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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-15 - 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 September 15, 2009 CONVENE MEETING: Chairman Marc Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 8:l Opm The following members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Marc Zimmerman, Jeffrey Kornblum, Ken Frankel, Debra Tempesta, Glenn Brettschneider, Steve Schoen, Kevin O'Neil, Richard Gutner, Sari Jablon Absent Council Members: Recreation Department Members Present: Robert Bertolacci, Parks and Recreation Superintendent Cannella Swick, Sr. Office Assistant Rye Brook Residents: Dr. Richard Buzin, Robert Becker I. Minutes: Chairman Zimmerman asked for a motion to approve the Minutes for June 2, 2009. Committee Member Jablon made a motion to approve the June 2, 2009 Minutes and Committee Member Kornblum seconded the motion. Committee Member Gutner abstained from voting and all the remaining members approved. II. Public View Points: a. Men's Basketball A public viewpoint was raised that the men's basketball was cut from 26 weeks to 16 weeks to the point where it is not worth joining. With 9 players signed up there isn't enough for a game. Normally there would be 20 to 25 men signed up and 12 to 15 men would show up each week. The program is starting a month later and ending 2 months earlier. Players are saying that it is not worth it and are going over to play at the YMCA or at BelleFair. Superintendent Bertolacci said that last year the Village Board had an issue with the men's basketball program and that the program cost the Village a lot of money even though there were 20 to 25 men signed up at $225.00 each. Robert Becker raised the opinion that the school is charging an outrageous amount for a janitor to open the school and they are trying to allocate the amount to the proper entity and it seems that it is all getting allocated to men's basketball even though the school is opened for other reasons. Most of the men in the program have played for many years and would like to understand why there is a price increase and the decrease in the number of weeks for playing. 1 1092922.1 Committee Member Gutner asked how many men signed up last year for the program. Superintendent Bertolacci said there were about 20 men signed up for the program. Superintendent Bertolacci said the billing from the school for use of the gym went from $15,000 to $18,000 last year because of the increased usage of the gym and high janitorial expenses. The Recreation Department cut the number of weeks of men's basketball in connection with the Village's goal to increase revenue and cut expenses. Superintendent Bertolacci said he has to account for the revenue and expenses in the budget. Committee Member Frankel said the cost for the gym on Sunday is $75.00 an hour with a 3 hour minimum. The program costs $235.00 per participant and the expense is $225 each week to open the gym. Therefore, the program can run roughly as many weeks as the number of men that sign up for the program. Mr. Becker said that when men's basketball is going on, there are other people in the building whose activities are being subsidized by the basketball program during the 4-month run in the school on Sunday mornings. If the program did not run on Sunday mornings, the building would not be open until 12:00 p.m., other people who need to get in the school will not be able to do so, and the school,janitors and Village lose the revenue. Dr. Buzin said for years there has been talk about the Village, Recreation and the school to get together to discuss school building usage Dr. Buzin said the 3 hour minimum is up for negotiation, and now would be the time to talk to the school before the new contract is signed. Superintendent Bertolacci said if any changes in fees were to be made for any program; it would have to go before the Village Board for approval. It would be helpful to him if we know how many additional men would sign up for the program. If we know this, the Board can make an educated decision if the program could run more than 16 weeks at that cost. Dr. Buzin stated that he would act as a facilitator if the Village, the Recreation Department and the School Board would like to meet to discuss the usage of the school premises. Chairman Zimmerman said a sub-committee would be set up to address this issue quickly and advise Superintendent Bertolacci. Committee Member Frankel would head this committee. The motion was put forth by Chairman Zimmerman and Committee Member Tempesta seconded the motion and all approved. Mr. Becker also raised the issue of playing time for Rec Basketball kids. He suggested that some coaches abide by the rules and some still do not, and that the Rec Department consider requiring coaches to acknowledge they must divide playing time so that each player plays half a game. This worked well for the Rec Baseball program by reminding coaches of the rule and requiring they sign a form acknowledging their understanding of the rule. A coach should not be able to coach if his form is not signed and on file. Chairman Zimmerman stated that during the basketball sub-committee meeting the sub- committee would draw up a form for the coaches to sign requiring that all players must play half 2 1092922.1 of the game. We also will advise the basketball referees about the rule so they can advise coaches pre-game. Committee Member Gutner suggested that we e-mail the form to the coaches before the draft and bring in the signed form the night of the draft. Chairman Zimmerman stated that when the basketball sub-committee meets they will discuss the specific form to be signed by each coach and each coach will abide by the rules and how to deal with the referees and coaches before each game. Regarding on-line registration for Fall programs, Chairman Zimmerman said he was aware that there was trouble with access to many programs between 9:30 (when the on-line registration started) and 9:45 or later. Although users had access to the recreation programs on line at 9:30 p.m., other contractor programs like soccer and tennis did not come on line until 9:43 or later. III. Superintendent's Report a. Travel Softball IOU and 12U Teams. Superintendent Bertolacci reported that there are two travel softball teams, 10U and 12U. The teams will play on the Westchester Softball League and the games will start this weekend. The games will be played on the Rye Brook Athletic Field. The cost of the program is $250.00 a player. b. Men's Basketball Men's basketball was discussed during Public View Points. c. Intramural—Jim Spano Superintendent spoke to Jim Spano, Athletic Director of the Blind Brook Middle School, during the summer and this past week and Mr. Spano and Superintendent Bertolacci were not concerned about the fall programs — particularly because there were not many kids cut from the school teams, and the Rec Department and Blind Brook offer many programs that filled the gaps. The Rec Department already has a basketball program for kids up to 9th grade. After 9th grade its JV and Varsity with the school. The big issue to keep an eye on will be the baseball program and the rest of the spring programs. One of the programs we may be able to offer is a spring Babe Ruth League. Chairman Zimmerman said we will keep watch to make sure no group of kids are left without appropriate programs. IV. Old Business a. Travel Baseball An issue was raised concerning whether the Rec Department should get involved in discussions about whether the Rye Brook Travel Baseball Club violated its by laws by cutting Rye Brook kids in favor of out of town kids. There was a provision in the club's by-laws stating that Rye Brook kids would have priority over non-Rye Brook residents. If that is the case, Rye Brook kids should have priority over non-Rye Brook kids, even if they are not as skilled. The club's by-laws state the attainment of exceptional athletic skill or the winning of games is secondary 3 1092922.1 and the molding of future citizens is of prime importance. Apparently, the club has cut Rye Brook kids in favor of non-residents despite these provisions. Committee Members stated their understanding that if the RBTBC takes players from another town, it is because they don't have enough kids to field a team. However, there are concerns that Rye Brook kids may not have enough opportunities to participate in travel baseball program if the club did not give preference to our residents when we do have enough Rye Brook kids to field a team. The question was raised whether the Rec Council has any authority in this regard. Superintendent Bertolacci stated that the RBTBC is required to have a public meeting and all these issues should be aired at this public meeting. Chairman Zimmerman said if there is an issue concerning the RBTBC, including accepting kids from other towns to the exclusion of Rye Brook kids, then we should give them the courtesy of inviting them to our meeting to listen to such issues— whether or not the Rec Department has any authority to change them. It was noted that the club is a private entity paying for use of Village fields, and could run its program however they see fit. Chairman Zimmerman noted that that the RBTBC was getting the same reduced rate for using our field in bulk as other programs do and the Village is getting increased revenue by the club using our fields. Chairman Zimmerman stated that the travel program considers itself a competitive elite program and looks for kids that are skilled enough to be in the program. Just because someone has played travel baseball before does not guarantee a roster spot in the future. Such issues are for the club's board. If the club's actions are inconsistent with their by-laws (whether by cutting a Rye Brook kid for an outside recruit or otherwise), or what the Rec Department and/or Village Board were told at the time they were handed the travel baseball program, that may be an issue for the Village Board. Chairman Bertolacci stated that after the Fall season, we can assess the information, get an objective opinion from the Council and have a productive meeting with the RBTBC concerning any issues that implicate Rec Department programming. Committee Member Gutner questioned why the Rec Department still is handling Travel Softball when one seat on the Board of the RBTBC is dedicated to Travel Softball. Superintendent Bertolacci said the club could not run it this year. b. Community Center: The topic of a Community Center was tabled for a later date. c. Little League Metal vs. Wood Bats Chairman Zimmerman said that the younger children in the travel baseball program play with metal bats. Committee Member Kornblum stated that his son plays in the 9U travel league and they don't make a wood bat light enough. Committee Member Gutner said that the WBA 12U and up league will use wood bats in the fall. Chairman Zimmerman said that it is more difficult to teach a younger child a proper swing with a wood bat because it is not properly weighted for a younger child who does not have enough strength to swing a wood bat as properly as a metal bat. 4 1092922.1 Superintendent Bertolacci said we will make a decision about wood bats vs. metal before the end of the year. Chairman Zimmerman said that we would gather the information on wood bats vs. metal and have a discussion at the November meeting. d. Recreation Council Scope: Chairman Zimmerman raised the issue of what the Rec Advisory Council may and may not do when we determine there is an issue with a recreation program, whether it is a coaching issue, the way a program is running, a parent issue or otherwise. Committee Member Gutner said that we cannot make resolutions but can recommend to Superintendent Bertolacci. Chairman Zimmerman stated we would not resolve the issue at this meeting, but that it is something we need to think about as a group. Obviously, if there is any issue that Superintendent Bertolacci needs our input on, he will let us know. That is what we are here for. Superintendent Bertolacci stated that we could have a meeting with the Board and talk about what they are comfortable with. What we need to do is discuss what you would like to be acting on and how you would like to act on it and see if it is consistent with the way the Board wants us to act on these issues. V. New Business: There was no New Business. VI. Adjournment: A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Committee Member Gutner and seconded by Committee Member Kornblum and all approved. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30pm The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting will be on October 6, 2009 at 8:00pm. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick. 5 1092922.1