Town Of Redding
REDDING, CONNECTICUT 06875
Redding Park and Recreation – Meeting Minutes
Date: January 22, 2004
Town of Redding, Connecticut
PRESENT: Chairperson-Siobhan Streams; Charles Fields, Joe Ventricelli, Steve di Costanza, Tushar Shah.
STAFF: Rob Blick, Director; Debbie Clark, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting began at 7:35 p.m.
The minutes from December 18th were approved.
PUBLIC COMMENT/LETTERS/CORRESPONDENCE
· Mr. Blick and Ms. Streams received two letters from residents who are opposed to the plans for building fields on the Couch Hill Preserve. At the time that the town purchased the property it was clear that it was not meant to be protected open space.
DIRECTORS REPORT:
There were no questions. Ms. Streams took this time to share a concern that Mr. Degener had shared with her. Due to the winter weather and all that it brings, when the children come in to play basketball on Saturdays their sneakers are bringing dirt and salt into the gym. This makes for a slipping hazard. There was no custodian last Saturday which made it worse than usual. Ms. Streams asked that there always be a broom left out and that the gym is regularly swept, perhaps by the referees, in between games.
JBHS BUILDING COMMITTEE LIAISON: There was no discussion.
COMMUNITY CENTER STEERING COMMITTEE: There have been no meetings. Putting pads on the gym doors have been a priority and it has been completed.
FINANCE COMMITTEE/BUDGET: There was no discussion.
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE: There was no discussion.
TOPSTONE PARK ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE: Joe Ventricelli and Steve di Costanza are new members to this committee. There are issues that periodically come up that Mr. Blick will appreciate their input on. Perhaps the Boy Scouts will again help out with keeping the trails clean as well as getting the trails more clearly marked. They had put some signs up years ago but somebody took them done.
ORGANIZATION/PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: There was no discussion.
ATHLETIC FIELDS COMMITTEE: There were many in attendance at the January meeting who are opposed to fields being put on the Couch Hill Preserve Property. The Fields Committee invited any who are concerned to join the committee.
GYM FLOOR COVERING COMMITTEE/MARK TWAIN BOOK FAIR: Mr. di Costanza updated an
E-mail that he had sent to the library. It had contained some inaccurate information in regard to expenses incurred from the Mark Twain Book fair being held at the RCC. Ms. Streams made it clear that any estimate of extra expenses for the book fair should be given to the Selectmen to determine how the town will pay for it.
Storage for the gym floor covering continues to be an issue. The suggestion was to use the current storage unit at the RCC temporarily until we get more storage. It will need to be rodent proof. The Commission is not sure how practical it is to get the rack for the covering now. The idea is to possibly wait. More information will be gotten.
COMMUNITY CENTER GROUNDS COMMITTEE: Mr. di Costanza and Mr. Blick met with Ms. Ketcham and Mr. Cardillo to clarify the handing over of responsibility of the fields. An agreement was made to use
$ 5000.00 from the building committee’s money to see that some required remedial work on the fields gets done. Mr. Blick should make it known that there will always be ongoing maintenance. He is hoping to be able to open the fields in the spring. Ms. Streams commended Mr. Blick and Mr. di Costanza for doing such a great job in finding out what is needed on the fields and making a messy situation better.
BUSES FROM JRMS: Ms. Streams suggested that maybe we could get a sponsorship for a bus that will bring children from JRMS to RCC, CCD, and perhaps another stop or two. Maybe we could get sponsors from Georgetown that also have activities for the middle school age group. Mr. Blick suggested a trial in the spring. Perhaps one day a week could have activities planned for this age group with a bus dropping them off. Mr. Blick will come up with some ideas.
BUDGET: The budget will be presented to the Selectman at the Town Hall on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
Meeting ended at 8:55 pm. Recording Secretary: Debbie Clark
| 
