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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-04 - Parks and Rec Advisory Council Meeting Minutes MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF RYE BROOK PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COUNCIL 938 KING STREET RYE BROOK,New York 10573 June 4,2013 Convene Meeting: Chairman Jamie Schutzer called the meeting to order at 8:15pm. The following Members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Jamie Schutzer, Brian Funtleyder, Christopher Dutra Adam Zahl, Jennifer Wohl, Frank Carbone, Scott Tillison Absent Council Members: Traci Erenfryd, Adam Berman Recreation Department Members: Robert Bertolacci, Parks & Recreation Superintendent 1. Minutes: Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to accept the May 7, 2013 Minutes. Committee Member Dutra made a motion to accept the May 7, 2013 Minutes and Committee Member Zahl seconded the motion. The May 7, 2013 Minutes were accepted and approved. Committee Member Carbone abstained from voting on the Minutes. II. Public View Points: No Public View Points. III. Superintendent's Report: a. Rye Brook Birthday Party Superintendent Bertolacci said the Rye Brook Birthday Party is a week from this Saturday, on June 15th. We are going back to a Water Park Theme with Water Wars and a Water Slide. Food tickets will be sold near the food tent. There will be 2 people selling food tickets. Volunteers are needed for that day. Chairman Schutzer, Committee Members Dutra and Zahl volunteered to work. This year's food drive will be in Memory of Ken Berman who passed away last year. Ken has worked the barbeque for the birthday celebration for the last 20 years. There is no rain date for the birthday. b. Baseball Field Updates Superintendent Bertolacci said the foul poles are in and were installed on the new field at Pine Ridge Park. Chairman Schutzer said the pitching mound at the old field is in bad shape. Superintendent asked Chairman Schutzer if he talked to Travel Baseball about a portable mound. Chairman Schutzer said he will talk to the Travel Baseball club. Committee Member Carbone said there is a one week window if needed to fix the mound before practices start for the tournament. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would talk to Frank about putting something under the mound to raise it. 1168377.1 c. Other Updates Superintendent Bertolacci reported that our camp numbers are down. One of the reasons could be that residents see the economy getting better so more kids may be going to sleep away camp. Superintendent said for next year's camp we are thinking of having a super early discount for a 6 week sign up. Later we would have another discount for residents registering for different weeks. Committee Member Wohl said there are 3 to 4 weeks of vacation left when camps are done and sleep away kids are home before school resumes. There may be a lot of kids looking for something to do during those weeks. Is there any kind of camp we could offer these kids during those weeks? Committee Member Carbone said there are sports camps available during those weeks before school starts. Chairman Schutzer said it would be a good idea if we can hold a camp during those weeks. Superintendent Bertolacci said there is one problem; my staff takes vacation when camp is over. Committee Member Wohl said maybe rec can have a camp for one or two weeks. Chairman Schutzer said we can discuss it and get some information out there to the public for this year. Superintendent Bertolacci said any program has to go before the Village Board because it's not in the budget. The Village Board would have to okay it and come up with a fee. Also, if we were to hold the program inside, gyms wouldn't be available because schools are getting ready for September opening. We wouldn't have a problem using our fields. Committee Member Wohl said if we can't do a camp for a week or two, maybe we could plan a day here and there. IV. Baseball Sub-Committee Report: Committee Member Carbone said Major League baseball ran smoothly. This year not many 7th graders played because they were involved in modified baseball and other activities. We did have a lot of 6th graders this year so we may have more 7t' graders playing next year. We do have better attendance with week day games. Committee Member Tillison said if we can get more games during the weekdays then we are not competing for fields on the weekend and other activities. There was an ejection of a coach at one of the games because the umpire called a catchers' interference. The umpires discussed the incident and decided it was an interference call. The opposing coach argued, Kyle told him to cool it and he cursed and slammed the gate. The umpire told the coach to leave the field and he did, but at the end of the game he did apologize to Kyle. Committee Member Carbone said 11 to 12 kids signed up for the All Star team. There are 2 coaches, Tillison and Kaminsky for Minor League, Frankel and myself for Major League. They can start practicing two weeks before the games start. The games will start at the end of June. Superintendent Bertolacci said next year he would like to get an organization involved with our baseball program. He spoke with Teddy who is involved with NY9. We will deal with that with the baseball sub-committee. Superintendent Bertolacci said they wouldn't run our Little League, they would do practices. They have professionals that come in and practice with the kids. We have sponsor money that can off-set some of the extra fees for an organization to come in and work with our children. Superintendent Bertolacci said these are items to be discussed by the sub-committee once the new members are on board. 1168377.1 V. Old Business: a. Food Truck—Jamie Schutzer Chairman Schutzer said he spoke to Anthony who has a food truck parked in Pine Ridge Park. Anthony said he is doing well but didn't give any numbers. Maybe the food truck at the park is an adequate solution rather than building a stand. Committee Member Tillison said having the truck there is the perfect solution. Chairman Schutzer asked Superintendent if a concession stand would go into the Village Comprehensive Plan to build a structure at Pine Ridge Park. Superintendent Bertolacci said we put the truck in the park so we can get some numbers as whether or not it would be feasible to build a concession stand or just keep the truck there. Committee Member Tillison said with the truck there, we don't have to staff it or take care of it. If we had a concession stand, it would be like running a restaurant. Chairman Schutzer said if we had a concession stand at the park, it would be a convenience for the residents. Committee Member Tillison asked what would a concession stand at the park provide, that a food truck can't. b. Dog Park—Adam Zahl Committee Member Zahl reported that the site he looked at for a dog park is at the compost site off King Street which is a very isolated area. The residents of Rye Brook don't want a dog park where they live. There is one house at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and King Street. Committee Member Zahl outlined the pros of having the dog park located there: 1. It is an isolated area so nobody would be bothered 2. There is enough parking for about 10 to 12 cars 3. The busiest time would be between 6:00am — 9:00am and at night after the rush hour. 4. It's very inexpensive to build and maintain. The size can be about 50' by 75' with a 6' fencing around the area. The cons are: 1. It's out of the way and hard to find 2. We would have to put up signs. BelleFair would probably get the most benefit because of the location. Committee Member Zahl made a motion to recommend to the Board of Trustees for the possibility of a dog park off Lincoln Avenue near the compost site. Committee Member Carbone seconded the motion. All were in favor. c. Pine Ridge Park Wall—Superintendent Bertolacci Superintendent Bertolacci reported that he went to look at the wall at Pine Ridge Park with the Village Engineer and Village Administrator. We are looking into different options for that wall. Chairman Schutzer said he read the notes regarding the wall and it is estimated at $40,000. One option is an all concrete wall instead of block. d. Appointing New Sub-Committees Chairs/Members 1. Baseball: Frank Carbone Chairman, Scott Tillison, Chris Dutra and Traci Erenfryd 2. Basketball: Adam Berman Chairman, Brian Funtleyder, Adam Zahl and Jennifer Wohl 3. Grievance: Chris Dutra Chairman, Jamie Schutzer, Brian Funtlfeyder, Adam Zahl 1168377.1 The Grievance Committee would handle any incident that may arise during the course of any sports program. Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to approve the appointment of the 3 committees. Committee Member Zahl made the motion to approve the members of the committees. Committee Member Tillison seconded the motion and all approved. Superintendent Bertolacci said the Grievance Committee will act as a first line of defense. Superintendent said the committee should meet and come up with a criteria. Committee Member Zahl asked if he is on the grievance committee, is it a conflict of interest if I am a coach. Superintendent said there isn't any voting so its' not a conflict of interest. e. New Programs 1. Multi Sports Program—Scott Tillison Committee Member Tillison said that the programs run by the PTA is similar to the programs that we run. Our registrations are low for similar programs. Committee Member Tillison suggested a multi sports program for the fall. Superintendent Bertolacci said that program is a fund raiser for the PTA. They are first in line for gym space in the schools. If we compete with the PTA we are not getting any space. Committee Member Tillison said it would be a program in the fall and outside where they would play kick ball, capture the flag etc. Next week they would play soccer, etc. Our kids are lacking free time. Kids become more creative when it's free play. Maybe we could work together with the PTA and see what numbers they are lacking with a particular program and maybe work together to get the numbers up for that program. 2. Open Gym Nights Committee Member Tillison suggested a camping night. We could go to Pound Ridge and rent out a campsite, have a cookout and sleep overnight. Another suggestion was to go to Crawford Park and have a campout. Chairman Schutzer said it would be a great idea to have the campout at the end of the summer. Another idea Committee Member Tillison has to have a gourmet truck come out and have a Food Truck Fair, like a Taste of Rye Brook. Chairman Schutzer said these are all good ideas and I have had conversations with Superintendent Bertolacci and the reality is that his staff is maxed out. If we want to foresee any of these ideas, it would require more work on our group. We should see if there is an interest in the overnight camp-out and try getting it together for the end of the summer. VL New Business: a. Picture Company Committee Member Carbone said that the day the Majors were to take their pictures, they were told to show up at the field 5:45 and game time was 6:15. The photographer didn't show up until 6:30 and the game had started. The photographer said he would take the pictures after the game which then went extra innings. When the game ended he rushed the kids on to the field to take the group picture and ran off. One parent asked about individual pictures and he replied that he wasn't coming back. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would talk to the photographer and tell him that he has to be patient with the people and schedule his time better. We can also do an RFP and find another photographer. 1168377.1 VII. Adjournment: Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Dutra made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Member Zahl seconded the motion and all approved. The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Council meeting will be held on July 10, 2013 at 8:15PM. The meeting adjourned at 10:1OPM. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick 1168377.1