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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024_01_16 Recreation Commission Minutes TOWN OF MAMARONECK RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 16, 2024 PRESENT: James Druker, Chairman Graham Gutter William Paonessa Susan Sigel Brian Welsh Darren Moss EXCUSED: Jeffery King, Town Board Liaison ALSO PRESENT: Jill Fisher, Superintendent of Recreation Vicky Laoutaris, Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Eileen Puleo, Commission Secretary Joyce Mackler, Commission Secretary CALL TO ORDER: The meeting held at the Senior Center; 1288 Boston Post Road was called to order at 7:04 P.M. by Chairman Druker. ACCEPTANCE OF MEETING MINUTES: On a motion by William Paonessa, seconded by Commissioner Sigel, the Meeting Minutes of December 12, 2023, were unanimously approved as amended. PRESENTATION BY MAMARONECK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: FIELD SCHEDULING APPLICATION Mamaroneck High School students, Jackson Avery, Theo Morkin, Owen Master, and Henry Norman made a presentation on a field usage and scheduling application they created for their school O.C.R.A. (Original, Civic, Research, and Action) project. This app was created out of a need they identified within the community to centralize field scheduling and to make field scheduling easier. According to the students, this app can help ensure that all fields are being utilized to their full potential. Only approved schedulers and users will have access and all users will be able to see the master schedule of scheduled fields. Approved field users will have the ability to relinquish time and make switches amongst themselves through the messaging feature. Current field schedulers include the Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Larchmont, and Mamaroneck High School Athletics. Chairman Druker inquired what the Village of Larchmont was contributing. According to the students, The Village of Mamaroneck is currently not involved because they use their own scheduling software and the only user group that uses their fields is the Larchmont Mamaroneck Football League. The students hope to get the Village of Mamaroneck to participate in the future. Commissioner Sigel reiterated the need that this be a coordinated effort between the municipalities and school district. Commissioner Moss inquired who would be responsible for maintaining the system and covering its expenses. The students informed the Commission that they will continue to oversee the platform until they graduate in 2025 and have reached out to Fields for Kids to assume responsibility, financing, and oversight in the future. The students also stated that new users can be added at any time as more field space becomes available. They plan to roll this out in time for the 2024 fall season. Town of Mamaroneck Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 — Page 2. Members of the Commission commended the students for their efforts and thanked the students for their hard work. RESUME TABLED DISCUSSION REGARDING USE OF THE CARPINO-STEFFENS FIELDS THIS WINTER: Hommocks Middle School students, Oliver Berman and Bryce Bernstein attended the meeting as a follow up to last month's discussion on winter usage of the fields for recess. Also in attendance was Ms. Nicole Fiftal, Hommocks Middle School PTA Co-President and parents of students. Ms. Fisher reviewed the letter from Kevin Malone, Landtek, reiterating his concerns about the use of the fields during the winter months. Ms. Fiftal inquired if it would be possible to have access to a small triangular space of grass located off of the playing surface adjacent to the perimeter fence. This area would easily be accessible for the students and is off the actual playing field surface. Ms. Fiftal feels that use of this area would not cause any harm or damage to the actual fields and that the school principal would be willing to pay for a temporary fence. Commissioner Moss inquired as to the number of students that would utilize this area at a time and expressed concern that this area is typically very muddy. Ms. Fiftal explained that they would limit the number of students and would monitor the weather and ground conditions. Only a fraction of the students would use it during three lunch periods a day. Commissioner Paonessa expressed his concerns for the grass and that if they are using the fields in the winter, it would impact the sports teams use in the spring. Commissioner Sigel suggested that there should be more maintenance and would like to know what the cost and time would be to bring the fields back to a good condition. Commissioner Sigel suggested re-visiting the use of Flint Park. According to Ms. Fiftal, there is a supervision issue due to the distance to Flint Park. Chairman Druker expressed his concerns about allowing use of the fields during the winter but feels that if an area off the playing surface can be established, then we should try and make an accommodation. On a motion by Commissioner Gutter, seconded by Chairman Druker, the Commission unanimously approved to allow the Hommocks Middle School access to a triangular shaped piece of property off the playing surface under the following conditions: -To be used during the hours of 11 :00am — 1:00pm for the sole purpose of recess. -A removable fence must be provided, installed, and maintained by the school district. -The grass is not to be used during rainy or adverse conditions. -Establish a point person to make decisions on usage and secure the entry gate daily. -Provide a valid Certificate of Insurance. -Will be subject to closure due to regularly scheduled maintenance. -The Recreation Commission retains the right to rescind this arrangement if necessary. SUPERINTENDENT'S UPDATE: Ms. Fisher reported the following: 1 . Many of our winter session programs have begun. 2. Enclosed is a copy of the January Newsletter. 3. The winter session of Swim Lessons began on January 6th and has a current enrollment of 108. 4. Session 3 of Skating School began on January 4th and has a current enrollment of 387. Town of Mamaroneck Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 — Page 3. SUPERINTENDENT'S UPDATE CONTINUED: 5. We currently have 94 enrolled in our winter session of Recreation House Hockey. 6. Enclosed for your review is the December 2023 Hommocks Park Ice Rink Daily Visit Report. The ice rink was very busy over the holiday season. General admissions totaled $66,162 between the dates of Friday, December 22nd — Monday, January 1st 7. Enclosed are photos from the Skate with Santa, and Breakfast with Santa held on December 9th 8. We are offering a winter session in Lifeguarding, which currently has 10 enrolled. 9. M.Y.H.A. hosted their charity hockey game featuring NY Rangers alumni on Saturday, January 6th, 2024. The evening was a success and M.Y.H.A was presented with a check for $70,000. 10.We are working on the spring/summer brochure, which we will self-publish again this season. We hope to have the brochure available by the end of February. 11.Enclosed is a copy of the Request for Proposal: Consultant Design Services- Hommocks Pool Complex. 12.Enclosed is a copy of the Request for Proposal: Upgrades of HVAC Systems- Hommocks Park Ice Rink. 13.Kathy Flynn, Recreation Assistant at the Senior Center retired on January 4th We want to wish her the best of luck in her retirement. Stephanie Hart, Senior Center Director, is currently still on maternity leave. 14.We are researching various options such as shade sails that would provide shade to the Memorial Park Playground. We hope to have a few recommendations and proposals to share by this spring. 2024 RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING DATES: On a motion by Chairman Druker, the Commission unanimously adopted the following meeting dates for 2024: January 16th February 6th March 12th April 9th May 14th June 11th July 9tn August 6th September 10th October 8th — Budget Meeting November 12th December 10th** ** At the Hommocks Park Ice Rink All meetings will begin at 7:00 P.M. at the Senior Center, 1288 Boston Post Road in Larchmont, except where noted. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, on a motion by Chairman Druker, seconded by Commissioner Paonessa, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 P.M.