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MINUTES OF THE placePlaceNameRAYNHAM PlaceTypePARK & RECREATION COMMISSION
Regular Monthly Meeting, July 7, 2009, 6:00 p.m.
**placePlaceNameSenior PlaceTypeCenter, addressStreet2215 King Philip Street, CityRaynham, StateMA
** Because the placePlaceNameSenior PlaceTypeCenter was inaccessible, the meeting place was moved to the Park & Rec. office at addressStreet2254 King Philip Street.
In Attendance: Chair Chris Shaw, Commissioner Jim Sullivan, Director Elizabeth Francis, and Administrative Assistant/Recording Secretary SJ Blanchard.
Absent: Commissioner Joe Doyle.
Chairman Chris Shaw called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. A motion was made by Jim to accept as printed the minutes of the June 2, 2009 Commission meeting; Chris then seconded the motion and voted his approval while Jim abstained due to his absence at that meeting.
FinCom liaison Jim Ross was present to apprise the commissioners of the town’s latest financial burdens and shortfalls. There is a possible $266,000 coming back to the community from the schools, which past practice has been to gift the amount back to the local schools. In light of this year’s reduced revenues, these funds may very well be used elsewhere. According to Ross, two potential sources of local revenue would be additional meals and hotel taxes. He went on to say that there is some resistance on the part of the Selectmen to increase taxes on meals, but that the hotel tax seems a possibility. A special town meeting will be scheduled to vote on revised budgets, and that warrant would include articles for votes on the meals and hotel taxes. Ross is hopeful that this
special town meeting will be held by late summer, so that should these votes pass, the town would be able to start collecting this revenue by September 1st and collect it for the remaining three-quarters of this fiscal year.
The following field-use applications were acted on:
· Raynham Youth Soccer (RYS) has submitted its fall season field-use permit application, to begin Aug. 10 and run through Nov. 1, Mondays through Sundays. Liz said the men’s Monday night league presents a schedule conflict, but that it can be worked around. Rosters and schedules are pending. Jim made a motion to approve the permit; Chris seconded and a unanimous vote followed.
· RYS also submitted a field-use permit application for the Nov. 7 & 8 Mary Lou Arruda tournament (rain dates Nov. 14 & 15). Jim made a motion to approve the permit with a fee of $300; Chris seconded the motion and a unanimous vote followed. Liz noted that rosters need to be submitted for travel teams and that their needs will be accommodated after the regular league teams.
· The Raynham-Taunton Softball Association submitted a field-use permit to hold a September charity softball tournament. Jim made a motion to approve, pending the schedule, with venue and fee to be determined. Chris seconded and a unanimous vote followed.
· An application was received from Mothers Softball for the use of the RMS softball field on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. from July 9 – Aug. 20. Jim made a motion to approve with no fee; Chris seconded and a unanimous vote followed.
· Obie O’Brien, on behalf of Lowe’s employees, submitted an application for the use of the Borden Colony softball field on July 12. Jim made a motion to approve with a $100 fee; Chris seconded and a unanimous vote followed.
· The Raynham Giants Youth Football submitted an application to hold a M-F jocks camp during the week of Aug. 10 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Bettencourt Field. Jim made a motion to approve with a $500 fee assessed; Chris seconded. Jim voted in favor; Chris abstained.
· The Raynham Giants Youth Football also submitted an application for its ’09 football season. Field use would be from 3:30 – 9 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. weekends, Aug. 15 through Nov. 15. Jim made a motion to approve, fee waived; Chris seconded the motion. Jim voted in favor; Chris abstained.
Liz reported on the following:
· RYBSA president John Donahue has presented her with a proposal to jointly offer a Grand Slam hitting camp with the Department. Due to the daily length of the program, it must be permitted through the local Board of Health. However, with the Department’s endorsement, it could be exempt from certain Board of Health certification regulations. The latest word from Donahue was that this camp may be a no-go for this year.
· The Borden Colony tennis courts have been resurfaced; some touch-up painting remains to be done, as well as the striping of the lines.
· The Raynham Renegades has withdrawn its formerly-approved practice permit.
· A letter of thanks was received from Coyle and Cassidy’s AD Tom Poleski for the use of grounds for JV baseball and cross-country at Borden Colony.
· The summer programs are running with good numbers in spite of the economy. Last year’s half-day playground program had 83 enrollees, as compared with 78 this year. Last year’s full-day program had 54 enrollees, as compared with 46 this year. The tadpole program is up two this year. The lacrosse program has been cancelled for this summer, due to minimal interest. Flag football’s numbers are down – currently 20 vs. 35 last year. The tennis program is also off this year, but the cost has nearly doubled over last year’s offering.
· The childcare administrator position has been advertised and posted and will remain open until July 22, with interviews to be scheduled during that next week, if possible. Five applications have been received to date.
· Liz distributed the May 31, 2009 accounting reports.
The Chairman reported that the new football bleachers will be delivered this Thursday, and the permitting process continues. His youngest daughter attends the playground program and “loves it!”
Jim has encountered some public concern over art and music being eliminated in the schools due to fiscal restraints, and the question is arising: Could Park and Rec. pick up the slack with some after-school arts enrichment offerings? A lengthy discussion followed on the possibilities of running such after-school programs.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
SJ Blanchard
Administrative Assistant/Recording Secretary
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