Town Of Redding
REDDING, CONNECTICUT 06875
Redding Park and Recreation – Meeting Minutes
Date: July 26, 2004
Town of Redding, Connecticut
PRESENT: Chairperson-Siobhan Streams; Joe Ventricelli, Paul Degener, Charlie Fields,
Joe Dolan, Dan Carter, Steve di Costanzo.
GUESTS: Jay Contessa
STAFF: Rob Blick, Director; Debbie Clark, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m.
The minutes from April 26th were approved after revising them to include Mr. Ventricelli and Mr. Dolan as also attending the meeting with Natalie Ketcham and to reflect that Dan Carter was also present at the May Park and Rec. Commission Meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT/LETTERS/CORRESPONDENCE:
· An unleashed dog jumped on Mr. Blick at Topstone Park. The resident became irate when Mr. Blick reminded her of the dog leash rule.
· The bike rack at Topstone is being used to hold the boats. Someone commented about there not being a rack for the bikes there so Mr. Blick had the one from the Community Center moved to Topstone. He will get a smaller one for the RCC as it is not used very much there.
· A resident and his child were swimming at Topstone when it was not officially open. There was swim testing going on and he was asked to get out of the water as the park was closed and there was no lifeguard on duty.
He was very irate and came into the office the following day. Laura Anderson tried to explain to him the safety issues involved as well as the need to follow the rules. He was very unreasonable and left the office still very angry.
DIRECTORS REPORT: While the RES fields are closed this school year for renovation, Mr. Degener suggested that the RES gym classes alternate between the RCC fields rather than overusing one field.
COMMUNITY CENTER BUILDING COMMITTEE: There was no discussion.
JBHS BUILDING COMMITTEE LIAISON/ATHLETIC FIELDS COMMITTEE: It is clear that JBHS does not have enough fields for their own needs. There was much discussion about the poor condition of the existing fields, due to over use and low upkeep. What can be done to make more fields available?
Jay Contessa made a presentation about putting artificial turf on the stadium field at JBHS and redoing the stands and lighting there. It would be a $650,000 project. He proposed a self-sustaining Falcon Pride Foundation involving fund raising. He also discussed the idea of fixing an additional field and having a bubble over it.
COMMUNITY CENTER STEERING COMMITTEE: There was no discussion.
FINANCE COMMITTEE/BUDGET: Mr. Fields briefly summarized the budget report.
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE: There was no discussion.
TOPSTONE PARK ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE: There was discussion about perhaps having more signage at the park. Mr. Blick will discuss this further with the Topstone Enhancement Committee. The basketball court will get a new backboard but the blacktop will not need to be resurfaced. However, Mr. di Costanzo said we did order a stencil kit to redo the lines. The suggestion was also made to put some sort of chalk board behind the lifeguard chair. It would be fun for the kids.
ORGANIZATION/PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: There was nothing to report.
GYM FLOOR COVERING COMMITTEE: There was not a ribbon cutting for the gym floor covering on June 23rd at the JRMS graduation as hoped. The principle at JRMS felt that it would detract from the kids graduating. Instead it will be done some time during the week before or the week of the Mark Twain Library Book Fair.
COMMUNITY CENTER GROUNDS COMMITTEE: The building of the shed was discussed. Ms. Streams received a cc of a letter sent to Ms. Ketcham from Willie Roman. Mr. Roman feels that there is too much trash left on the fields by user groups. Mr. Blick reviewed the issue and has put new signs up indicating ‘Pack it in – Pack it out.’
WEBSITE COMMITTEE: The new computers were brought into the Park and Rec. office on Monday June 26th.
Meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.
Recording Secretary: Debbie Clark
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