Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-06 - 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 April 6, 2010 Convene Meeting: Chairman Marc Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 8:33pm. The following members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Marc Zimmerman, Ken Frankel, Richard Gutner, Debra Tempesta Kevin O'Neil, Sari Jablon, Glenn Brettschneider, Steven Schoen, Jeffrey Kornblulm Recreation Department Member: Robert Bertolacci, Parks & Recreation Superintendent Rye Brook Residents: Cliff Shaw Shannon Crosby Mrs. Garceau, Shannon's Mother Port Chester Resident: Allison Tresher I. Minutes Chairman Zimmerman asked for a motion to accept the Minutes of March 2, 2010. Committee Member Gutner made a motion to accept the revised Minutes of March 2, 2010 and Committee Member Schoen seconded the motion. The motion was approved and all accepted. II. Public View Points. Chairman Zimmerman welcomed two returning members of the public: Shannon Crosby, a senior an Ursuline School Allison Tresher, representing Friends of Crawford Park. Allison Tresher was present representing Friends of Crawford concerning Rye Hills Park. Ms. Tresher stated that she believed the Advisory Committee has been very successful in its recommendations to the Rye Brook Trustees concerning rules for dogs in Rye Brook parks. She stated that Friends of Crawford has reached out to Mayor Feinstein concerning parking issues at Crawford Park and the Town of Rye has commissioned a park survey, which results will be presented at the April 20, 2010 1 1112674.1 Village meeting. Her concern is that Rye Hills Park (which is adjacent to Crawford Park) has no parking. People can park in Hidden Falls, but the Village of Rye Brook web site says to park in Crawford Park. She noted that there are lots of activities coming up at Crawford Park in the spring; a soccer program, day camp, Rye Brook's Birthday Celebration, Men's Softball, and Kindergarten T-Ball, all of which are Rye Brook events. She expressed a concern that in an emergency situation when the park is crowded and cars are parked all along the side of the park, an EMS vehicle cannot get through. Ms. Tresher said an easy solution would be to use Elm Hill Park (adjacent to the garage area) for parking. Ms. Thresher distributed pictures of Elm Hill Park and said that since it has a natural barrier, only a couple of residents would be affected. She offered that Friends of Crawford would be instrumental in protecting the environment if it could be developed, and provide a win-win situation for Rye Hills parking and all the additional parking that is required because of Rye Brook programs. Ms. Tresher expressed her beliefs that the issue is being held up because Rye Brook wants access to a structure that is in Port Chester that Rye Brook presently is renting; and (2) because they want to appraise different parking options to Elm Hill. She asked that the Advisory Council assist Friends of Crawford to encourage the Village to be more open to using Elm Hill as an alternative parking solution. Ms. Tresher asked Trustee Brown if the new rules for the dogs in the park have been approved, and whether signage for the parks has been determined. Trustee Brown said the rules were approved, but signage has not yet been determined. Ms. Tresher recommended that littering also be added to the signage in the parks. III. Pitch, Hit and Run Cliff Shaw stated that 18 to 20 volunteers are needed for the Pitch, Hit and Run event. The event is scheduled for April 25, 2010 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Pine Ridge Park. Committee Member Frankel said he would get back to John Dakers when he knows how many kids would be needed to volunteer for the event. Committee Member Jablon would speak to Jane Romm and try to get high school students to volunteer. Mr. Shaw made copies of how the new and old fields at Pine Ridge should be set up and also a list of equipment needed. The new field would be used for running and pitching and the old field would be used for hitting. Mr. Shaw stated that there should be 3 adults at those stations and also one for registration. At the exit table the card is handed in to the volunteer and it is tabulated. Chairman Zimmerman suggested asking the Little League coaches if they would volunteer an hour each for the event. Mr. Shaw said it usually runs smoother if the same people work it for the 4 hours. You would have to stop and tell the next crew what to do and the kids are going through and you don't want to stop them. 2 1112674.1 Superintendent Bertolacci suggested setting up a time with Committee Member Frankel next week so the details can be all worked out. IV. Superintendent's Report a. Basketball Season Wrap Up Superintendent Bertolacci said the basketball season went well. There still exist the recurring issues of the division of talent among the teams. Committee Member Brettschneider said you do the best you can to make the teams even and provide good coaching. Superintendent Bertolacci stated that 2009-2010 basketball evaluations were not done and he will discuss with his staff as to the reason the evaluations did not go out. The policy of the Recreation Department is to e-mail or mail program evaluations to the parents of the players at the conclusion of each program. Chairman Bertolacci said that evaluations for baseball will go out before the end of the season. b. Little League Season Preview Superintendent Bertolacci said there are 21 Little League teams. All 21 teams have sponsors. Superintendent Bertolacci thanked the committee for helping to obtain sponsors for Little League. Rookie ratings are tonight and tomorrow. There are nine sponsors for rookie teams, and the rest will be sponsored by Rye Brook Recreation. We have enough uniforms for 12 teams. Last year we had 10 teams. c. Little League Opening Day Ceremonies The opening day ceremonies are this Saturday, April 10, 2010. The parade will begin at 12:30 pm at Ridge Street School and proceed to Pine Ridge Park, rain or shine. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would probably need volunteers to help out at the concession stand on Saturday afternoon from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The concession stand will be set up near the tennis courts at Pine Ridge Park. Committee Member Schoen asked if the Babe Ruth League was established for 13 to 15 year olds. Superintendent Bertolacci reported that the program was cancelled because only a very small number of kids signed up. Superintendent Bertolacci said one of the big issues is that travel baseball's 13 years olds are playing every weekend, but that we would try the program again next year. Unfortunately, the equipment and the jerseys already were purchased. We can return some of the equipment but not the jerseys, which we intend to use next year. V. Old Business a. Rye Brook Field Use. 3 1112674.1 Chairman Zimmerman stated that Shannon Crosby came to last month's recreation meeting and had an issue about field usage. Shannon was on the Rye Brook Athletic Field with a friend playing soccer and was told by a police officer that she and her friend had to leave the field. Chairman Zimmerman asked Superintendent Bertolacci to explain the policy of field usage. Superintendent Bertolacci stated that he and the Police Chief are trying to work out the policy as to how many people can be on a field without a permit. Right now, the policy is that any group of 5 or more on a field needs to have a permit. Any group of less than 5 does not need a permit for the Rye Brook Athletic Field. Shannon asked what if there is a group of 4 and then a group of 3 come along and ask to play a game. Now would the 7 people need a permit? Superintendent Bertolacci said that, technically, if there are 7 people on the field, you would be asked to leave, but that is an issue he is working through with the Police Chief. Shannon said if a practice is going on, they have preference to be on the field, but if there is no scheduled practice, we should be able to play on the field -- that is why the field is there. Superintendent Bertolacci said that the underlying problem is that the more people come to use our fields without having a usage policy, all of a sudden more people come each and every night. That would include a lot of non-residents wanting to use the field -- even when school is in session. Superintendent said that during school hours, the school uses our field, and there should not be people playing near the kids. Chairman Zimmerman explained that the policy needs to be consistently applied, and it is difficult to make exceptions for 8 kids playing on the field and not have it apply to 20 or 30 adults as well. Shannon said if they are Rye Brook residents, they should be able to use the field. Trustee Brown said Westchester County has rights to this field because they it paid for it, so we have obligations that we must abide by for residents and non-residents alike. We can not prohibit non-residents from using the field. What Superintendent Bertolacci is trying to regulate are the players who routinely come to use the field. Superintendent Bertolacci is trying to create some rule that is going to prevent that from occurring but at the same time allow parents to come out with their kids and also for other players like you to play soccer. It is a tough balance. Shannon said on the field it says one thing and on the web site it says something different. Trustee Brown said this has been a transitional process that been taking place and we must address issues as they arise. Superintendent Bertolacci added that at the beginning of spring last year the number of players on the field without a permit was 2 or 3 and now the number is 5. 4 1112674.1 Committee Member Tempesta said the police are doing their job but should use discretion because they are influencing the youth and the future of our society. She suggested having a separate set of rules for minors. Chairman Zimmerman said that any policy makes someone unhappy, but needs to reflect a middle result where above the line leads to problems and below the line leads away from problems and the police have to use their discretion. Trustee Brown said people are paying to use the field. If the field was open for use at all times for free, there would be no reason for restrictions. This is a field that people pay to use so we need to implement rules to prevent people from using it for organized play without a permit. Committee Member O'Neil said as the policy evolves, and whatever the number is, the communication of that policy to the police and the public should be clear through the web site and the signage. Superintendent Bertolacci stated that a billboard was bought for the park and the rules, what the number is for persons to play on the field without a permit, and scheduling for the field will be posted on that billboard. b. Recreation Program Surveys and Evaluations Chairman Zimmerman said this issue was discussed during the basketball season wrap- up. Perhaps we can create a more formalized survey or evaluation and/or website suggestion box. Chairman Schoen said there is a survey for basketball that the basketball committee looks at and tries to improve on it before sending it out. c. Recreation Department Policy on Requests for Team Assignments Chairman Zimmerman stated that Superintendent Bertolacci sent out an e-mail to the committee regarding the policy concerning parents and/or kids requesting the recreation department assign kids to be on a certain team for various reasons. Superintendent Bertolacci said the recreation policy is that we do not take requests. Once the coaches leave the draft and the teams are made public, there are no changes to the teams. The Department will listen to specific negative issues with a certain player in order to keep players apart before we go into the draft. 5 1112674.1 Committee Member Jablon asked if a kid has a negative experience with a coach before the draft is done, would that be taken into consideration. Superintendent said it would be taken into consideration; however the goal is to have fair teams. Chairman Zimmerman said the reason this issue is on the Agenda is for the same general reasons behind field usage policies. The key is consistency in application of the rule, is because once you open the door to permitting and granting a request, you can not say no to the next request without implicating some sort of favoritism. The Rec Department understands the need for fair teams, and does an admirable job in achieving that goal. Committee Member O'Neil asked what the process is for the blind draft. Superintendent Bertolacci said you put the coaches kids on a team and you take however many you need to make those coaches pairs even. Then if there is an aggregate number, you add all the other ratings and divide by 8. Sometimes the kids are over rated and some are under rated, but it is pretty fair. d. Non-Sports Recreation Programming Chairman Zimmerman said the recreation department usually discusses sports activities, but the Rec Department also promites non-recreational activities and programming. Superintendent Bertolacci said the First Lego League was awesome. They met twice a week for about 5 months and built robots out of legos which did certain tasks. The kids had mentors from IBM who went to the Middle School to work with them and taught them all types of programming. The kids were from 6th to 8th grade. They also have a lego program at Ridge Street School. Committee Member O'Neil asked if we are in a position to solicit other types of program we could/should be offering. Superintendent Bertolacci said we are always looking for new creative programs and if there is a need from the community, we will figure out a way to do it. Committee Member O'Neil asked how we can know what types of program to offer. Superintendent Bertolacci said if there is a need and someone wants to pursue it, they could bring it back to this group and we would discuss the actual need for the community. Chairman Zimmerman suggested sending something out through Community Pass saying that we are looking for new and inventive programs for our youth of the community whether it be sports or non-athletic. 6 1112674.1 Committee Member Schoen said you can give some examples such as chess club, lego league etc. Committee Member Tempesta suggested picking up a book from the YMCA to see what courses they offer and maybe we can offer it at the school which would be convenient for the parents. Years ago the Girl Scouts offered a baby sitting class. Chairman Zimmerman suggested that we leave this topic on Old Business. This should be our focus for the next couple of months and maybe get it out on the web site, particularity for the winter when you do not have as many outdoor activities. Committee Member Tempesta said years ago there was a cookie decorating class through the PTA. Committee Member Schoen suggested a typing class may also be something of interest. VI. New Business a. Pine Ridge Park Basketball Hoops Committee Member Schoen asked if insurance covers the loss of the basketball hoop due to the storm. Superintendent Bertolacci said the Village is waiting for disaster money. We do have insurance, but it really not worth putting a claim through insurance. Even if we got the money from insurance it would go into the general fund and the money to replace the hoops would still come out of the recreation budget. Superintendent Bertolacci is getting quotes on both the steel and acrylic backboards. b. Keeping Pine Ridge Park Clean Committee Member Gutner said that people are not keeping the park clean. Parents change their babies and leave the diaper on the ground instead of throwing it in the garbage can. Water bottles, food and soda cans are left all over the place. He suggested more receptacles and/or more signage. Committee Member Gutner said he even saw a fox in the park looking for food, and obviously, this issue is something that has to be addressed by the committee. He said that most of the mess is around the basketball court, and also suggested that baseball coaches should tell the players to pick up the water bottles and garbage before they leave. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would send out an e-mail to baseball coaches asking them to tell their players to clean up the dugout before they leave. Superintendent Bertolacci said he will also put out more receptacles in the park. Superintendent Bertolacci is getting quotes on both the steel and acrylic backboards. c. Members Schoen and Tempesta 7 1112674.1 Chairman Zimmerman stated that he was told this was the last meeting Committee Members are Debra Tempesta and Steve Schoen, and the Council recognizes the contributions of two of our long standing members. Committee Member Tempesta said that it has been brought to her attention that there are people interested in volunteering to serve this committee. In the past it has not been a committee where people stepped up to volunteer. Now that there is interest, the Mayor has informed me that they are limiting the terms of the Committee Members to two consecutive two year terms. I have been on the committee for 6 years and I had no problem wanting to continue on not knowing there were people interested. I spoke with Mayor Feinstein and told her I had no problem stepping down and letting someone else serve. This has been a wonderful opportunity for me to serve my community and serve it for the betterment of our children. My younger daughter participated in some rec but they are dancers and go outside for their sports. I had no vested interest in doing this but did it for the community and for the children. I have really enjoyed it and in the six years have seen people come and go and it has been a great learning experience. I have told Mayor Feinstein that any time an opportunity arises that you need a volunteer to do something, please contact me. I have volunteered my time in this community through our school system and through the recreation department and I loved doing it. Committee Member Schoen said it has been an honor to participate on the Council with members current as well as past. It has been a great experience, and I have a greater appreciation for the job Superintendent Bertolacci does. It is a lot to keep up with and also thinking about all the programs and opportunities which allows the recreation department to potentially branch off and go in different directions which is great. It has been an honor to serve and I enjoyed it. As far as the basketball goes, if you want me to stay involved with that, I would be happy to do it. Chairman Zimmerman asked if anyone wanted to add any comments. Committee Member Gutner said he would miss Debbie for her outspokenness, the first one to jump up in a cause, you represented the committee no matter what it was and Steve I will miss your leadership. You have done a good job. Chairman Zimmerman asked if Steve and Debbie would come to the May meeting as out-going members of the committee. Chairman Zimmerman stated that, on behalf of the members and community, he wanted to thank Debbie and Steve as handsome, dedicated, smart, funny, community minded, level headed and not so level headed people who always were looking out for the best interest of this Village. Chairman Zimmerman questioned whether it is best to take 2 long standing members off the council in favor of 2 brand new members due to their historical knowledge, but change also is good. Chairman Zimmerman said that both Steve and Debbie have such a wealth of knowledge, and are good people who the committee is going to miss. 8 1112674.1 VII. Adjournment Chairman Zimmerman asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Gutner made the motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Members Tempesta and Schoen seconded the motion and all approved. The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will be held on May 4, 2010 at 8:30pm, Village Hall. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick 9 1112674.1