Recreation Committee, September 9, 2014
Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes
September 9, 2014
Starbard Building
Members Present: Lisa Post, Erin O’Neil Bradbury, Melissa Staiti, Robin Grady, Nancy Owens
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Denise Morano, Recreation Director
Dee Anne Grebinar, Recording Secretary
Lisa called the Recreation Committee meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
MINUTES: A motion was made by Lisa and seconded by Erin to accept the minutes of the May 13, 2014 meeting. The minutes of May 13, 2014 were approved unanimously.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
PROGRAMS:
Summer:
Denise handed out a packet of general information about the summer. She went over the numbers regarding pool attendance, passes sold, number of registered program participants and revenue, etc. Denise commented that the weather kept the attendance numbers lower than last year, but we still welcomed more than 40,300 people to the pool. We had more participants in the classes and programs, and the responses from the parents were very positive. They appreciate the attention and instruction the staff gives to the children. Denise commented that registration numbers for the individual basketball and games galore classes are still low, but the half day programs participate in both of these activities, so she still needs to offer and staff both classes. Robin and Melissa mentioned how fabulous the staff is at the programs (both summer and school) ~ that they are kind and patient, that they really seem to enjoy their jobs and that they develop wonderful relationships with the children. Melissa asked if we had ever considered offering scholarships to staff members and Denise said that she would never be able to choose one staff member over another, since she feels they are all so dedicated. She feels very fortunate to have such a wonderful group of young, dedicated people teaching these classes. Members of the committee commented on what a diligent job the lifeguards did, even making sure parents were watching and were close by to their young children while they were in the water. Nancy asked if all the lifeguards will be returning next year and Denise said hopefully they will, since they were a young and enthusiastic group.
At the close of the summer 2013 season, Denise had the lap pool recaulked with a marine strength adhesive sealant. Unfortunately, at the start of this season, several large strips of the caulking peeled away from the joints. Last week she had the company redo the caulking, at their expense. She will no longer be using this business for any pool repairs.
Denise mentioned that the pool was closed one Friday this summer due to the water test being contaminated. A new test was done immediately and the water was fine.
Erin asked if there was any activity at Eagle Lake and Robin said she had been there recently and that the beach looked cleaner. Denise said she thinks that some people take their dogs there and the dogs are keeping the geese away. The water is tested every week during the summer and there were no problems there.
There were no injuries at the pool this summer.
The pools will be covered this week, once the winterizing is completed.
Before/After School Progams
Registration began Friday, August 1 and we had reached maximum capacity by day’s end at Mayo and Davis Hill. At this time, some children have been moved from the wait lists to the active rosters, but we still have waiting lists.
Davis Hill – 52 AM and 52 PM (wait list 9 AM and 10 PM)
Mayo- 51 AM and 52 PM (wait list 20 AM and 3 PM)
Dawson– 29 AM and 51 PM
The total number of children we care for on a daily basis is 288. There are 28 more children enrolled at the start of this year than there were for the first week of school last year. Denise hired 9 new staff members to fill the vacancies of our graduating seniors and she also likes to have at least one extra person at each site. Our Department of Early Childhood and Care license dictates that the ratio of staff to children must be 1:13, but Denise likes to have more staff than what is actually required.
The licensor from the Department of Early Education and Care will be coming on September 16th to review children’s files, staff files, inspections, etc. and to visit both Dawson and Davis Hill schools to renew the licenses to operate the Before and After School Programs.
Adult Programs
A copy of the fall 2014 adult classes and a flyer regarding the Hatha Yoga classes are attached. The current registrations are: Hatha Yoga ~ Tuesday and Thursday mornings 30 registered; CCYO (cardio, core toning and yoga) ~ Thursday evenings 11 registered; Tai-Chi/Chi-Gong ~ Thursday evenings 3 registered; Re-Shape ~ Tuesday evenings 15 registered; Yoga for Every “Body” ~ Thursday evenings 12 registered. Women’s volleyball and Men’s basketball drop-in programs begin Thursday, September 25th.
MISCELLANEOUS:
All fields were released for play on August 30th. Lisa asked how the field assignments went, since there was a shortage of fields due to fields being unavailable at Mountview. Denise said the league directors were very accommodating and easy to work with, as they were willing to share space with each other.
Comments were made about how well the CRA building has been developed for indoor batting and sports activities. Information can be found on the Holden Baseball web site.
The former police station is going to be the new home of the Recreation Department, hopefully, by the end of October. Denise has had discussions with several people who are interested in running programs. Nothing can be finalized until we actually move in, however. Denise mentioned all classes will be held in the new building once we have moved in. Melissa asked if there was a possibility we would have weekend classes, and Denise said there will be a huge potential for classes once we have our own space. Lisa asked who is doing the work in the building and Denise said independent contractors and the DPW and prisoners (from Sheriff Lew Evangelidis’ program) are doing the painting.
Santa’s arrival to town: mark your calendars for Saturday, December 6th at 5:00p.m. The Committee members questioned if we would be getting involved with the Winter Festival committee and Denise said no, we would be doing what we had done last year. There was some discussion about starting to prepare the popcorn earlier this year.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
The next Recreation Committee meeting will be held on October 14, 2014 @ 7:00 p.m. at the Starbard Building.