Recreation Commission
Antrim Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
June 13, 2019 7:02–8:58 pm
Present: Celeste Lunetta, Joan Gorga, Isaac Lombard, Milli Knudsen, Monica Hagelberg, Rick Davis
Minutes: May minutes accepted with corrections.
Town Gym
Home & Harvest Pickleball. Milli Knudsen (from Henniker) presented plans to use gym for demonstration pickleball play and round-robin tournament Friday evening and Saturday during Home & Harvest (Sept 13 & 14). This recreational league used to play regularly in the gym. Permission was granted with stipulations: 1) no street shoes on gym floor; 2) entry fees will not be charged; 3) gym entry will be through foyer, not from School Street; 4) no food or drink in gym. Milli to be out of town; will put point person in contact with Celeste. Celeste will check with Jim Daneher to ensure that new floor finish will be fully dry.
Gym Floor Plans. ConVal appears to have located missing Antrim Trust Fund and may be willing to contribute to gym floor maintenance. Full sanding and repainting still scheduled for mid-August.
Shea Field
Pitching wall. Monica Hagelberg & Rick Davis presented pitching wall plans. Wall would also be useful for other sports, such as lacrosse and soccer. Location to be against chain-link fence north of 3rd-base dugout. Options of 8′ or 10′ high x 24′; 10′ height would keep more balls from going into woods and downhill towards stream. Better for other sports, too. Construction with 2ʺ x 6ʺ x 8′ and 4ʺ x 4ʺ x 12′ (or longer) pressure-treated, ground-contact lumber; stanchions anchored in concrete. Monica will get quote for materials from Antrim Lumber. Rick will consult with Dario Carrara re required depth for footings. For safety, concrete will be covered with turf. Construction to be by volunteer labor—adults only, with signed liability releases, no minors; town will need info on volunteers and may have to officially sponsor. Targets (strike zones) will be painted; decorative painting may be added. Timeline is ASAP. Selectboard approval needed; will try for July 1 meeting. Joan will write letter of support. Celeste will check into insurance requirements and mats to protect turf in high-use areas. Users are asked to establish a culture of limiting turf damage, including staying off the field when it is wet.
Home & Harvest. John Anderson spoke to Joan earlier re use of field with lights on until 10 pm, followed by dimmed lights for cleanup, on Sept 13. Commission suggested ending play by 9:30, then turning lights down and cleaning up. Most families will leave by then, and need more volunteers than last year for cleanup. Keeping lights on past 9:00 requires Selectboard approval; Rick will also take that to Selectboard on July 1. Joan will write letter of support. Rain date for Home & Harvest is the next weekend.
GBS use. GBS Field Day was moved up a day due to weather and went well. Kids set up and cleaned up thoroughly. GBS has been using field only for PE, not recess, so much less damage inflicted.
Maintenance. Field is doing all right. Jim and Celeste will be discussing future of grounds work. JT will be helping at beach and with facilities for the summer starting next week.
Memorial Park
Maintenance. Scouts will hold flag retirement ceremony June 14. Scott Man event to be held at Skatepark on Sat., Aug. 3. Several ramps to be repaired with Skatelite. Colin & Mitch proposed building L-shaped bench with shelf under in far corner against wall. Commission suggests open structure without shelf.
Gregg Lake
Beach. Celeste will paint parking lines. Staff are training June 15 and putting dock out June 19. Highway Dept will be replacing door and new ice cream freezer will be moved there. Beach opens June 19; guard hours 10-5. Good staff this year—Jennica in charge; other experienced staff are JT, Keenan Wilson and Lily Denehy; one of them will always be on duty. New staff will be Rosie Crooker and Reid Wilson. Beach budget will probably go over. Bus driver training to be held June 25.
Because there is only one accessible restroom, privacy barrier will be added between stalls and restrooms will be made gender-neutral.
State will not be coming to collect beach bacteria samples this year. Joan will collect them during VLAP sampling June 19, July 17 and Aug 21. Cyanobacteria blooms have already closed beaches at Pierce and Silver Lake.
Lake Host program. Charlene Morrison hired as Lake Host. Celeste added Lake Host training on June 27 at 5:30.
Watershed Management Plan. Unpaved road maintenance program to be held June 22, following Lake Host training, with lunch provided in between. Highway Dept will not attend.
Rec Dept.
Update. Big waiting list for summer camp.
Next meeting Thursday, July 11, 7 pm.