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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-06-02 - 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 2, 2009 CONVENE MEETING: Chairman Marc Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 8:35pm The following members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Marc Zimmerman, Jeffrey Kornblum, Ken Frankel, Glenn Brettschneider, Steve Schoen, Kevin O'Neil, Richard Gutner Absent Council Members: Sari Jablon, Debra Tempesta Parks & Recreation Advisory Council Liaison: Michael Brown, Village of Rye Brook Trustee Recreation Department Members Present: Robert Bertolacci, Parks and Recreation Superintendent I. Minutes: Chairman Marc Zimmerman asked for a motion to approve the Minutes for May 2009. Committee Member Brettschneider made a motion to approve the May 2009 Minutes and Committee Member Frankel seconded the motion. Committee Member Gutner abstained from voting and all the remaining members approved. Il. Public View Points The were no members of the public present III. Superintendent's Report a. Birthday Celebration Superintendent Bertolacci reminded the Advisory Council that the celebration was scheduled for Saturday June 20th from 12-4pm at Crawford Park. At this time, there will be a charge of$3 for food. Trustee Michael Brown mentioned that he had thought that the fee was not actually $3 but more like $2 and the fee was not necessarily going to come about. Superintendent mentioned that he was working on a couple of event sponsors (Steiner Sports and Last Licks). If those two sponsors come to fruition there would be no need to charge for food. B. Travel Softball Superintendent Bertolacci updated the Council that at the present time, there are not enough girls for any summer teams. As it exists, we should have Fall softball for all ages. Committee Member Schoen suggested that we open it up to non Little Leaguers that fit the age parameters. Some names were mentioned like Olivia Brettschneider, Haley Alexander and others. Janice 1 will follow up with some phone calls to try and muster up some interest in summer travel softball. C. Scholarships Chris Bradbury, myself and Michael Brown will be reviewing all requests for scholarships. Each requestor must fill out an application which states that they are residents, how long they live within the Village and why they deserve a scholarship. There will be a maximum of 2 scholarships for camp this season. After camp we will reevaluate the process and decide whether or not to institute the same for other programs. IV. Empty Town Fields: Chairman Zimmerman addressed the issue that some community members have questioned the policy concerning whether residents may use empty town fields,particularly the King Street turf field, without a permit. Superintendent Bertolacci explained the policy prohibiting groups of more than four individuals from using fields without a permit is to prevent the unauthorized use of town fields by non-resident groups and avoid the wear and tear of field use without generating revenue from such use. The Rye Brook Police Department is instructed to enforce the policy. Superintendent Bertolacci indicated that the policy is to prevent organized team or group use of Rye Brook residents without a permit and group use by non-Rye Brook residents (e.g., soccer games by residents of neighboring towns), but not intended to prevent spontaneous pick up games or walk-on recreational use by Rye Brook youths. Superintendent Bertolacci indicated that the policy is enforced most often at the King Street turf field. Chairman Zimmerman stated that the policy, as presently in effect, technically would prohibit families of five or a group of three kids and their parents from throwing a ball around on the King Street or other Rye Brook fields. He expressed a concern that if the policy was strictly enforced, residents would be precluded from all non-permit recreational use of the fields (the other members of the Council agreed that such enforcement of the policy would need to be addressed). Superintendent Bertolacci stated that the Recreation Department had not received any community complaints that Rye Brook residents were being "thrown off' town fields. The Council informally agreed to keep an eye on the issue going forward, but that at the present time, it did not warrant a formal recommendation to the Board of Trustees concerning the policy. Chairman Zimmerman specifically noted it would be difficult to craft a policy that would allow the non-permit use of the fields for some purposes but not others, that the policy, as presently enforced, appears to address the concerns of the Recreation Department without being a major inconvenience to the community. V. Recreation Activity Coaching a. more uniform practices and schedules Chairman Zimmerman addressed the issue of creating a more uniform approach to coaching recreation programs. While all coaches should be commended for their willingness to give their time and effort to the children, it is apparent that some children benefit from better coaching and 2 vice versa. Chairman Zimmennan suggested that the Recreation Department send out notifications to coaches concerning particular weekly fundamental skills that should be emphasized (e.g., for baseball/softball: base running, throwing, positioning etc.) This ensures that children are gaining instruction as opposed to simply being placed in game situations -- particularly among the younger children. Coaches should schedule uniform practice dates well in advance, and inform parents of such dates. Committee Member Komblum stated that he fully agreed with everything Chairman Zimmerman was saying, and thought that coaches should be given some instruction in a clinic format(as had been done in the past with certain sports) to ensure proper fundamentals. Committee Member Frankel said that suggestion was "right on". Superintendent Bertolacci stated that the Recreation Department suggests to coaches that they work on different fundamentals each week and would look into giving more direction to specific skills to address at practices. VI. Recreation Council Scope Chairman Zimmerman suggested that this item be tabled to the next council meeting VII Old Business a. Community Center— tabled b. Little League— metal vs wood bats—tabled VIII New Business Committee Member Gutner brought to the attention of the council that the school district has cut out the number of modified program that they will be hosting. Therefore there will be less kids given the opportunity to play a given sport. Superintendent Bertolacci said he was well aware of the situation and that he would meet with Athletic Director Spano and come up with a plan to accommodate these kids with some activities whether they be intramural or leagues. IX Adjournment A motion was made by Committee Member Gutner and seconded by Committee Member Frankel and all approved. The meeting was adjourned at 10:02pm 3