2008-02-07
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Parks and Recreation Commission
Subcommittee:
Date: February 7,2008
Place: Beverly Public Library
Board members present: Mark Casey, Bill Lowd, Jan Jefgood
Board members absent: Jack O'Neil, Mike Ralbovsky, Jeff Rubin, Brian Chirco
Others present: Recreation Director Bruce Doig
Meeting called to order at 7:15PM.
Minutes: The 1/3/08 meeting minutes could not be approved due to the lack of a quorum.
Communications/Correspondence: Resignation letter received from Patty Adams. Resignation email received
from Gary Lambert. The commission would like to thank Patty and Gary for their many years of service to the
commission.
Bruce distributed and discussed emails received from BARC about the proposed dog park and his response to
these emails.
Director's Report: Bruce discussed the following items during his report -
RECENT EVENTS:
Annual Field Summit - Was held January 31, 2008 with a small turnout. Bruce will be contacting groups
individually to get out information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Camp Registration - Registrations were scheduled to be drawn on Friday February 15th as a lottery again this
year.
2nd Annual New England Youth Sports Festival - February 22-24 @ Gillette Stadium will have training for kids
& adults.
INNOCENTI PARK / MCPHERSON YOUTH CENTER:
Outside work is on hold until the spring due to the snow and ice. Power has been restored to the building and the
hope is to have the building open for use in February.
FY 2008/2009 BUDGETS:
Enterprise Fund - Current balance of $111,000 before camp registrations.
City Budget - Bruce will be looking for additional funding in FY 2009 for minimum wage increase to $8.00.
LYNCH PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE / LYNCH PARK CARRIAGE HOUSE: LPAC has held several
fundraising committee meetings to get organized for major campaign. Meetings were held with Margo Casey and
Jack Good. The committee has also scheduled several events for this year including a wedding vow renewal
ceremony, Homecoming open house (David S. Lynch Appreciation Day) and a concert. Details to follow.
The LPAC is also looking to do additional temporary improvements to the carriage house to make it more usable
for functions and to meet the requirements of the Building Inspector.
FIELD PEMITS/MRPA YOUTH SPORTS COMMITTEE:
As part of the MRPA Youth Sports Committee Bruce has had meetings with the Central, Cape, South Shore and
Northeast MRPA regions. He is also planning to schedule meetings with the Metro West and Western regions this
spring. Several great discussions were held concerning issues identified by this MRPA committee.
The 2nd annual New England Youth Sports Festival is scheduled for February 22-24th at Gillette Stadium. Bruce is
hoping that many representatives and parents from Beverly youth organizations will attend this festival and several
of the outstanding training sessions for kids and adults. Cost is only $10 for adults all day ($3 discount coupon
available) and $20 for kids to attend 3 skill zones.
Beverly Parks & Recreation Commission - Public Meeting Minutes (continued)
One of the major issues identified by other communities deals with CORI checks. Due to changes in the state
requirements, Bruce would like to change the permit policy to state that all groups are required to
submit a copy of their CORI administrators certification letter from the state, a letter stating that all
volunteers have been CORI checked and a complete list of coaches in their program. Previously, the
groups were just required to send a letter stating all of their volunteers had been screened through the CORI
system.
BHS RENOVATIONS:
Mayor Scanlon has been pushing for 2 artificial turf fields at BHS when renovations are completed. One field
would be a stadium with lights and stands where the existing tennis courts are located. The other field will be
inside the existing track, possibly with lights.
PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT UPDATES / ADA ISSUES:
Bruce met with Art Daignault to discuss progress against the city's ADA Transition Plan. Art is working with Mike
Collins to get resources to begin working on the many items identified in the plan.
Lynch Park Swings - Bruce was meeting with Steve Dibble on 2/8/08 to review the work necessary for these
swings to be installed and to contact one of his installers. Work to be paid for by the Lynch Trustees.
Bessie Baker (5-12 structure) - Bruce received estimates for new equipment from two vendors. Waiting for
one more estimate. Will be deciding soon which vendor to go with. May have to put the project out to bid.
Cove Playground (2-5 & 5-12 structures) - Bruce received estimates for new equipment from two vendors.
Waiting for one more estimate. Project scheduled for fall 2008 or spring 2009.
MPHW /YMCA HEALTHY WEIGHT TASK FORCE:
Bruce attended a joint meeting between the MPHW and the North Shore Community Health Network on 2/7/08 in
Peabody to discuss healthy weight issues with other North Shore groups looking to address obesity issues.
Also, as part of the YMCA Healthy Weight Task Force, Bruce is meeting regularly with several people to start a
Beverly on the Move initiative to address healthy weight issues in Beverly. Bruce has worked with the YMCA to
schedule a elementary school track meet on April 1ih at BHS.
DOG PARK SUBCOMMITTEE:
Bruce has completed a draft plan for this dog park to present to National Grid for their approval. The committee
will discuss this draft at the meeting Monday night, 2/11. The committee would like to get some citizens involved
in this committee to help with the planning and implementation of this dog park. Some folks have already asked to
participate and others may be interested.
Bruce received a copy of an email that was sent to many BARC members, city councilors and Mayor Scanlon. After
meeting with Mayor Scanlon he responded to the email to answer the concerns that were addressed. Bruce
received a call from Wayne Miller on behalf of BARC and he would like to participate in these meetings. Bruce
made it clear in the email and in his conversation with Wayne that the only goal of this committee is to create the
park on Henderson Road and then to look at other possible dog parks in Beverly.
Mayor Scanlon would like to have another meeting with Chief Ray, Jim Lindley and Mike Collins to iron out details
regarding the dog park and other ordinance issues.
Assistant Director's Report: Bruce distributed copies of Joscelyn's report and discussed the items listed
including Summer Camp and Parks updates, Evening Enrichment updates and updates to the Bev Rec web site.
Long Range Planning: Mark handed out folders with information for the long-range planning discussions for our
next meeting.
Park Tour: It was decided that we should schedule a park tour for the commission sometime in March. Bruce will
try to schedule this tour at our March meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Bruce Doig
Director, Recreation Department