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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-12 - Parks and Rec Advisory Council Meeting Minutes DRAFT MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF RYE BROOK PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COUNCIL 938 KING STREET RYE BROOK, New York 10573 June 12, 2012 Convene Meeting: Chairman Jamie Schutzer called the meeting to order at 8:37pm The following Members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Jamie Schutzer, Frank Carbone, Kevin O'Neil, Brian Funtleyder Glenn Brettschneider, Adam Berman, Christopher Dutra, Adam Zahl Absent Council Members: Jennifer Wohl Member of the Public: Jonathan Del Re, Rye Brook Resident Recreation Department Members: Robert Bertolacci, Parks &Recreation Superintendent Carmella Swick, Sr. Office Assistant Convene Meeting: Chairman Jamie Schutzer called the meeting to order at 8:37pm 1. Minutes: Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to accept the May 1, 2012 Minutes. A motion to approve the Minutes was made by Committee Member Brettschneider and seconded by Committee Member Carbone. The Minutes were accepted and approved. Committee Member Berman abstained. IT. Public View Points: Jonathan Del Re, 10 Mohegan Lane, addressed the committee. My son Chris is 10 years old and is involved in the Rye Brook Little League program and tried out for the 9/10 year old All Star Tournament. Jonathan said there were 12 kids who tried out for the team. 11 kids were selected to make the team. Jonathan's understanding now is that 4 kids were dropping off the team. i know it has been a challenge to field a team for the tournament, but you have 9 kids that are eager and willing to play. Committee Member Carbone said that the roster was all set and ready to go. A travel coach from another travel organization came into the office and told Kyle that 4 of his kids on the team were not going to play on the District 20 Tournament. if he did let them play, there would be restrictions put on those players. Committee Member Carbone stated that he spoke to one of the mother's that the coach said wasn't going to play and that parent didn't know anything about their child not playing. Superintendent Bertolacci said the roster for the District 20 team needs to be in very soon. 1168377.1 Committee Member Carbone said the tournament for the 9/10 year olds starts Saturday, June 24t" Jonathan stated that 2 more kids are needed to make the team and he feels if we don't try; it would be letting these kids down who want to play in this tournament. Committee Member Berman suggested sending out an e-mail to 9/10 year old Little Leaguers saying it was their last chance to try out for the travel tournament. Superintendent Bertolacci asked what happens if kids show up that are better than the 9 kids who already tried out. Committee Member Carbone said he can guarantee that any other kid who played Little League in the 9/10 bracket couldn't possibly be any better than anyone who already showed up at the first try outs. Superintendent Bertolacci said he doesn't have a problem as long as the dates are realistic for the paper work to get in. An e-mail will go out tomorrow morning announcing a final try out for the 9/10 District Tournament. Committee Member Brettschneider asked Superintendent Bertolacci what is the amount of revenue the Village collects for tennis permits each year. As a taxpayer, he doesn't understand why he has to pay for a tennis permit. Committee Member Brettschneider said there is always a ton of kids playing on the basketball courts and he is pretty sure most of them aren't Rye Brook residents, and the wear on the basketball courts is much greater. Superintendent Bertolacci said there are two reasons for having tennis attendants: 1. To control people from monopolizing the tennis courts. They are given an hour slot to play in case other players are waiting to use the tennis courts. 2. The attendants are there to keep non-residents off the courts. Committee Member Berman suggested that a tennis attendant still monitor the 1 hour time slots to keep order. If you have an ID showing you are a resident, you should be able to utilize the tennis courts. Why do you need a permit? Superintendent Bertolacci said it's a Village Board issue and i do what the Board tells me to do. Committee Member Brettschneider asked do we know how much revenue the tennis permits bring in. Superintendent said the revenue off-sets the actual cost of the tennis attendants. Committee Member Berman said he would e-mail Village Trustee, Jeff Rednick, regarding the policy for the tennis courts. Committee Member Zahl said he received several comments regarding the Rookie League and some of the coaches, especially Scott Tillison. This coach worked individually with a lot of the kids ages 7 and 8, who didn't know left field from 1St base. He was very creative and had a lot of 1168377.1 enthusiasm and very disciplined. The goal of this committee is to sustain and increase interest in Little League and it starts at the Rookie League with coaches like Scott. Chairman Schutter said he received some comments from Rye Brook parents regarding the summer day camp. Some suggestions are: 1. The parents said they would be willing to pay more money for more swimming for the children. 2. Have someone with more experience, like a camp director, run the day camp. Superintendent Bertolacci said Theresa Florindi, a school teacher is the director of the day camp and there are different age groups. Committee Member Berman said he heard from residents that have sent their children to the day camp and they love the camp and it's an unbelievable bargain. 2. Do a survey at the end of camp to get feedback from the participants. 3. Look into possible use of the Belle Fair pool. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would have to address the Belle Fair Board regarding the use of their pool. Committee Member Carbone said Belle Fair has a different Board from when the Village last spoke to them a few years back about the usage of the pool. It might still get shot down but you don't know unless you try. Superintendent Bertolacci said the camp formerly swam at SUNY Purchase and before that UCP. Kids that don't want to go swimming can stay at the camp. Superintendent Bertolacci said that there is a consultant company who is conducting a study of the Village. III. Superintendent's Report a. Rye Brook Birthday Superintendent Bertolacci said Rye Brook's #30`h Birthday celebration is this Saturday from 12:OOnoon to 4:OOpm. Chairman Schutter requested that all members of the committee volunteer if possible. Volunteers are needed for food serving, carnival booths, popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones etc. Superintendent said in addition to the hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, drinks, we added sausage & peppers, pizza fritta and watermelon. There will be rides throughout the park, giant slide, trackless train, giant obstacle course, euro bungee, rock wall climbing, balloon guy, spin art and face painting. There won't be any water wars or other water events this year. There will be three little water slides for the kids. b. Movie Night in the Park Movie Night is this Friday and we are showing Spy Kids at 8:OOpm. c. Summer Camp Superintendent Bertolacci stated that this year's camp figures are down from last year. There are about 124 kids registered so far this year and last year we had about 215 registered. We were conservative in hiring counselors this year because we were expecting a drop in attendance. The lower grades in the school are much smaller. The Teen Camp's registration is at 102, it's about what we had registered last year. IV. Old Business: a. Little League Chairman Schutter said in the Minor League we have to go back to the coaches pitching two innings. Committee Member Carbone said Major League season is over and he couldn't expect it to go any better, it was beyond my expectations. Committee Member Carbone said the games were exciting; the playoffs were great and he received some great feedback from the parents. 1168377.1 We really focused on the Major League this year and we got it back to where I think it should be. The games were more competitive. When we discuss the baseball season for next season we have to concentrate on the Minor League. Committee Member Dutra said Major League is completely different from Minor League. This was way worse than I've ever seen it. it's a developmental program and there is no team that is going to have 4 pitchers. Committee Member Carbone said we have to stress a lot of pitching instruction and the only kids allowed to pitch are the ones that go through the instruction. Stress pitching instruction during the practices even if they are not going to pitch, at least you are getting them ready for the Major League. Committee Member Dutra said you are going to a 9 and 10 year old District team where you would have to go there with kids that pitch. In the league you are going to have at least 1 or 2 that can possibly pitch but there are other kids who can pitch but then you are dragging out the game for two hours for 3 innings. Committee Member Berman said we played no games this year that went more than 4 innings even when the Dads pitched. You have to have the Dads pitch at least 2 innings. This year I had only 1 kid that can pitch. Also, the grades are getting smaller and we probably lose a ton of kids. Committee Member Berman said we should table Little League until our November meeting. Chairman Schutzer made a suggestion about merging our Little League with Port Chester. We would be making more teams, mixing up the talent. Committee Member Carbone said it would probably be a good idea. The issue was tabled for now. i. Summer Teams Committee Member Carbone suggested getting the word out where the District 20 games are being held and the times. The games are being held in Elmsford, Eastchester, and White Plains. It would be nice to have support from our community. b. Rating Process The rating process was tabled because that would go with the basketball sub-committee. Committee Member Funtleyder commented on the wrap-up of Rookie Ball and the girls Minor League Softball. Some of the comments were that the girl's softball was great and you did see the girls improve over time. i think there was a discussion about having a practice and a scrimmage during the week and a game on Saturday, but there were no practices,just games. It was the same thing with the Rookie League. Committee Member Berman suggested that Brian take some notes down at the end of the season and in November collaborate with Frank Carbone. We can then make decisions on how to improve the programs. V. New Business a. Concession stand at Pine Ridge Park Chairman Schutter said he was at this park that had two baseball fields and a great concession stand. Was the possibility ever explored of having a concession stand at Pine Ridge Park. We 1168377.1 have two baseball fields, basketball courts and tennis courts and a playground at Pine Ridge Park There is a company called Stamford American.com website that we can look into for more information on creating a structure at the park. Superintendent Bertolacci said right now everything is on hold as far as new projects go until the new recreational study comes out. Chairman Schutter asked if we can do a fundraiser or try to get the public involved. Superintendent Bertolacci said we open our concession stand every Sunday for about 5 hours while soccer is going on and we make about $300.00 gross. b. Weather Cancellation Policy Superintendent Bertolacci said the weather cancellation policy is that Recreation makes the decision by 4:OOpm and after that the umpires make the call whether to play or not. Also, the decision is determined by the condition of the fields. if the weather reports tell us that it is going to rain, the fields are not going to be in good condition unless you are playing on the turf field. Committee Member O'Neil suggested going to a Rockland Boulders baseball game with our Little League teams next year. VI: New Programs Chairman Schutzer said Kyle sent out an e-mail to survey suggestions for new programs. Chairman Schutter said he thought of a golf clinic being done at Doral Arrowwood. Superintendent Bertolacci said we tried a golf clinic a few years back and we didn't get much of a response from the public. VII. Adjournment Chairman Schutzer asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Berman made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Member O'Neil seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10:25pm. The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council will meet on July 10, 2012 at 8:O0pm. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick 1168377.1