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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-07-10 - 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 July 10, 2013 Convene Meeting: Chairman Jamie Schutzer called the meeting to order at 8:24pm. The following Members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Jamie Schutzer, Brian Funtleyder, Adam Zahl Frank Carbone, Scott Tillison, Adam Berman, Traci Erenfryd Absent Council Members: Jennifer Wohl, Christopher Dutra Recreation Department Members: Robert Bertolacci, Parks & Recreation Superintendent Carmella Swick, Sr. Office Assistant June Minutes were voted on at the end of the meeting. I. Public View Points: Committee Member Berman said he knows that the umpires are supposed to know which bats are illegal and it's sort of an honor system but there are teams out there that we have played that have used illegal bats. Some of these guys are crushing the ball and it's really a safety issue. Committee Member Berman said one option is for the rec department to purchase a certain number of bats at the beginning of the season for all three fields and have those bats in the bin or have someone bring the bats to the field for each game. Both teams use those bats provided and it alleviates anyone using an illegal bat. It would definitely make the players feel safer. We do have some time to look into this issue for next year's men's softball league. Committee Member Erenfryd brought up the fact that the football goal posts at the Rye Brook Athletic field sound like they're loose. Superintendent Bertolacci said the goal posts are secured in the ground and do sway a bit. Chairman Schutzer said he was at a rookie game on Sunday at the turf field where a kid got stung 4 times on the baseball field. Committee Member Tillison said the new field at Pine Ridge Park, there is a bee's nest near the right field fence. Committee Member Berman said at the pool clubs, they have bee catchers filled with honey or sugar water which may be something to consider. There are also bees at the Port Chester Middle School near the 1St base dugout. II. Superintendent's Report: a. Rye Brook Birthday Party Recap: Superintendent Bertolacci said the weather was nice the day of the birthday celebration. The setup of games and rides were spread out more so you really couldn't get a grasp whether there were more people than last year. The food sales were about the same as last year. The date of the celebration is always the day before Father's Day. 1168377.1 Committee Member Berman asked if we could have the birthday celebration at the Rye Brook Athletic Field if we have such a rainy season as we did this year. Superintendent Bertolacci said we couldn't have the birthday at the turf field because of the agreement with the Arbors. When the Arbors, the Village and the school district made the agreement, one of the concessions was no town events. Committee Member Berman asked if we can have the birthday where we had the carnival. Superintendent Bertolacci said we would have to get permission to use that site. b. Summer Camp Update: Superintendent Bertolacci said the camp numbers are down. We have about 90 kids in camp every day. Last year there were about 120 kids in camp. The grades are smaller and the economy rebounded some and kids are at sleep away camp. The teen camp numbers are also down. There are about 85 to 90 kids at the teen camp this year compared to 110 last year. Superintendent said he would like to send out a survey to find out why some of the kids didn't come back to camp. Committee Member Erenfryd asked how often the camp goes swimming. Superintendent Bertolacci said the camp swims 2 to 3 times a week. Superintendent Bertolacci said that is a problem not having our own pool. Committee Member Berman asked if anyone ever approached the Blind Brook County Club to use their pool during camp. Superintendent Bertolacci said he had approval for a pool one year and the board decided they didn't want to go forward with it. The site was at Elm Hill Park which is across from the pavilion at Crawford Park. There are 2 acres with an easement from Elm Hill Drive into Crawford Park. Committee Member Tillison asked if the hockey rink is going to happen. Superintendent Bertolacci said there are traffic issues that have to be addressed. They may have to downsize the project. Committee Member Carbone said it is not getting voted on until August. c. Baseball Field Update: Committee Member Carbone said we have our foul poles but they are on the wrong side of the fence. The poles have to be either an extension of the wall or in the back of the wall. Superintendent Bertolacci said we could paint a white line so you know if the ball is higher than the fence. d. Other Updates: Superintendent Bertolacci said Movie Night is July 26th at Pine Ridge Park. The movie is Paranorman. The movie time is between 8:00 and 8:15pm. E-mails will go out on Community Pass and a flyer will go to the campers. There is no rain date for Movie Night. Superintendent Bertolacci publicly announced at the Parks and Recreation meeting that our Parks Foreman, Frank Errigo, will be retiring on September 4th, 2013. Committee Member Berman said we should make a recommendation to the Village Board to do something for Frank. Superintendent Bertolacci said it's up to Parks and Recreation Advisory Council to do something and if this council wants to do something, we have a month to do it. III. Baseball Sub-Committee Report: Committee Member Carbone said the Major League Baseball, ages 11 and 12 were 2 and 2 in the District Tourney. The games were very competitive and kids played fantastic. 1168377.1 Committee Member Tillison said his team lost both games; one game to Rye and one game to Harrison. The kids had a great time and more participation in our rec league would give us more kids to play in the tournament. Committee Member Carbone said a lot of towns said we were a town to reckon with this year. Hopefully it will continue into next year. Superintendent Bertolacci said Kyle sent out e-mails with results of the games so residents would know that we have tournament teams. Committee Member Erenfryd said the Red Bulls Soccer Club has trainers that come in and run clinics. Is that something we can do for our programs? Superintendent Bertolacci said we have had discussions with groups and I will have them meet with the baseball sub-committee to see if that is the route we want to go. These trainers will teach the coaches how to run a practice. Chairman Schutzer said the Blind Brook High School Varsity boys are helping with the Rookie Travel program. These little kids look up to the older boys and listen to them. If we don't incorporate trainers for our program, we should use these high school varsity boys to work with 21 st Century to learn the drills that would help the kids. IV. Basketball Sub-Committee Report: Committee Member Berman said he hasn't had a meeting with his committee but will probably have one in September. One issue to discuss is where baseball switched over to more of a draft, we can have something similar to that for basketball as opposed to the rating for the older kids. Committee Member Tillison asked if the kids stay on the same team for basketball. Committee Member Berman said they don't stay on the same team but it is something to discuss. V. Grievance Sub-Committee Report: Committee Member Zahl reported that he did prepare a draft of a set of rules and procedures to enforce those rules which have gone out to the members of the sub-committee for review. I am trying to put together some black and white rule that states this this is an offense and this isn't an offense. I am trying to make it as clear as possible. One of the rules says the coach should have a thorough understanding and acceptance of the rules of the game. To me it is very vague. If my kid's softball coach didn't have an understanding of the rules of softball, I could file a grievance against him. It's a work in progress and the goal is to make it as clear as possible. VI. Old Business: a. Food Truck: Chairman Schutzer said he didn't get a chance to speak to Anthony and ask for some figures from him. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would like to have an idea of what he is making when his truck is parked in Pine Ridge Park. Chairman Schutzer asked if we are looking to get hard numbers from him, and in the long term, are we just going to have Anthony come back or what will we do. Superintendent Bertolacci said that Chairman Schutzer is on the Comprehensive Plan Committee and whatever information he gets would be helpful. b. Dog Park: Chairman Schutzer said he sent a letter regarding a dog park to Trustee Rednick. Trustee Rednick said to look at a piece of property on Bowman Avenue, across from the softball field. Superintendent Bertolacci said that piece of property is being developed by Kip Konigsberg and 1168377.1 he is donating a piece of that property to the Village. If you park facing the water, the property is right there. You can park in the parking lot or in the shopping center. Committee Member Zahl said he would talk to Trustee Rednick about the location for a dog park. c. Pine Ridge Park Wall: Superintendent Bertolacci said he is still getting quotes on the cost of building the wall at Pine Ridge Park. The Village Board is also discussing the issue and has received some opinions regarding the wall. Superintendent Bertolacci said one of the neighbors informed him if the wall comes down and we don't build another wall, he would get a petition from neighboring residents to replace the wall. Superintendent Bertolacci said the wall has already been patched three times. The wall has been structurally inspected and it has to come down either this year or next year. d. New Programs: 1. Camping in the Park: Committee Member Tillison said he spoke with David Thomas, Rye Town assistant, to get some dates that would be available for a camp out in Crawford Park. The dates available are Friday, August 9th, Friday, August 23rd . If we do this camp out as a Rye Brook Recreation activity, the park is free for us. We would use the southeast lawn in front of the mansion. You have to cook at the pavilion and they will keep the bathrooms open for us. Committee Member Tillison said he would check on August 16 to see if that date is also available. 2. Open Gym Nights: Chairman Schutzer suggested having a dodge ball tournament and a whiffle ball tournament for the fall. VII. New Business: Committee Member Berman said someone stated that when you pay for the lights at the Port Chester Middle School, you have them until December 31St. Superintendent Bertolacci said that as soon as the season is over the power is cut. We finish before September so we don't get billed for that month. Committee Member Funtleyder asked if a team has a roster of I I and a team mate gets injured and has to leave to go to the hospital, that spot becomes an automatic out. The only reason we didn't have someone to fill in is because that person drove him to the hospital. Maybe, there could be a change in that rule. Superintendent Bertolacci said that that rule is a USSSA rule. Some leagues have their in house rule that states if someone is injured and has to leave the game and there is no replacement, it's not an out. So it is a possibility that rule can change in future years to come. Committee Member Funtleyder asked about the distribution of game times. Is there a way to have a computation of what teams got what game time. Superintendent Bertolacci said that certain teams told him before the season that they couldn't do 6:30 games and I tried to accommodate them as much as possible. Committee Member Berman asked about the distribution of the fields. He said his team didn't get any game time at the turf field. Superintendent Bertolacci said the turf gets used for a team who has a lot of rain outs on an emergency basis. VIII: Minutes: Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to accept the June 4, 2013 Minutes. Committee Member 1168377.1 Tillison made a motion to accept the June 4, 2013 Minutes and Committee Member Berman seconded the motion. The June 4, 2013 Amended Minutes were accepted and approved. Committee Members Berman and Erenfryd abstained from voting on the Minutes. IX. Adjournment: Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Berman made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Member Funtleyder seconded the motion and all approved. The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Council meeting will be held on August 6, 2013 at 8:15PM. The meeting adjourned at 9:55PM. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick 1168377.1