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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-06 - 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 November 6, 2012 Convene Meeting: Chairman Jamie Schutzer called the meeting to order at 8:20pm. The following Members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Jamie Schutzer, Frank Carbone, Kevin O'Neil, Brian Funtleyder, Adam Berman Glenn Brettschneider, Jennifer Wohl, Adam Zahl Absent Council Members: Christopher Dutra Present: Trustee Jeffrey Rednick, Parks and Recreation Liaison Recreation Department Members: Robert Bertolacci, Parks &Recreation Superintendent Carmella Swick, Sr. Office Assistant 1. Minutes: Chairman Schutter asked for a motion to accept the October 2, 2012 Minutes. Committee Member O'Neil asked that the October Minutes be amended as follows: (1) Superintendent Bertolacci is to provide "Comparative Feedback" for the next meeting regarding field usage and fees and feedback from the IT team regarding an on-line permit processing. (2) Also, the Police Department has access to the existing schedule in their cars and at the police station and forcing permitted residents and non-residents to return to the Police Department after or during their events should NOT be required. A motion to approve the Amended Minutes was made by Committee Member Berman and seconded by Committee Member O'Neil. The October 2, 2012 Minutes were accepted and approved. Committee Member Brettschneider abstained from voting. H. Public View Points: Committee Member O'Neil said he heard good feedback regarding Halloween in the Park. It was quite scary but everyone had a good time. iii. Superintendent's Report: a. Hurricane Sandy Update Superintendent Bertolacci's report on the Rye Brook Parks: Pine Ridge Park: Trees down, signs down, no structural damage on any of the structures there. Garibaldi Park: Few trees down, minimal damage, no structural damage Harkness Park: Few trees down and one tree fell on the new tennis court knocking down a partial part of the fence and gate. Rye Hills Park: Approximately 30 trees down, fence damage, blacktop ripped up. One tree was 6 ft in diameter and snapped in half. We lost 40 trees in last year's storm. Last 5 or 6 years we lost a lot of trees in Rye Hills. We do replant trees each year. 1168377.1 Rye Brook Athletic Field: One tree down, portion of fence damage No damage in the Passive Parks. b. Halloween in the Park: Superintendent Bertolacci reported that about 400 participants rode on the hay ride. It was an expensive one night town event, and Superintendent Bertolacci recommends having the event for two nights in the future. The volunteers from the SUNY Purchase College baseball team were great and had a good time at the event and are looking forward to helping next year. We will have to think of a new theme for next year. Most of the children were Ridge Street School age. There was one hay ride and one train ride that went around the park. Next year I would like to have two hay rides because the people seemed to like the hay ride better than the train. For the younger children who came early, we gave out goody bags. c. Online Park/Field Reservation/Field Survey Superintendent Bertolacci reported that our current program can accommodate an online reservation. There is a $500 training fee for staff if we choose to enable the online permitting. Superintendent Bertolacci reported that he surveyed 7 municipalities regarding their online permitting and fees: No municipality offers online permits because they want to see who they are renting their fields to and also they have to get their insurance in place. Superintendent Bertolacci handed out a survey from 7 municipalities for the Council to review. The minimum number for reservations in the Village of Mamaroneck is 10 or more participants. Bedford defines their group as 1 participant and charge as to the number of persons. Chairman Schutzer asked who is required to have insurance for the field. Superintendent Bertolacci said we haven't asked for insurance from individuals who rent the field on a one time basis but we need to start asking for insurance for liability reasons. They can provide a certificate from their homeowners insurance. The big soccer programs that rent our field on a seasonal schedule provide us with insurance coverage. Superintendent Bertolacci also distributed a field application from other municipalities for the council to review. Trustee Rednick said the meeting to determine the recommendation from the rec council for the number of participants from 6 to 8 requiring a permit to use the King Street field was cancelled due to the storm. Superintendent Bertolacci doesn't feel comfortable about online reservations for fields because someone may register as a resident and they actually may be a non-resident. Committee Member Berman said there should be a system where you could get online and rent a field when they are not being used. That was the reason for the discussion. Committee Member Wohl said in reviewing the survey it seems that none of the municipalities have a situation that compares to our rentals. The fee to rent our turf field for a resident is $62.50 one hour, $125.00 two hours. The fee for a non-resident is $125.00 an hour and $250.00 for two hours. 1168377.1 Committee Member O'Neil said that Harrison charges way more for their fields. Committee Member Funtleyder suggested that the police department be capable of issuing a permit but the consensus was the police department would not be receptive to that idea. Superintendent Bertolacci reported that most municipalities don't have a policy in place for renting their fields. Committee Member Brettschneider said we have been discussing this issue for a long time and have not come any closer to a conclusion. Committee Member Berman said our recommendations for the changes at the Rye Brook Athletic Field have been submitted to the Village Board and will be discussed at the next meeting. Let's wait and see what the Village Board comes up with. d. Concession Stand Superintendent Bertolacci met with Chris Bradbury to discuss the ethics of offering a vendor to construct and work the concession stand and be the sole provider of the services. To find one vendor is not ethical, you have to do a RFP. The Village can construct the building and then go for an RFP for an operator to get the best proposal. The Village can put out an RFP bid that would require construction and a guarantee of an operator for the facility for a given time period. Or, we can contact some of the local companies in our area if they want to donate to the facility without any consideration. Superintendent Bertolacci said the delis aren't going to donate to the construction if they don't have guaranteed operation of the facility. Superintendent Bertolacci said he doesn't make any money at the King Street field concession stand. We might gross $300, and then we have to pay staff member for working. Superintendent Bertolacci said he spoke with Castle View Deli and he was not sure he wants to get involved, spoke with Marini`s and he is leaning towards not being interested. Committee Member Carbone said you have to look at this project from every angle. It has to be marketed where people know it's there. People go to the stand in New Canaan even when there are no games because it's a nice place to go to. Maybe put a truck like Franks Frank at the park in the spring when games are going on and see where it goes. If that works out then maybe a concession stand would work. Committee Member Berman said to build a structure and have it not work out is a big expense. Superintendent Bertolacci said if you want to include this structure in the Capital plan, it can be a 6 year contingent Capital Plan. Superintendent Bertolacci said the cost of the concession stand at the turf field cost $25,000. Chairman Schutzer said for everyone to think about whether to go ahead with the concession stand and at the next meeting we will decide if we want Superintendent Bertolacci to include this item in the budget. Superintendent Bertolacci said he met with the Carnival people and they are willing to run the carnival the weekend of the 13th of April. I got their proposal and I now have to do an RFP with similar companies. 1168377.1 e. Project Timeline Superintendent Bertolacci handed out a list to the members with some projects, which actions were taken, person responsible for those steps, and when they should be done. We have already discussed the items on the list. The list is to help facilitate some of the discussions and lay out where we are going with these projects at the next couple of meetings. This list is to help me focus on certain items and let you know where I am at with those items. Superintendent Bertolacci said the Coaches Plaque in the Recreation hallway has been updated with the coaches' names. IV. Basketball Sub-Committee Report a. Review of Teams/County Center Eligibility Committee Member Berman said the sub-committee completed the rules changes and various items. Because of the storm the ratings were delayed. Committee Member Funtleyder wanted publicly to say that he was wrong about the 2/3 boys basketball. The basket should not be at 9' or 10' but it should be at 8'. I watched the ratings and it was a good experiment. He said there is a big difference with the 2nd and 3rd grade boys. Maybe in the future we can consider having the 3rd and 4th grade together and the 2nd grade on their own. Committee Member Berman said that Brian made a valid point and we need to discuss that item for next season. Committee Member Berman said at the end of the last meeting, we discussed the County Center tournament. We agreed to leave the attendance for the players at 60% but didn't discuss what constitutes their amount of time at each game. The council came up with kids having to attend 1/2 of the game to be eligible for a County Center team. Committee Member Berman asked that Kyle let the coaches know that the players have to attend 1/2 of the game to be eligible for the Count Center. We also discussed that the first 5 players will be voted by the coaches but they cannot vote for their own child or anyone else on their team. The next 5 players will be chosen by the rec staff who attends the games. Committee Member Wohl commented about the girls' basketball for last season. Some girls don't show up for a game and sometimes the team had to forfeit. These kids are ruining it for other teams. When you sign up to play a sport you should be committed and not let your teammates down. Committee Member Berman said unfortunately, kids are signed up for multiple sports which leave one of the sports short of players. Superintendent Bertolacci said if you want to review the teams before the draft you have to be at the office by 4:30 Wednesday because the draft is Thursday. Kyle knows that the teams will be reviewed. Committee Member Berman will review the teams for 4th° 5th,6th and 7th grade boys. Chairman Schutzer will review 2nd and 3rd grade boys Committee Member Zahl will review the team for 2nd and 3rd grade girls Committee Member Wohl will review the teams for 4th, 5th, 6th and ltd grade girls. The draft dates are as follows: 2/3 boys, 11/14, and 4/5 boys, 11/8, 6/7 boys 11/8, 2/3 girls 11115, 4, 5, 6, 7 grade girls 11113. V. Old Business: 1168377.1 a. New Programs: The programs that were discussed for Teen Night were, 3 on 3 basketball, ping pong tournament, dodge ball tournament. Committee Member Berman said it would be nice to have ping pong tables that would belong to the rec and can be used whenever we plan a tournament or just have a Teen Night event. Superintendent Bertolacci said we don't have a place to store the tables. We will schedule a dodgeball tournament to be held in the winter. As far as a dodgeball for adults, Superintendent Bertolacci said there may be a problem getting the courts because of our basketball program. Committee Member Berman said 3 on 3 basketball for teen night is a great event for the kids, it doesn't cost much and the kids have a great time. We should have 3 on 3 basketball a couple times during the year because it doesn't cost much to run and the kids really enjoy it. VI. New Business: a. Winter/Holiday Event: Chairman Schutter said before the holidays a couple years ago, we had a movie followed by a snowman contest. We should have some kind of holiday event. Some of the suggestions were tree lighting, menorah lighting, caroling, collect food for the needy, toys for tots and maybe a soup kitchen. Also if we have snow, a snowman contest with the contestants submitting their pictures by February xxx. Superintendent Bertolacci said the ideas are great but it's too late to plan any kind of an event and to do it properly. Committee Member Carbone said the Little League sub-committee will meet before the December meeting. The Minor League needs a lot of work. Two issues were brought up at the Little League meeting: 1. The District is seriously considering going district wide to wood bats. it hasn't been decided yet but a kid did get hurt in another state. 2. Little League is thinking of going to 50' and 70' fields for the Major League. The District voted it down for this year because the towns have field issues, but it will happen in the future. Committee Member Wohl reported that the Port Chester/Rye Brook Travel Softball team is working out very well. VI. Adjournment: Chairman Schutter asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Berman made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Member Wohl seconded the motion. The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Council will meet on December 4, 2012 at 8:15pm. The meeting adjourned at 10:00pm. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick 1168377.1