Parks Commission Meeting Minutes 2/8/23
2/8/23 Minutes Parks Commission
Town Hall 4:30
Present: Tom Mensi, Gerry Clarin, Chris Andrews, Tracey Brennan
Melissa Noe, Town Administrator
Colleen Johnson, from the public
This meeting was called so that we could refine and finalize the Parks Commission budget proposal for Melissa to bring to the SelectBoard that evening.
Old Business:
The Pond Hockey Tournament will not take place in Monterey this year due to warm weather and poor ice conditions. It will be held at the Berkshire School rink, and the Parks Commission will cancel our order for porta potties and for the insurance policy.
Melissa has put the Parks Mowing contract out to bid (until March 8). She specified that this year invoices must itemize times and dates. We clarified that, though the Community Center is listed as one of the properties, they pay separately for the work done there.
We agreed to remove new picnic tables for Bidwell Park from our budget proposal, as the Fire Company has one that we can move there. Melissa reported that the storm damage clean up looks great and that perhaps there are funds still remaining from the project which could be used for stabilization of the bank and a rain garden.
Melissa proposed that we could start the lifeguards’ work at the Town Beach at the beginning of July this year in order to save $9800 that could possibly go to the ballfield project. Members were unanimously against a later start date, first and foremost due to safety concerns, as well as concerns about the need for a watchful eye at the property as the season gets underway, and the possibility that lifeguards would be scheduled elsewhere. Colleen, a community member, spoke strongly for the importance of water safety with as much lifeguard presence as possible.We agreed to our traditional start date which coincides with the end of the school year (June 24) through Labor Day. Melissa will speak to Janise at Berkshire South about the dates and our contract.
We agreed to remove the bike station from our proposal. Perhaps it will be initiated privately.
We listed our 3 remaining projects for the upcoming year in order of priority:
- Ballfield (Gerry will once again contact Mark Volk to try to get an estimate for time, materials, and engineering work).
- Brewer Pond Trail (We will remove this from our budget for this year and hope that the Conservation Commission may have funding for it)
- Outdoor Ping Pong Table (We will remove this item for now)
The question of Chair Yoga at the Community Center again came up.We will find out from Steve how this became a Parks expense. Then we would like to talk to the Community Center and the Council on Aging before we agree to fund this in the next fiscal year.
Next Meeting: March 16
Tracey Brennan