Parks Commission Meeting Minutes 7/13/23

Minutes 7/13/23

Parks Commission

Firehouse Pavillion, 7 pm

Present: Tom Mensi, Gerry Clarin, Steve Snyder, Chris Andrews, Tracey Brennan

Kids’ Beach Fun Day, August 5

Chris reported a problem with insurance and the Bouncy House from Lindell’s. Tom will work on obtaining a one day insurance rider with the Town’s liability company (as was done for the hockey tournament).

Chris will pick up, drop off, and set up the House which includes a popcorn machine and supplies. Members of the Commission will meet at the beach to help him.

The Mass. Ice Cream Truck will be there selling ice cream. The owner asks for $40 an hour for his time and travel. 1:30-4:30  We will inquire whether he has trash containers, but the Town will also provide extra ones.

We discussed $10 gift certificates as prizes for the sand castle contest. McDonalds was suggested, but we will research.

Tracey will confirm with Mollie that we have an extra lifeguard that day. She will also try to find a face painter.

Steve will see if Gould Farm could make 50 hotdogs for the event.

Open Space Committee

A member from the Parks Commission has been requested for this committee. Both Gerry and Tracey are willing to do it.

Brewer Pond Trail

Greenagers are making very good progress, and the trail should be done in about 2 weeks.

Ballfield

No bids have come in response to our detailed notice. Jim Hunt is willing to do it with the Town crew. He will deal with ordering and storing the necessary material and is waiting to hear from Read Custom Soils. Parks Commission’s  $10,000 should cover the materials. Jim will start the project at the end of the summer.

Playground

Shawn Tryon will ask the fire dept if they are interested in taking a big piece of the old equipment, including the slide, for use behind the fire station.

Beach

We agreed to make the letter to local inns into a terse announcement of our new parking policy. Will forward to Melissa to send out.

Tying vessels to swimming rafts remains a problem which the lifeguards deal with. We are adding a no tie up rule to posted beach rules. There was some discussion about moving the rafts forward into swimming area. We would have to discuss this with the lifeguards.

The railing providing extra help for people entering the water will be upgraded this summer.

Pollinator Group

The Group has requested funding for a gardener to care for the new plantings in Bidwell Park. Steve will tell them that this is not something we have the budget for.

We briefly discussed the sign the Group wants to put near their planter on the beach and agreed that the sign must have our approval.

Next Meeting: August 10th