Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes 11/29/2012 - draft

Culture, Parks, and Recreation Commission

Special Meeting

Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Apple Barn

MINUTES

I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by chairman, David Bush. Other present commission members included Harry Ryan, Gerry Wetjen, Frank Salls, Gerry Post and Marc Lubetkin. Gerry Toner, C. P. & R. Director, and Sean Askham, Selectman, were also present.

II. Minutes from Last Meeting
Mr. Lubetkin made a motion to approve the October 25, 2012 C, P, & R meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wetjen and was unanimously approved.

III. Old Business

Golf Course Restaurant RFP. The deadline for a request for proposal for a golf course concessionaire was last Thursday. Only one RFP was received. It was submitted by Manny Giarenakis, who currently runs Simsbury Pizza Family Restaurant in West Simsbury; the snack bar at Rockledge Golf Club in West Hartford; and banquets at St. Catherine of Siena church hall in West Simsbury. Mr. Giarenakis
met with Mr. Toner and the Golf Course RFP Subcommittee earlier today for an interview and a walk through the restaurant. He is very excited about the opportunity, and is willing to be an open-minded, hands-on, on-site owner. He submitted a 2-year proposal for an annual fee of $16,000 with $8,000 dedicated to utility costs, for a total of $24,000 per year. The committee felt that Mr. Giarenakis had ample experience in the restaurant business, good golf exposure at Rockledge, and enough banquet experience to be a great fit for Simsbury Farms. They were encouraged by his energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas. Mr. Toner noted that he wanted to keep the process moving forward with this vendor.

Mr. Wetjen made a motion to recommend that the Board of Selectman enter into a 2-year contractual agreement with Mr. Giarenakis, based upon his RFP, so that he may run the Simsbury Farms golf course restaurant during the 2013 and 2014 season. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion was unanimously passed.

Golf Course Improvements. Mr. Toner distributed a 1-page expense report of the Simsbury Farms golf course improvement project from September 2011 to November 2012. He noted that the majority of bunkers (29) have been completed at a cost of about $4,555 per bunker, for a total cost of a little over $132,000. Having Mike Wallace, golf course superintendent, do the work in-house saved the town $2,000+ per bunker. The partnership with Doug Beach, golf course designer, made the project a resounding success. While work still remains to be done—such as tee leveling, and tee box and fairway bunker renovations—much has been accomplished. Committee members mentioned the overwhelmingly positive feedback from golfers.

Golf Course Master Plan RFP. Mr. Toner reported that a classified ad / RFP for the Simsbury Farms Golf Course Master Plan was posted in the Hartford Courant today. He has also posted the RFP with the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Since the last meeting, a mission statement was added to the RFP, using exact wording from archived meeting minutes. The deadline for responses is January 8, 2013. Mr. Toner suggested that a subcommittee be formed to meet within the next two weeks to review RFP submissions and provide a status report for the January C. P. & R. Commission meeting. Mr. Wetjen, Mr. Bush and Mr. Toner agreed to be on the subcommittee. They recommended that Mike Wallace and John Verrengia also be included.

Simsbury Celebrates. Mr. Bush reported that Simsbury Celebrates was a great success, attracting the largest crowd to date. He credited the smooth-running event to the dedication and preparedness of the core volunteers and Taryn Rea, the town’s recreation supervisor. He also thanked all of the commission members who donated their time that night. The post event to-do list includes reviewing the numbers and finances, collecting data from distributed surveys and sending thank you notes to volunteers.

IV. New Business

At the January meeting, representatives from Paw Meadow Dog Park will present their annual report to the commission. The park was opened in May 2012.

Mr. Bush noted that the commission should start preparing the C. P. & R. budget in December, as the Board of Selectmen (BOS) starts its budget process in mid-January. Mr. Post reported that the Simsbury Farms Complex Subcommittee will be meeting in December to discuss golf and pool fees.

Mr. Askham announced that the BOS will be holding a public hearing on December 10, 2012 at
6 p.m. to discuss the land swap of the Pharos Farm property. This property borders the Curtiss Park soccer fields.

Mr. Lubetkin noted that the Parks & Recreation Department might want to consider installing hay bales in the drainage trench at the bottom of the Simsbury Farms sledding hill. He recommended that they be put in before the first snowfall, and taken out before the spring melt.

V. Other Business

Town Field Use Policy & Proposal. Mr. Toner presented a draft copy of a Field Use Policy for the Town of Simsbury with a proposal. The proposal is for a dedicated fund to be set up by the Finance Department for FY2013-2014 specifically for field maintenance. The funds will be collected and disbursed by the C, P, & R Department. (Background: The town has never had a dedicated fund for routine field maintenance costs such as line painting, grass seed, fertilizer and irrigation. Currently, copies of field maintenance invoices are sent to multiple teams who use the fields. These teams then send their portion directly to the vendor).

Mr. Wetjen made a motion to forward the Field Use Policy—as presented at this meeting, with the changes suggested—from the Culture, Parks, & Recreation Commission to the Board of Selectmen for approval of a dedicated special revenue fund for maintenance of town fields. The total amount of this fund, as well as the rates that teams will be asked to contribute, will be determined at a later date.
Mr. Post seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion was passed unanimously.

Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund. Mr. Wetjen presented a Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund (SFSRF) analysis and three separate spreadsheets for the commission to review and discuss. He reported that Simsbury Farms revenues have not been able to keep up with expenses in seven of the last ten years. The past two years show the greatest negative balances—in spite of the fact that income from golfing rounds has increased dramatically. The largest increased expense in the SFSRF is the salary and fringe benefits for the C. P. & R. staff.  Mr. Wetjen indicated that funds for necessary capital improvements to Simsbury Farms will not be available after the 2011-2012 fiscal year if we continue to operate under the SFSRF paradigm. He noted that two options are available: 1. Move the salary and fringe benefits for the C. P. & R. Director out of the SFSRF and back into the Board of Selectman’s budget, or 2. Adopt a user surcharge that would be reserved in a special account to fund capital needs for Simsbury Farms. Further discussion will continue at subsequent meetings.

VI. Adjournment

Mr. Bush made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion. All were in favor.
The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

VII. Next Meeting

The next meeting of the C., P. & R. Commission will take place on Thursday, January 24, 2013.

Respectfully submitted,

Lorrie McElligott, Commission Clerk