Loading...
2010-03-18 RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Thursday, March 18,2010 ~~ ~~ " h A~ ~'?fi;>,.>" O/~L ~"OJ" 15- /~~,;"-.. vYt1t y () ~V )'-O~~ *- I <'O/J ' NEXT MEETING, APRIL 14,2010 Itt C ~,o,o.t <.~ /1tG / The regular meeting of the Town of Wappinger Recreation Commission was held ~,f- ~~. Thursday, March 18, 2010 at Sch1athaus Park, 126 All Angels Hill Road, Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York. Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman, Ralph Holt, with the following persons present: Vice Chairman Gary Trudell, and Commission Members Bruce Lustig, Jim Chappas, Max Dao and Bill Bitterlich. Minutes for the February 2010 meetings were approved and accepted with no corrections. OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE 1. A memo was sent to the Town Board from Pete Sanfilippo of the Mid Hudson Road Runners seeking the use ofCarnwath Farms for a 5K cross country race on October, 24, 2010. Did not appear on a subsequent Town Board agenda. Mr. Holt stated that this is something that Mr. Sanfilippo has been wanting to do for a long time. It will bring more visitors to the property. He continued by outlining the damage done by the February snow storm to the property. Two large trees near the generator went down and took the power lines with them. The power has been turned off by Central Hudson so that we may do the repair work necessary to reinstate power. The trees were removed today by Jim Baisley. There are still more limbs that are threatening to fall, thus, the property will be closed to all traffic until further notice. We are hoping to be up and running for the Easter Egg Hunt on April3rd. 2. A memo was also sent to the Town Board from Mr. Sanfilippo with his request for permission to hold the 4th annual Mama's & Papa's Race on July 10, 2010. This has not yet appeared on the Town Board agenda. 3. A memo was sent to the Town Board with a request from Little League asking for the re-naming of the Robinson Lane entry road to Bill Farrell Way. This has not yet appeared on a Town Board agenda. Mr. Holt has expressed his feeling that up until now we have not named anything at Robinson Lane after a person who is still alive, not that we shouldn't, he added. He also added that there are many people that used the complex that had problems with Mr. Farrell. Mr. Holt suggests that the road be dedicated to Mr. Farrell for one year and then to allow Little League to pick a person for each subsequent year as an honoree. Mr. Holt suggested several other honorees such as George Schlathaus and Gary Trudel1. Mr. Bitterlich asked about the procedure for presenting something to the Town Board. It was explained to him by Mr. Holt. Since a request was already sent to the Town Board, Mr. Holt suggested an addendum with these new thoughts after clearing the idea with Little League.. 1 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 4. A memo was sent to the Town Board from Little League (Matt Meybolm) requesting the use of Robinson Lane for a Memorial Fund-Raiser. ADOPTED. See Res. # 2010-98. Mr. Trudell spoke of the Lamando Juvenile Diabetes Tournament that has taken place at Robinson Lane in the past. Mr. Holt said that each tournament netted close to $20,000.00 each. First, the promised amount had been given to the Lamando's. The rest would be divided up by the different Little League organizations to cover debts. However, the league that did the work wanted the money for themselves. This caused a problem within the other leagues. Mr. Trudell suggested that the rules set for Mr. Meybolm's tournament should also apply to the Lamando Tournament. Bill Bitterlich pointed out that the flyer that goes out for these tournaments must include the amount that will go to the charity, how the remainder of funds will be used and that the tournament is being held on Town property. Mr. Holt would like to invite the organizers of the Lamando Tournament to a committee meeting to discuss this. 5. A letter was sent to Matt Meybolm outlining his responsibilities as stated in Res. # 2010-98 as shown above. 6. A memo was sent to Supervisor Colsey and the Town Board requesting the approval of starting dates for Recreation's Seasonal Maintenance employees. This will be on the agenda for the Town Board meeting on Monday, March 22. 7. A letter was sent to Bill Emslie ofthe Sports Museum of DC outlining the electrical power problems at Carnwath. One power line had a tree on it, therefore all power had to be shut offby Central Hudson, the tree has been removed and an electrician will be called to estimate the cost ofthe repair to the line as it is not a line serviced by Central Hudson. A subsequent e-mail was received from the Supervisor closing the park due to additional fallen trees, hanging tree limbs and downed power lines. INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE: 1. An e-mail was received from Will Sanchez of the Youth Bureau announcing a mandatory meeting to be held on March 3, 2010 to update those seeking a grant on new procedures for filling out paperwork. This meeting was attended by Jaclyn Smith-Imm, Recreation Director. 2. An agenda for the February 8, 2010 Town Board meeting was received with the following resolution pertaining to Recreation. a. Res. # 2010-80 - Authorizing the removal of the Swimming Pool and Swing set from Carnwath Farms. TABLED. Mr. Holt pointed out that the swing set was removed in October of2009. The insurance inspector that came out in 2009 wanted to know our plans for the pool. Mr. Holt hoped that it would simply be filled in. Upon Bob Gray's visit to see the pool, the following was suggested: Either put a hard tarp on the pool to preserve it for future use at $20,000 or simply fill it in with dirt so that the danger is eliminated. The Board chose to fill it in. Mr. Holt spoke for a while on the problems of the winter with the heavy snows and the problems with trees falling. He said we had neither the man power nor equipment to handle the magnitude of the situation. He will be writing a letter to 2 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 the Town Board with the hope of rectifying the situation for next year. Mr. Holt also said that he had asked, when the plan for 2010 was being considered, to have two men on for the winter for safety reasons as well as the manpower to prepare the barn equipment for the spring. This was not the case as the budget did not allow for it. 3. An agenda for the February 22,2010 Town Board meeting was received with the following resolutions pertaining to Recreation. a. Res. # 2010-91 -Authorizing a plan to provide permanent bathroom facilities at Airport Park. ADOPTED. b. Res. # 2010-92 - Authorizating a plan for preparation of a Drainage system for Airport Park. ADOPTED. c. Res. # 2010-98 - Authorizing the use of Robinson Lane for a Fundraising Tournament. ADOPTED, with the stipulation that the appropriate fees be charged for field usage and any additional expenses to the Town such as the use of maintenance personnel during said tournament, Be paid to the Town. d. Res. # 2010-102 - Consolidation of the position of Recreation Director and Senior Center Director for the Recreation Department. ADOPTED. Jaclyn Smith-Imm has been named to that position. 4. A Certificate of Compliance was received from the Building Dept. for the 1 st base dugout on SL2. 5. A letter and field usage request was received from Kate Palumbo of the WCSD asking for the use of Robinson Lane for the Wappingers Junior High and the VanWyck Junior High. 6. An application for employment was received from Scott Urbin wishing a position in our Maintenance Dept. 7. A letter was received from Glendon Dockery of the new Wappingers Falls Indians Football organization requesting a Town subsidy of $2,500.00 to help defray the costs of uniforms and equipment for the football teams and cheerleading. A response was forwarded to Mr. Dockery explaining that the budget for 2010 has been set. The letter also states that Mr. Dockery must first meet with the Recreation Committee to discuss the scope of his program, field usage and any effects to the Town of Wappinger. The committee was not sure if this organization was affiliated with Pop Warner Football. Or affiliated with the WCSD. Mr. Holt said that he would investigate. 8. An application for employment was received from Brian P. O'Keefe wishing a position on our Maintenance Dept. He states that he also has experience as a mechanic. 9. An agenda for the March 10,2010 Town Board meeting was received. Resolution # 2010-118 may affect our Committee. It proposes setting attendance standards for all Town boards and committees. TABLED. 10. A letter was received from Morris Associates outlining the cost for providing a permanent cover and also to refurbish the existing pool at Carnwath. The estimate for putting a permanent cover on the pool is $20,000.00. The refurbishing of the pool is estimated at $90.000.00. 3 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 11. A field usage request was received from the Hudson Valley Hornets for use of Robinson Lane on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM. They will need one field for Little League lO-year-olds for practice purposes only. A question arose as to whether the members of this organization were Wappinger residents. Mr. Holt explained that as long as they pay for use of the field, supply us with a cert. of ins. and the fields are available we approve of the use and look forward to the income. Approved by the committee 12. Request to use Castle Point Park for end of year picnic for Boy Scout Troop #86. They have used the park for the last five years and have left it in excellent condition. Approved by the committee. 13. A field usage request was received from Angelo Fabrizio of the Hudson Valley NABA requesting the use of the fields at Robinson Lane. The NABA has used our fields for the last four years. Approved by the committee 14. A copy of the application for the Community Development Block Grant fund for the Challenger Field at Robinson Lane was received from Morris Associates. Mr. Holt said that he was named chairman of the committee with includes Gary Trudell, Donna Bolner, Rob Wilson, John Donovan and Bettina Briccetti. A meeting is planned for next week to determine location of the field and to discuss some specifics. A grant was received from the county for $100,000.00 toward the construction ofthe field. More money will be necessary to complete the project. Mr. Holt updated the committee on the water situation at Robinson Lane. Basically a new line will be set up to provide fresh water to the concession stand and the drinking fountains. 15. The agenda for the Monday, March 22, 2010 Town Board meeting was received with the following resolutions of interest to Recreation: a. 2010-126 - Authorizing use ofCarnwath in conjunction with the Sports Museum ofD.C. No further information was available as to specifics of this resolution. Mr. Holt mentioned the Chamber of Commerce breakfast that is to be held there on May 5th. Charlie Barola will be catering the event. b. 2010-127 - Authorizing use ofCarnwath in conjunction with the Mid- Hudson Road Runners 5K run to raise money for the Sports Museum of D.C. c. 2010-128 - Authorizing use of the Town Hall for the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Annual Mama's & Papa"s Race. d. 2010-129 - Establishing pay scale and employment start date for seasonal park and maintenance employees. e. 2010-132 - Authorizing drafting of attendance standards for Town appointed Board and Committee members. Mr. Holt said that this resolution was going to require all committee members to attend about 70% or 80% of their committee's meetings. Old business included the discussion of our Christmas decorations and inviting, per Supervisor Colsey, Sue Close to an upcoming meeting to talk about her views of our Christmas display at Schlathaus Park. We have the Creche and Menora on display as well as an Islam symbol and one other for the Muslim holiday. Mr. Holt stated that he 4 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 feels we do a wonderful job of decorating the property (Mr. Bitterlich agreed) but any further decoration of Schlathaus would be a budgetary concern. Part of the budgetary concerns includes the manpower that we have on at that time of year. Volunteers are now being used to put up these displays as municipal funds cannot be used to pay workers to do this. Mr. Sheridan has set up the grounds so that three of the displays simply slide into sleeves already in the ground. Mr. Holt said, however, that any other good ideas are always welcome. A final discussion was held about Easter. Max Dao will be our bunny as he has in the past. Donations are being sought from John Flowers of Poughkeepsie and from Tom McDougal of Stop & Shop. Eileen Manning, Recreation Asst., has seen to the rest. The Easter eggs will be filled on Monday, March 22nd. Mr. Holt stated that he is in the process of making up a new "responsibility list" for the committee members to allow our new member, Bill Bitterlich to be included. This year it will be required to know the Camp Directors at your assigned playground and to be aware of how they are caring for the children and the grounds of their park. Mr. Holt said that ALL committee members must have badges on when entering the parks. If you don't have one, contact Inez in the Supervisors Office. Mr. Holt would also like to see more structure in the playground program. He would like to see the day start offwith some exercise. He would then like to have the children separated into age groups and have them read or read to about history or some other learning material. The afternoons can then be used for craft, sport and other creative activities. He would also like to see some changes in the "End-of-Summer Picnic" for the camps. He is open to any suggestions you may have to make the camps better. Mr. Chappas suggested that the schedule be made before camp begins for the season and adhered to as closely as possible. BRUCE LUSTIG'S REPORT Mr. Lustig asked for permission to use the fields at Castle Point and Quiet Acres for Soccer practice only in the hopes of preserving the fields at Airport Park and Rockingham for game use. These requests would probably need to go to the Town Board given the problem at Quiet Acres last year. Mr. Lustig also explained that there would be a hefty raise in registration fees for next year due to increased expenses. GARY TRUDELL'S REPORT Mr. Trudell spoke at a previous meeting about being in contact with the World Peace Sanctuary about having to do an art display at Camwath. There was a misunderstanding with that organization thinking that their display would be part of a larger exhibit. Since this is not the case they had to back out due to lack of personnel. The organization is, however, willing to donate some items should a larger event be planned. Mr. Trudell spoke to Kathi DeLisa, Senior Art Instructor and she would help 5 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 arrange for the seniors to display their work as well. Plans for this event are still in the planning stages. Mr. Trudell has spoken to Rita Sheehan of Scenic Hudson about contacts that he can make to try and gain historical status for Carnwath and to receive money to repair and refurbish the mansion. Mr. Trudell is hoping that once they see the property and building they will be willing to consider the possibility. One of the Eagle Scout candidates that was helping with the Carnwath trails has handed in his pamphlet marking the trail and identifying 10 trees along the path. The other side of the pamphlet shows a map of the whole property. He did an excellent job. The other Eagle Scout candidate will be installing the trail markers along the trails and he will also be installing the five additional trash receptacles that we ordered last year. To finalize our project we will be putting up two more picnic tables and two grill. Mr. Trudell mentioned that he has been in touch with the Randolph School, which was planning a maple sugaring event at the school and then planned on a pancake dinner and dance in the chapel at Carnwath. The decision was made to use the dining room and the kitchen, which was cleaned thoroughly by the Randolph School staff, and the turn-out was tremendous. They would love to do this again next year. The Randolph School Spring show is set to take place at Carnwath on March 25th. It is not yet known whether the electricity will be back on by then. Mr. Trudell received a call from Greg Pitner asking ifthere was any way he could be of additional assistance at Carnwath. Mr. Trudell asked ifhe could walk the trail and clear it of any debris connected with the storm. Greg Pitner who is the son of Phil is the gentleman who is interested in building an observatory at Carnwath entirely at his own expense. Approval will be needed for this project as the property has been designated as "forever open space" so that no building can take place on the property outside the "donut hole" which is the area around the central buildings. Bill Bitterlich feels that the buildings on the property are in a serious state of disrepair and could be condemned if seriously inspected. Mr. Holt recapped the status of the porch on the Administration building as well as the basement of the dormitory building. Alex Reese has donated $35,000 to do repair work at Carnwath but no work has been started on either the porch or the basement room. We also have a $55,000.00 "Friends ofCarnwath Account" that still exists for work to be done on the buildings. Mr. Holt spoke again of the options to repair the three roofs on the mansion. Mr. Bitterlich stated that even though the mansion was shorn up floor-by- floor the structure is still not sound. He feels it is up to this committee to ask the Town Board to compile a list outlining what has been spent and what has been done to and for the Carnwath property so that we can get estimates from engineers, contractors and architects to find out exactly how much it would cost to tear the mansion down or how much it would cost to refurbish it. The quotes we have from three years ago are obsolete. Mr. Chappas stated that he has been suggesting just that for three years. Mr. Bitterlich suggested that a referendum should go out to the voters stating how much it would cost to refurbish the building and 6 Recreation Committee Meeting March 2010 how much it would cost to demolish it and let them decide. If all else fails, the Town would have to seek approval from the county to sell it and reimburse to them their portion of the purchase fee. It would then have to go to the state to set approval for it to no longer be used as open space. The cost for Al Roberts to represent the Town in these negotiations would probably be in the $200,000 to $300,000 range over the course of at least a two-year period. Mr. Chapp as was adamant about the fact that the Town Board should have taken affirmative action toward the property many years ago. Mr. Bitterlich restated our options as above. BILL BITTERLICH'S REPORT Mr. Bitterlich began by telling Ralph that the Wappingers Rotary owes Recreation $1000.00 from the money collected at Community Day 2009. Last year the Rotary Club refurbished about twelve bleachers at Robinson Lane. They would like to do the same for us again this year. They ask for the same requirements as last year, namely that the Town supplies the materials needed and the Rotary will supply the manpower and Recreation supplies the generator. As agreed they will commit to doing three more sets of bleachers. Mr. Bitterlich mentioned that he and Supervisor Colsey discussed Community Day and they would like to see it as a two-day event. By doing so we could have the fireworks on a Saturday night, the advantage being that the children would not have to leave early due to school the next day. He also explained that the ride companies complained that they have to give up their whole weekend but work for just one of the days. He also explained some of the problems that would be raised by a two-day event. Mainly security from Saturday night into Sunday. Supervisor Colsey told Mr. Bitterlich that we have a contract with the Sheriffs Dept. and we could have a patrol cover the area as well as a vehicle from the Fire Co. Mr. Bitterlich requested permission to write a memo to the Town Board requesting that Community Day 2010 be a two-day event. Mr. Holt has said that we still had time to make this decision and would like the Recreation Committee members to consider the pros and cons of this proposal for the April 14th Recreation meeting. Mr. Lustig brought up the fact that many ofthe vendors did not do well and were disappointed by the two-day event. The proposed hours for the event would be from 9:00am to 10:00pm on Saturday and from 12 noon to 7:00pm on Sunday, with the parade on Sunday as usual. Eileen Manning Recreation Assistant 7