2000/11/09A Regula~ Meeting o~ the ~ ~
*a-one & Recreation Commission w~s ¢aiie~
to order at 7:10 p.m. ~:~ November 9, 2000 a~ the C~r~un~F ~t,~.
Berlin, Connecticut. '~.. -'
PRESENT:
Vic Salce opened the meetznU without a quorum. Members prec~n~ a~
this time w~re Tom Amenua and Ed Giana. Len Zielinski joined the
meeting at 8:20 p.m, assure±nE thru cl~air and making the quorum,
ALSO PRESENT:
Jonathan Zuk, Lindse¥ Han~e:~, Dave Paradise and Steve K~!ly,
Director of Parks &
Lacking a quorum, recomn;end~tions only were made at tills time.
ORDI~FANcE REGULATIN~ PARKS A~D OPE~ SPACE LA~Ds IN TIlE
TO~ OF B~LIN:
To~ Council me,er At,y. Paul Argazzi came beiore the Co--lesion
to address ~estion~ and definitions related to the current
ordinance and POten~iai chan9~s for Parks a Open Space Lands.
It was noted that a park ~ an i~roved piece of property,
requiring 'maintenance and developed for active recreation, whereas
open space re~ires no maintenance and is used for passive
recreation,
~e Co--lesion will review the Ordinance and put it on the
December Agenda. ~e Ordinance Co~iss~on will help draft the
definition.
B~LIN BABE R~ L~GUE:
P~ ~mately $5~000 each North~~ .... ~j. 'lhe scoreboards cos:
poles. Net~in~ ~-~ ~ . ' __ . ~ast ~ta~ties will ut
~ w~ ce ~n~talled. ~ .... ~ ..... p up the
with the installation. ~-~ ~ra~zse sees no problem
~* Co~is~ione~ recO~ended the To~ Co~cil accept th~
donations
Mr. Swanson al~o asked for approval for the allocation of
re~inin9 f~d~ to i~rove uh, audio ~y~tem and replace the
at Sage Park. ~e amoun~ o~ the allocation would he approximately
$1~,000. ~. Swanson al~o ~niormed the Cotillion that Uhe
Batting Tunnel donated by the baseball leagues had been stolen at
The Commissioners recommended that the use of these funds be
approved.
TIMBERLIN GOLF COURSZ:
Mr. Zuk pre~ented his monthly report and his proposed budget
2001-2002. Mr. Zuk stated that increased fuel, and seed and
chemical costs are the principle driers oi the slight ~rea~e in
his budget. He noted that some figures provided by the Berlin
Finance Department were no[ ava~iable.
Mr. Zuk stated that Physical Services would eventually like
in a different direction regarding the lease on the Bradley barn.
Physical Services is considering construction oia patio for cart
storage freeing the full maintenance building for use by .Hr. Zuk'~
department.
The Commission recommended ~r. Zuk'~ budget with the figures
presented.
At this time, Mr. %uk r~que$~ed authorization to accept the
donation of a red maple tre~ from the Lady Niners.
The Commissioners recommended that the 5res donation be accepted.
Mr. Hansen presented his Comparative Report.
PUBLIC GBOONDS:
Mr. Paradise presented h~ :::onthiy report and his 2001-2002
budget.
Mr. Paradise also feel~ that fuel increases and seed and chemical
increases have driven %he ~ncrease in =he budget. Mr. Paradise
discussed the extension of the ~intenanc. of the contracts for
cemetery an~ cul-de-sac maintenance, H~ also ~i~cus~ed th~ 2nd
and 3rd phases of the Paper Goods Project.
He noted that some figures provided ~c,y the Berlin Finance
Department were not avaalable. Th~ Co~issioners reco~ended the
approval o~ the Public Grounds Budget ~,rith the figures pze~en~.~d.
APPROVAL OF HINUTES:
At this time Mr. Zle~,n~ joined the meeting, achieving a
quorum. Mr. Amenta made a motion to approve the October Minutes,
seconded by Mr. Sales and w~,ted unanimously.
(III)
PARKS & RECREATION:
Mr. Kelly oresented his ...... et wi an increase of approximately
~
$10,000-$12,000 over last y~ar.
Included in the budget wac ~ request for a part time recreation
supervisor and a part time secretary.
~'mhere will also be an increase for pool workers and life guards to
keep up with the rising wages. Last year, Mr. Kelly barely got by
with the amounts for worker:~ hired. He indicated that the minimum
wage would be increasing again next year and this would further
increase the difficulty in hiring qualified pool personnel.
Also noted was a decre~:~e in school usage of about $7,500 due to
the reallooating of ftinds for Travel basketball to a new account.
After a brief review of the Public Grounds and Golf Course
Budgets, Mr. Salce made a motion to approve the budget with the
figures presented, seconded by Mr. ~unenta and voted unanimou~iy.
Hr. Kelly mentioned that h~ is looking to increase programming
such as fitness classes at the Community Center. Mr. Salce
recommended that for programs such as Tai Bo, Kick Boxing and
Aerobic Training that only uertified instructors be hired for
liability protection reasons.
Hr. Kelly.spoke about the possible realignment of Percival Field,
due to the conflict with the Knights of Columbus. The outfield in
right center field would be shortened about 35 ft. It was noted
that the High School would not be able to use the field if this
occurs. Perhaps this could be used a~ a football
The sale of Portable Classrooms appears to be a possibility in the
near future. This would impact the storage of sports equipment for
soccer and midget football.
The Chamber of Commerce will hold their Christmas Festival at
Volunteer Park.
The size of the Boundless Playground at Willard was discussed.
This would impact the Softball Field and another soccer field
would be reduced in size.
Hr. Kelly received a recue=: for a free family pool pass for the
Tinsel Run. '
Hr. Amenta made a motion to approve the request, seconded by ~r.
Giana and voted unanimously.
The Community Art League would like to use the Community Cen~er
about 12 times starting in December through February. They would
like the fee waived. Based on previous experience, Kr. Amenta
made a motion to send the request to the Town Manager for her
decision, seconded by Mr. Salce and voted unanimously.
Mr. Kelly had investiganed the use of Willow Brook Park for
potential usage for a midget football game. The cost would he
$740.00 a game, which is too exorbitant.
Mr. Kelly had checked into the health issue oi trash bins.
There was not a concern regarding the West Nile Virus.
Mr. Kelly also checked ~.nto the pouential loss of Locip Funds
regarding Skateboard Park. We would not loose the funds. The
funds can be carried over.
Mr. Kelly stated that Wom~n's Basketball will he using Hooreiand
Hill's Gym. He indicated %hat the Mooreland Hill administration
has been extremely cooperative in the support that they have given
his department.
NEW BUSINESS:
Ttmberlin Golf Tournaments ~ere discussed, noting the weekend time
allotted for the~e tournaments. The Commission would like ~o see
previous calendars and this years calendar, not only the Men's
Club schedule to gather data. The iniorma=ion provided that there
were more tha~ 15 weekend tournaments and Co~mlissioners expressed
concerns about potential abuse of ~he reservation process.
Mr. Kelly asked the Commission to read the Town Charter pages
provided to become ~amiliar with the Parks & Recreation de[ined
responsibilities.
M)JOURNI/E~f:
Mr. ~enta made a motion %0 adjourn, seconded by Mr. Giana and
voted unanimously. Time of adjournment was 9:50 p.m.
~ct fully Submitted,
!~arie Ralpht Recordin~ 5ecr.~ary