since the beginning of camp. She said that it was very unpleasant.
Mrs. Manning said that she thought that the porta john people were going to clean it
while the camp was in session and the gate was open. It turned out that they didn't
always get there during camp time and they were unable to get in to service the unit. She
said that it was scheduled for today and the maintenance guys went and opened the gate
early and the director was told to close the gate but to leave it unlocked. Mrs. Manning
said that she didn't know why the porta john people didn't call and request a key sooner
or at least make some arrangements. Mr. Trudell said that he checked on this the next
day and it had been cleaned. He also mentioned that the placement of the unit was quite
a walk to the building that has the water and the kids get distracted and sometimes don't
get to wash their hands. Mr. Holt asked Mr. Trudell to check around and see if there is a
better spot and we will see what we can do.
The Director at Spook Hill mentioned to Mr. Trudell that on one of the trips, they
had 2 buses take the children and when they were to some home only one bus showed up
and half of the kids had to wait a Yz hour for someone to pick them up. Mrs. Manning
and Mr. Holt said that they were not aware of it. Mr. Holt said that he wanted to know
what trip it was and why. He also mentioned that we are having other problems with the
schools.
Mr. Trudell said that there is a big difference between the camp at Quiet Acres
and Spook Hill. Of course, there is a big difference in the numbers of children but Quiet
Acres seems to be more laid back while Spook Hill is a buzz all the time.
At one time, we discussed getting new playground equipment for one of the
camps. Mr. Trudell asked if this was the case for this year and if so where was it to be
placed. Mr. Holt said that he had put money in the 2008 budget for Quiet Acres but it
had been removed. He suggested that since Quiet Acres is a big field, maybe we could
put up a wall similar to the one at Spook Hill. Mr. Holt asked him to get the dimensions
and an estimated cost. When we do our fall plan for the 2009 budget, we should put
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something in. Mrs. Manning was asked to bring in some of the equipment books for
everyone to look it.
Mr. Trudell mentioned that Mr. Sheridan took a lawn mower down to Carnwath
so he could mow the banks. He mentioned that one of the weeks he didn't get down
there to mow the maintenance men went down there to fix up the area for the September
13 th event and they mowed all the ground cover that they planted. He said that on the
other bank where they had planted a butterfly bush, the guys weed wacked it along with
everything else. He also said that one of the times Mr. Sheridan was at Carnwath he ran
the big mower up in the meadow several times making a trail making it easier for him to
work where he would like to place a bench. The mowing was a huge help to him. Mr.
Holt said that the Supervisor gave an okay to the maintenance to work at Carnwath to get
it in shape for September 13th. Mr. Trudell said that we will ask Mr. Sheridan ifhe can
bring another load of mulch.
UMA SATYENDRA REPORT
No report at this time.
JIM CHAPP AS REPORT
Mr. Chappas will be helping with the parade line up for Community Day. Mr.
Holt discussed the trophies for Community Day and told Mr. Chapp as that he only
wanted 6 trophies- 2 for the Fire Companies (one for apparatus and one for marchers), 1
for Color Guard 1 for a float 1 for Band and ajudge's choice award. It was suggested
that Mr. Chapp as look at the trophies left from last year and he could go to ABC or
Crown Trophies. He doesn't have to return to Bernie's Trophies. Ms. Von Reyn is
looking into getting a participation ribbon for all the children in the parade.
In regard to the parade, Mr. Holt said that Mr. Lustig will handle the Fire
Company area. Mrs. Kovalsky will be doing the Escort Division, Mr. & Mrs. Trudell
will be doing Division I with Mrs. Holt and Mrs. Lustig handling Division 2. He said we
have about 6 bands for the parade. Mr. Lustig said that soccer will be there, although
they haven't sent in their registration form.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Mr. Holt reminded everyone that he will be on vacation from August 8th to
September 3rd and that Mr. Trudell and Mr. Lustig will be sitting in for him.
He mentioned that the Town Board will be honoring Riley Finnigan for his work
at Reese Park for Eagle Scout Badge at the August 11 th meeting.
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August 8, 2008
At Monday's Town Board meeting Bob Gray, the Engineer to the Town, will be
presenting a plan on the renovations at the tennis courts on Pye Lane. Mr. Holt said that
he hasn't seen it but any money for the repairs will come from the Parkland Fund.
He mentioned that the Senior League Baseball team will be honored at
Community Day.
Mr. Richard Bishop's resume has been sent to Civil Service. They will have to
determine whether his resume fits the code of recreation director.
Mr. Holt said that he hoped that Mr. Sheridan will be working on the acquisition
of the truck and mower while he is away.
The Town Board is looking to put a dog park in Camwath. It will be placed down
below the chapel and carriage house. It will involve putting in a 4' black galvanized
fence with the $20-$25,000. coming from parkland. Mr. Trudell said if they put it there
that is the best place for it but the only problem is that the Greenway Trail goes through
that section also.
During this week one of the maintenance men was stung by bees at Robinson
Lane. We find that the bees get under the fence guard that is placed on the tops of the
fences. We spray them but when Riley Finnigan was there yesterday, he got stung 6
times. Mr. Sheridan wanted to take him to Medicus but he refused. The next day he
went back to Robinson Lane and got stung again. This time he was taken to Medicus and
was taken home.
In the near future we will be asked to submit information for the 2009 budget.
Mr. Holt asked everyone to review their budget to see if they have anything new to add.
The end of summer picnic is scheduled for Tuesday with an estimated 200
children attending. Safety and discipline is a priority. He mentioned that Maintenance
will be picking up the food at Stop & Shop at 8:00 a.m. and will be doing the cooking.
Some of the directors and the counselors will be helping serve the food but we can also
use help from the Commission Members.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Trudell seconded by
Mr. Lustig with all in favor.
Peggy Roe
For Eileen Manning
Recreation Secretary
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