MINUTES
CULTURE, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
AUGUST 28, 2003
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Culture, Parks & Recreation Commission was called to order at 7:35 P.M. Present were Chairman Linda Johnson, Commission Members, Maureen Celli, Noreen Kuziak, Mary Liljedahl, Chuck Nicol, Harry Ryan, and Director of CP&R Gerry Toner.
Also in attendance were Jim Larwood and Craig Hugel from the Simsbury Soccer Club.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES – 05/22/03
Maureen Celli made a motion, seconded by Noreen Kuziak, and passed unanimously to postpone the approval of the 5/22/03 minutes.
SIMSBURY SOCCER CLUB
It had been stated at the May CP&R Commission meeting by the Soccer Club that a proposal for a pavilion was in the works. The Soccer Club returned to the Commission to give an update and overview of the project.
Both men explained the proposal of a pavilion to be built at Curtis Field. This has been a long-time desire of the club to have a pavilion that is user friendly, can support equipment, and shelter players and spectators from inclement weather. It could also be used by outside towns using the fields.
Photos of the pavilion at Riverside Park in Hartford were shown to the Commission to show similar features/structures of what is being proposed for Simsbury. The structure would have a large open roof, and would be high and colonial looking in style. It would have concrete piers, footings and posts. The pavilion is expected to be approximately 24,000 square feet.
Currently the Soccer Club is in the process of getting an artist rendering of the pavilion, and will provide the Culture, Parks, & Recreation Commission a copy when it is complete. They will return at this time to give further details of the construction process and schedule.
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It was stated that a scheduled plan for construction would be sometime next year, and this would be considered “Phase I”. The pavilion will be built in a way that future administrators of the Soccer Club can build on or expand the pavilion if needed or desired.
Fundraising for the pavilion is being done with a need of approximately $30,000 for completion. The Soccer Club has already obtained $7,000-$8,000 of which $6,000 came from the Keith Johnson Trust Fund passed on by Tom Herlihy. Gerry Toner reported to the CP&R Commission that the Soccer Club has invested over $100,000 since 1987 toward capital improvements for the fields, etc.
A description of the Soccer Club was again given to the Commission explaining services, numbers of enrollment, travel teams, volunteer help, etc.
Chuck Nicol made a motion, seconded by Maureen Celli and passed unanimously that the CP&R Commission after hearing from Simsbury Soccer Club endorses the concept of an open pavilion, approximately 24,000 square feet, and part of a phased longer term project at Curtis Fields.
SIMSBURY CELEBRATES
Linda Johnson introduced Carol Brown to the Commission who is coordinating and working on the advertising/marketing for Simsbury Celebrates this year. Coupon books (500) were created again this year with a Table of Contents. They are being sold for $5.00 each with different businesses listed that will offer discounts to customers. There are 20 new businesses that are participating this year. These will be sold at Septemberfest in the Peoples’ Bank booth, and they will sell next weekend at the Library book sale in a booth provided by Main Street.
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CULTURE, PARKS, & RECREATION
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The Simsbury Celebrates flyer was given to each Commission member (ADDENDUM I), listing the activities for the evening of November 29th , the clubs and organizations that support the event, and how people can
volunteer. This flyer and the coupon book will be distributed at Septemberfest and various locations throughout Simsbury before November.
The event this year will run from 4:30-8:30 PM. Linda Johnson gave a general overview of the activities listed for the evening, and listed the added programs scheduled for this year. Two new activities will be held at the library geared toward adult entertainment, which are a jazz ensemble and a comedy act. These will occur at 8:45 PM. The Boy Scout Hall will hold a holiday market with approximately 12-15 vendors selling items. There will be an Adopt-A-Pet location, a climbing wall (weather permitting), the Camera Club giving away its calendars and taking pictures, the Garden Club providing up-lighting at Schultz Park, and the Simsbury Town Shops will be open and have reserved a double decker bus that will run from Phelps Lane to Iron Horse Blvd. and will have entertainment on it as well. The holiday sing will be located on Iron Horse Blvd. this year for a shorter time span with the fireworks immediately after.
Fundraising was discussed, and Linda Johnson said the budget of $13,000 for last year will be exceeded this year. Major contributors last year were EB, the Hartford, and Konover. Fireworks will cost its sponsor $3,000, Carol Brown is being paid $500 for her work, and all the clubs on the list are using their own money, volunteers, etc. Linda Johnson expects to stay on as Chairman of Simsbury Celebrates for one more year, but suggested next year the event would need three people to run it – a Chairman, Advertising person, and a Fundraiser. It was discussed and suggested by the CP&R Commission that these people should be paid for their services.
It was also discussed that job descriptions would be needed for these positions and SCTV would be a good source of advertising for the positions and volunteerism.
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The Commission agreed that next month they will discuss again the Simsbury Celebrates event and make a motion in respect to CP&R’s involvement in this town celebration.
REVENUE FUND/SUMMER PROGRAM REPORT
Due to time constraints a summary and discussion on this subject did not take place. However, all CP&R members received from Gerry Toner the reports on Golf Course Revenues, Golf Course Annual Income, Golf Course Annual Rounds, and Summer 2003 Camp Enrollment (ADDENDUM II).
OTHER BUSINESS
A copy of a letter received from a Simsbury resident was given to CP&R members by Gerry Toner (ADDENDUM III). The resident had expressed his concern over an incident that took place at the Golf Course while he was playing golf on the course with his son. A non-resident player became upset and behaved rudely and profane. It had been found in the Golf Course records this same non-resident had created a problem a few years back. At that time, a letter was issued to this non-resident stating if such behavior took place again at Simsbury Farms Golf Complex, his privilege to return and use the course would be revoked.
After a discussion about this subject a motion was made by the CP&R Commission. Chuck Nicol made a motion, seconded by Noreen Kuziak and passed unanimously to suspend permanently the privilege to play golf on a membership basis or as a single-day basis.
ADJOURNMENT
The CP&R Commission adjourned the meeting at 9:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted
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