2005-11-12
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Parks and Recreation Commission
Subcommittee:
Date: November 12, 2005
Place: G.A.R. Hall, 8 Dane Street
Board members present: Mark Casey, Bill Collins, Jack O’Neil, Gary Lambert, Dave Gardner, Patty
Adams
Board members absent: Arthur Powell, Mike Gaudette
Others present:RecreationDirector Bruce Doig, Asst. to the Director Joscelyn Ruelle-Kersker
This special meeting was called to continue discussions on the proposal for off-leash areas.
The meeting began by reviewing the documents that were distributed by Dave Gardner and Bill Collins.
Bill’s document was an edited version of Dave’s document. After trying to discuss and compare both
documents, it was decided to begin discussing criteria for each area. Before discussing criteria, the list of
categories was reviewed and it was decided that there are actually five categories instead of four. The
categories agreed upon are:
A. Dog-Free parks
B. On-Leash parks (fulltime)
C. On-leash parks (limited hours – similar to current ordinance limitations)
D. Off-leash parks (existing parks)
E. Off-leash parks (non-existing parks, dedicated off-leash areas)
Discussed many criteria for the four categories that were established at the November 3, 2005 meeting.
Criteria to be considered includes location, fencing, proximity to a school, proximity to neighbors, public
feedback, size, amenities (water, lights, trash, parking), playing fields, current usage (summer park
program, league use etc), beach, and geographical distribution. After discussion, the list of criteria was
narrowed down to:
1. School property (proximity to schools) – Requires School Department approval?
2. Proximity to neighbors
3. Feedback from public
4. Playing fields located at the park
5. Amenities (including water, lighting, parking, trash)
6. Fencing (Is the area fenced or not?)
7. Playgrounds located at the park
8. Beaches located at the park
9. Geographical Distribution (Located within walking distance?)
10. Current Usage (Size of park, Staffed by Recreation Department in summer, Seasonal use, other
uses?)
11. Gardens located at the park
The discussion then shifted to assigning these 11 criteria to each of the five categories identified earlier.
The discussion started with identifying criteria for Dog-Free parks (Category A). During this discussion, a
few criteria were also assigned to dedicated Off-Leash parks (Category E)
The following criteria were assigned to these types of parks (based on numbering above):
Dog-Free Parks – 1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 7*, 8*, 9, 10, 11*
NOTE – The criteria listed with asterisks may be flexible depending on each parks’ situation. It was agreed
that every park would need to be evaluated individually.
Off-Leash Parks (non-existing parks) – 5, 6
At this point, time ran out and it was agreed to continue the assignment of criteria to other categories at
the next meeting where this topic is on the agenda. It was agreed that this topic would not be on the
December agenda, but possibly in January.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted
Gail Carmody, Recreation Department