Town of Pittsfield
Parks and Recreation
April 13, 2009

Members in attendance: Kathy Boudreau, Jesse MacGlashing, Maryellen(Minni) Plante, Lynda Vogt, Nick Abel

The minutes from the March meeting were approved with minor changes. The treasurer’s report was accepted as given.

FB Argue Recreation Area:
Minni suggested pay raises for returning guards. She has worked out the changes with the compensation budget. She moved that Ian Reese receive $10.00 an hour as Senior Guard/Instructor and that the other returning guards receive $9.00 an hour. The gate keepers will each receive $7.25 an hour which is minimum wage. These changes were approved by the committee. Minni also suggested having only two life guards on duty except when bigger groups were expected. The committee approved this change. She reported that the Girl Scouts would be using the recreation area on May 30, 2009 for their bridging ceremony and that they will also be planting flowers in the wooden containers at the area on that day. Swimming lessons are planned for the following dates: June 29- July 10, July 27- August 7, and night lessons from July 13- 24. The fee for swimming lessons will again be $20 per child not to exceed $60 per family for town residents and $25 per child not to exceed $75 for out of town residents. Minni reported that she had not heard from the Epsom Better Buddies this year, but that she expected to hear from them. It was decided that following last years schedule, the fee for the Better Buddies would be $500 for the season. Minni was asked to ask Ian to help her decide on shirts which the guards and gate keepers will be required to wear each day. In this way patrons will have immediate recognition of who the employees are. Minni will have a copy of the swimming lesson sign-up sheet for the next meeting. Lynda asked about changes in signage at the recreation area. The signs will be updated as needed. Nick reported that the outside lighting at the pool needs to be updated. Kathy and Nick are still researching the RSA that states that the pool at the recreation area can be dredged without permits. They will present this to the Select Board before the next recreation meeting and hopefully dredging can be completed in May while the water is drained. Nick also will talk to George Batchelder about their ability to do the dredging.

Easter Egg Hunt:
The annual Easter Egg Hunt was held on April 11 at 9:00 at the tennis courts at Drake’s Field. Jesse and Minni reported that there was between 75 and 100 participants and that everything went well. One suggestion was changing the golden eggs to plastic ones with a certain marking. This was suggested so that children would not be able to scope out the prize eggs ahead of time. The bunny suit from Ballads worked out well. The owner of the Toy Box Store in town said that they would be willing to donate the use of the suit next year. The age groups were changed to 5 and under, 6-9, and 10 and above. St Stephens Episcopal Church donated some eggs and baskets and Minni has sent a thank you note to them. It was also noted that 1 hour before the hunt was an appropriate time frame for hiding the eggs.

Senior Projects:
Christian Guyette, Chris Haire, Joe Osborne, and Whiley Clattenburg brought their proposal to the committee about reseeding, planting flowers, and generally beautifying Dustin’s Park for their senior project. The committee gave them the go ahead on this project. They plan to start the clean-up on Earth Day. They will be holding a fund raiser at the high school on May 1, 2009. Jesse suggested that they approach area merchants for donations and Nick suggested that they contact Ron Vien at the Pittsfield Aqueduct for soil for the project.

Pat Cheney, a senior at PHMS, came to discuss another possible senior project. He has been doing some research on a natural filtration filter system for the pool at the recreation area. He suggested putting igneous rock between the bridge and Route 107. Several questions were asked by the committee. It was suggested that Pat contact DES and find out if there are any restrictions to deal with and that he come back in May to tell us what he has found out.

Lighting work/Gazebo:
Nick reported that the outdoor electrical lighting in Dustin’s Park and at the recreation area needs to be addressed. He will work up a proposal to present to the Select Board for both locations and the gazebo repairs. It was decided that we should ask the Select Board to approve using Capital Reserve Funds for this project.

Respectfully submitted,

Maryellen Plante