Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes - June 29, 2017
TOWN OF SIMSBURY – CULTURE, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION –
Subject to Vote of Approval – Special Meeting Minutes – Thursday, June 29, 2017
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in the main meeting room of town hall by David Bush, Chairman. Other commission members who were present included Gerry Wetjen, Kelly Kearney, Dennis Fallon, Sarah Cramer and Gerry Post. The C. P. & R. Director, Gerry Toner, was also in attendance.
Minutes of Previous Meeting
No changes were made to the April 27, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes. Mr. Bush declared the minutes approved, and requested that they be put on record.
Meadow Pond Park - Proposal
Mr. Toner shared that Meadow Park Pond is a town-owned park on Hedgehog Lane. It was used as a swimming pond prior to the early 90’s, when it got infested with geese. The pavilion near the swimming area is currently in disrepair, and has become a hang-out spot that is difficult to monitor. He is recommending that the structure be knocked down, the slab taken out, and the area be seeded for a lawn. A dumpster will need to be rented, but the demolition work can be done by P & R staff with an excavator from the golf course. Sometime in the future, a new pavilion will be placed in a more central area of the park. There was no official vote, but the entire commission agreed with Mr. Toner’s proposal for the pavilion’s removal.
Friends of Simsbury Farms – Report
Mr. Wetjen reported that the Friends have a little more than $29,400 to date, which includes funds raised from this year’s golf tournament. $4,500 of that is from matching contributions. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the idea to send a 5-question survey about a short-game golf practice facility to the entire C. P. & R e-mail list, instead of just to the SF golf e-mail list. He felt that a survey about a golf-specific structure would not be well understood by non-golfers. To include more SF users in a discussion about how the Friends’ funds should be spent, the FoSF board will invite ‘stakeholders’ to its meeting at least once a year. Stakeholders will be representatives from all the sports groups which use SF throughout the year. The first meeting of this kind is being planned for this September or October. At its next meeting, the board will review Mr. Kearney’s proposal for a basketball court to be built at SF. Mr. Toner estimated that the total project cost, including drainage, would be around $80K to $100K. Mr. Wetjen encouraged Mr. Kearney to be the ‘champion’ of the project by coordinating fund raising and volunteer support. The commission discussed how the court could be used by adult leagues and for summer camps.
Golf Course / Summer Programs – Report
Golf Course. Mr. Toner distributed two reports for the golf course. The first was a 1-page spreadsheet which compares 16 years of greens fees and rounds from March to December of 2000 through 2017. Figures were collected through June 28, 2017. The second report, titled “Simsbury Farms Golf Course Revenue Comparison: July 1 – June 27,” compared gross revenues from FY 2015-16 with FY 2016-17. Mr. Wetjen mentioned that it was difficult to get accurate numbers from the EZ-Link software system because there are not enough categories. The golf course may transition to a new system in another year. Revenues for golf course specials have been down over the last two years, except for those offered through Group On. Greens fees and season pass revenues were significantly lower in FY 2016-17. Mr. Toner attributes much of this to the weather. He acknowledged that play is good when the weather is favorable. This rainy spring discouraged early season play. In addition, there seem to be fewer individuals joining golf leagues and playing multiple rounds. However, Junior season passes and Friday Night Couples specials have been selling well. Mr. Wetjen proposed a new text marketing strategy in which a firm would text golfers tee times that would be available at SF in the next 24 hours. If golfers reserved open tee times within an hour of receiving the text, a discount off regular rates would be given. Commission members were interested in pursuing this new strategy.
Summer Programs. Mr. Toner distributed a 1-page report titled, “Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund: Revenue Comparison,” which show numbers for FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17 as of June 28, 2017. While rink and tennis court revenues were higher in FY 2016-17, recreation and camp programs as well as swimming lessons, daily swim fees and concession sales were lower. Mr. Wetjen acknowledged that when the economy is good, more families go away on vacation. When it is not good, they invest in local camp and recreation programs. Ms. Cramer also suggested that Hopmeadow and Tower Ridge Country Clubs may have taken away some of our pool and golf business this year. Hopmeadow C.C. placed family-focused spring display ads in several local papers. She acknowledged that the rules about having food and drink on their pool decks are more permissive. Their pools are also open more often, and longer into the evening because they do not host swim meets. Mr. Kearney recommended that the P & R Department launch a big springtime, multi-media (digital and local paper) marketing campaign to promote next year’s summer programs. He suggested emphasizing what is new, what is not to be missed, and what has been improved.
Capital Projects – Update
The second phase of the Simsbury Farms pool project went to referendum and passed. Plans from the architect have been reviewed. It will go out to bid next week. Once a bid is approved, he would like work to begin shortly after Labor Day. For this season, improvements were made to the main pool’s drainage system. The second phase would focus on the main pool’s vessel, filters, pumps and diving wall. Park improvements include: 1. Resurfacing the Rotary Park playground on Ironhorse Boulevard while also coordinating the installation of a new firetruck piece which is being donated by the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department. An equipment washdown are will also be added to the park/ golf course maintenance facility.
Eagle Scout Project – John Cody
Since Mr. Cody, of Troop 76, could not be present for this rescheduled C. P. & R. Commission meeting, Mr. Toner presented his proposed Eagle Scout project. Mr. Cody is planning on refurbishing the basketball court at Town Forest Park. The YMCA-donated court has become overgrown, so Mr. Cody will trim back overgrowth, weed, and update the landscaping. In addition, he will seal cracks plus paint and refinish the back boards. Mr. Wetjen made a motion to approve John Cody’s proposed renovation of the Town Forest Park basketball court. Mr. Fallon seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Cody’s project has already been approved by the Board of Selectmen.
Old Business. Thirteen signs have been posted around town advertising the ‘Carry In – Carry Out’ trash removal policy which went into effect on July 1. Commission members inquired about progress on the new uniform town park signage, and asked that it be an agenda item at the next meeting. Mr. Toner reported that bids for the signs and improvements near the Ethel Walker Woods trail entrance at Town Forest Park came in over budget. Pricing will be re-examined to see where costs can be trimmed.
Adjournment
Mr. Wetjen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Fallon seconded the motion. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:41 p.m.
Next Meeting
The next Regular Meeting of the C. P. & R. Commission will take place on Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the main meeting room of town hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorrie McElligott, Commission Clerk