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2014-01-09 TOWN OF BERLIN Parks and Recreation Commission 230 Kensington Road • Berlin, CT 06037 Thursday, January 9, 2014 7:00 p.m. MINUTES ATTENDANCE : Present: Commissioners Len Zielinski-Chairman Charles Warner Robert Sylvester Don Dellaquila Fred Jortner Jr., Steve Hinchliffe, Staff Art Volz - Superintendent of Public Grounds Jon Zuk – Golf Course Manager Jerry Salvio – Timberlin Golf Marc Bayram – Golf Pro Absent: Debbie Dennis - Superintendent of Recreation, Commissioner Donna Bovee AUDIENCE OF CITIZENS None APPROVAL OF MINUTES th Commissioner Dellaquila made a motion to approve the November 14 meeting minutes, seconded by Commissioner Sylvester. The motion passed unanimously. TIMBERLIN GOLF COURSE a. Monthly Report  All equipment is being torn down and repaired as needed.  Ball washers torn down and repaired.  T markers repainted.  Seasonal help has been released. th  Reconfiguration of the 16 tee was not started due to weather and will be a priority as weather permits.  Drainage work completed  Cart paths done  Elevated a number of cart paths that were washed out.  Tree work is ongoing. th  Replaced drains at 13 tee. b. CY13 Play statistics and analysis to support 2014 greens fee recommendations. Mr. Zuk presented proposed 2014 season rates. Generally all rates will be increasing, between 1%- 3%. It was noted that the 2013 season was shorter than the prior year, with play in January and a later closing. Commissioners reviewed the recommendations and made suggestions for minor changes. Commissioner Warner made a motion to accept the 2014 fee schedule as modified, seconded by Commissioner Dellaquila. The motion passed unanimously. c. FY15 Proposed Budget Summary was presented and discussed by Mr. Zuk. No issues were raised. d. Mr. Zuk indicated that he is working on a new golf cart lease. A number of carts are experiencing battery issues. He will also be presenting a new 4 year restaurant contract for Remzi Asani. It will include an increase in the annual rental payments to the town. e.Mr. Bayram was asked to provide details of the various clinics he runs during the year at the next meeting. He indicated that he has provided 2014 clinic schedule information to Deb Dennis to be included in the spring Recreation Department when it is distributed to Berlin schools. f.Commissioners were asked to review the 2013 statistics prior to the next meeting, since they had not seen them previously, for questions that they may have. g.Commissioners were provided with information on the volunteer ranger and cart hauling program that indicated that the value of free golf provided to the volunteers grew to $30,000 in 2013. Mr. Bayram provided a breakdown of volunteers between the two tasks which exposed that he was also using a volunteer starter. He indicated that it was never communicated to him that starters were not part of the volunteer policy. There was some discussion that focused on the intent of the volunteer program. The volunteer policy will be discussed in detail at the next meeting. PUBLICGROUNDS a. Monthly Report  . th Assisted with set up of Veterans Memorial Park for the 5 annual Tree Lighting  The parking lot at Griswold School has been cracked filled.  All irrigation systems have been drained and winterized.  Moved into our new building at Sage Park.  Pruning when time and weather allows.  Repairing equipment for next year.  All soccer nets are down and other field equipment are put away for the season.  Lights are off at the tennis and basketball courts for the season.  All signs are up for ice skating.  All portable toilets are picked up for the winter except the two at Sage Park. b. Sage light usage tracking – Mr. Volz will try to take daily electric meter readings for lights at Sage to permit an assessment of the relationship of fees charged to actual cost. c. FY15 Proposed Budget Summary was presented and discussed by Mr. Volz. No issues were raised. PARKS AND RECREATION a. Monthly Report  Winter classes are in full swing.  Numbers for December special events: –Santa’s Parlor – 100 kids, –North Pole Connection – 100 kids –Tinsel Run – 138 people finished.  Contacted last year’s summer staff to see who is returning and we have begun advertising for summer positions with a deadline of January 31.  Booked dates for fish deliveries in April  Worked on budget and fee schedule for FY 2014-2015. b. Community Center fee waiver request – CT Votes for Animals. Chairman Zielinski provided copies of the waiver application and the home page to the organizations web site. He made a motion to approve the waiver request, seconded by Commissioner Jortner. After further discussion, 0 voted for approval and 5 voted against. The motion failed. c. Proposed FY15 Recreations fees were provided. Changed fee for summer program for July th 4 week to $40 to account for being closed one day; Tai Chi – would like to charge a daily “drop-in fee” to increase number of participants; daily pool fees increased $1.00 for adult/child residents and adult/child non-residents. d. FY15 Proposed Budget Summary was presented and reviewed. No issues were raised. Some key elements changed were:  Increase in Life Guards/pool workers due to increase in minimum wage and giving all other staff 25¢ increase,  Increase in Recreation and Instruction Program Help due to increase in minimum wage, giving all other staff 25¢ increase and adding 3 staff to the summer program. Due to excellent response last summer and a waiting list for almost every week, I feel the numbers could be higher this year so adding more staff can increase the number of kids who register, thus increasing revenue so potentially the staff increase will be offset by increased revenue.  Decrease in supplies due brochures/flyers for schools no longer being printed but be distributed by email.  Increase in pool supplies due to selling and issuing more pool passes. Increase in Programs & Activities due to increase in t shirt costs.  Increase in Telephone account due to cost increase for phones.  Increase in Mileage account due to adding Aquatic Director. NEW BUSINESS 1.Proposed Eagle Project - Jonathan Zoccoli, Troop 44 - landscaping at the historical society – Due to schedule conflict with the presenter, delayed until next meeting. 2.2014 Proposed meeting schedule - Commissioner Dellaquila made a motion to approve, seconded by Commissioner Warner. The motion passed unanimously. 3.POCD – Comments on or additions to POCD material provided at November meeting. Formal approval of P&R POCD items. No additional input was made 4.Goals – – Discussion of Departmental goals submitted to the Town Manager The only department that presented goals were Timberlin Golf Course ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Dellaquila to adjourn the meeting at 8:40PM, seconded by Commissioner Sylvester. The motion was unanimously approved. Kim Lanci Recording Secretary