Parks Commission Meeting Minutes 8/4/22

Minutes 8 /4/22  Parks Commission

Firehouse Pavillion

Attending: Tom Mensi, Gerry Clarins, Steve Snyder, Tracey Brennan (absent:Chris Andrews)    

In addition, members of the community: Justin Makuc, Stephen Zweig, Ira Transport

Ballfield

We received and shared a letter from Mickey Jervas regarding the importance of our attention to and care for the ballfield, which she ranked as second in importance to our concern for the Town Beach–with the playground third in importance. This letter has been cc’d to the Select Board and Town Administrator, and is part of our files.

With Commission members as well as Ira Transport researching and reaching out to other contractors to repair the infield after years of neglect, the only bid we have is from Dave Duguette ($6–7850). He has made his estimate from pictures and dimensions which Tom has sent to him. This includes installing 2 loads of the proper infield mix, plus a pile left for maintenance. He will reset the bases as well. We voted unanimously to hire Mr. Duguette at an amount not exceeding 7850 and with the provision that we first study asap our available funds and our whole budget.

Pickleball

Ira suggested that  we have the lines for a pickleball court painted on the basketball court. We could then buy a portable net for $2-300 and some paddles and balls which could all be left in the shed for everyone’s use. We all agreed that it’s a good idea, as we know the sport has become very popular.

Town Beach

Stephen Zweig was attending due to his concerns about the beach. He has had negative encounters with people who disregard the posted safety rules. He has spoken to the lifeguards, and they agree that it is a problem. He suggests that the signage that states the rules be moved to a more obvious place to be read as people enter the beach area. Like many residents, he is concerned about overuse of the small facility and pointed out that the more people who use it, the more liability is created for the town.

Stephen’s request led into the conversation we had later in the meeting regarding the possibility of limiting beach parking to residents only. This is a complicated problem, and we discussed our second letter which we would like to send to the town lawyer. We realize that we may not limit watercraft access to the boat launch, however we would like to explore ways that we could possibly limit beach traffic by requiring boat vehicles to park in the grassy lot and resident stickers for the parking spaces perpendicular to Tyringham Road. We are working on the letter draft.

Stephen’s other concern is the kayak rack height and the real difficulty of using a top berth for many people. Many residents have voiced this concern. Next year we should clearly delineate a space on the lottery application in which people can state their preference for a lower rack. It will not be a solution, but a start.

Tom and Gerry will go to Chester Granite to resolve Allan Williams’ aesthetic concerns with the beach plaque.

We agreed unanimously to give $250 to Lakefest operations with an additional $95 to go toward music if they do not have enough donations to cover it.

Movie NIght (August 12, raindate 14) Location:ballfield

The $1200 price includes popcorn and cotton candy. The movie will be Sandlot.

Bidwell Park

The park is closed until further notice due to storm damage. The insurance company says that the barricade and sign in place will cover liability. The cost of remediation could be up to $25,000. The Selectboard is considering raising and using emergency funds for the extensive damage to town properties. Gerry suggested that when planning our next budget we consider adding funds to it specifically for emergencies.

Signage

New signs are up at the Beach and Brewer Pond.

Next Meeting: Tentatively September 22