WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
                                                           RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES
                                                                                 APRIL 3, 2007

Adequate notice of this meeting, in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, has been given by posting one copy of the Notice of Meeting in the Washington Township Administrative office, by making copies to the “Express Times” and “Star Gazette,” and to the municipal clerk in Washington Township.

ATTENDEES
M. Kries, W. Godfrey, S. Fritts, D. Detrick, R. Berrie, D. Schott, J. DeFranza,  Committeeman B. Mueller and WTRC Administrator, N. Godfrey were also present.  B. Jeffries arrived at 7:35. Guest: R. Lucy (DPW) and R. Flint, R. Kunzmann (WTYA) & J. Bamford (WTYA)

The Regular Meeting of the Recreation Commission was called to order by Chairman, M. Kries at 7:30 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by D. Schott, seconded by S. Fritts, to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 6, 2007. All in favor.

Report from DPW
R. Lucy reported that he was able to measure the Mill Pond Rd. property for possible use as soccer fields and to the best of his ability he is figuring that we could probably fit three (3) Championship fields 100 x 60 and one (1) other field.   There will have to be a conservation check done on this property to see if we can even move forward on this project.
New infield mix is being added to the ball fields and he has begun preparing and lining them in order to have them ready for opening day.  R. Kunzmann (WTYA) discussed with R. Lucy what the needs of the Little League Baseball teams are and how they can be accomplished.

N. Godfrey left the meeting at 8:00 p.m. due to a prior commitment.
 
There have been a few problems this year with teams using the fields for practice etc., before they were ready to be used.  The Recreation Commission will put in place an actual “start of field use” date for next year and no one will be allowed to use them until then. This will give the fields a chance to get a strong new growth on them before the stress from play begins.

M. Kries reported that there was a fire in the restrooms by the pavilion and asked R. Lucy to report on this.  R. Lucy said that the entire air ventilation system burnt up, and we had water damage, the bottom was pumped out and Detective Brooks Schott (WTPD) and the Warren County Fire Marshall were there today to investigate the cause. The people who built the restrooms are coming out tomorrow to give an estimate on what they think the damage done will cost to repair. There was some damage to the concrete flooring from becoming extremely hot, it was hot enough to damage the stack that goes all the way up to the roof and take some of the paint off and damage the wiring to the stack, so obviously the floor had to have some type of stress damage to it.  All the electrical and air duck work has to be redone.  They are not sure whether the air pump had any damage to it but all the piping will need to be redone.  The Fire Marshall and the Police are investigating whether is was accidental or deliberately set. N. Godfrey has been on the phone with the insurance company for the last few days following through with the reports and paperwork.  They will be sending out their investigator to look over the damage and make their report.

We may want to consider installing a fire alarm in the restrooms that would be connected directly to the police department,so maybe, something like this does not happen again. 

R. Lucy mentioned that R. Flint had talked to P. deBoer about putting mile markers on the walking trails and R. Flint showed a map of how he thought it should be marked out.  D. Schott suggested arrows facing both ways be painted at both ends of the paths so people could start at either end and still know how far they walked. D. Detrick suggested that the different trails could be colored coded, each color coded path would be a specific distance, and it would give the walkers more options.  A sign could be erected by the S1 parking lot showing each path and what the specific distances are. After some more discussion it was decided to move forward with marking and color coding the walking paths and then we will move forward with the park/map signs etc.      
END DPW REPORT

J. Bamford (WTYA) was present to inform the Commission that one of the batting cages was destroyed when a tree fell on it. M. Kries asked who owned the batting cage, was it the Township’s or was it the Youth Association’s? It belongs to the Youth Association. The cage had been moved to its current location by the DPW and he asked if there was any objection to putting a new one back in the original location.  D. Detrick asks if this would be the Youth Associations responsibility to put it up and take it down? M. Kries asked whether or not the Youth Association had insurance on this, if they did, then maybe insurance would pay for the replacement which would be approximately $1300.  B. Jeffries said that he did not know if the batting cage was insured or not.  D. Detrick stated that it seemed that the decision we need to make tonight was as long as the batting cage belongs to the Youth Association then the replacement cost would be up to them, however, the question before the Commission was where we would like the new cage to be placed.  M. Kries said he had no problem with the original location by the food stand as long as it was taken down before football season.  R. Berrie asked once it was taken down, where would it be stored? The Youth Association will have to discuss this at their next meeting and make a decision on where it will be stored.  A motion was made by D. Schott to  allow the Youth Association to move the location of the batting cage to it’s original location by the food stand,  J. DeFranza seconded. All in Favor.

M. Kries said that if it turns out that the Youth Association did not have the batting cages covered by insurance, that because of the cost ($1300.+ ea..) they should really consider having them insured. 

MEADOW BREEZE PARK

Playground Equipment - B. Mueller reported that there was nothing new. We are still waiting for the Township Budget to pass, then it will be ordered and put in place.

Ice-Skating - D Detrick will be working with P. deBoer to have the Canal ready for skating during the upcoming winter.  P. deBoer has asked the Twp. Engineer to check and see if any permits will be required.

Horseshoe Court Lights - D. Detrick thinks that the two lights on the larger poles could be used to light up the football field for practice. J. DeFranza will take a look at them during the summer, while they are building the announcing booth, to see which way the lights should be positioned.

D2 Dugout Roof Repair - W. Godfrey reported that he had checked out the roofs at the D2 dugouts. The one that backs up to the canal definitely has some issues, it has a little bit of rot in the plywood, almost all the raw roofing on the back side is gone, so if we went with some type of metal roofing we could take the rest of the raw roofin off and screw a metal roofing right into the plywood. The dugout that backs up to the tennis court is in pretty good shape.

B. Jeffries reported that it was brought up at the Youth Associations’ last meeting and J. Bamford has already ordered the materials (rolled roofing) and they will take care of the manpower to make the repairs quickly.

Installation of Shade Cover Over Player Benches D5, D6 & D7 - M. Kries asked R. Lucy if there was anything new on this project. R. Lucy said that there were a few options, however, some of them were not right for us because of the way our player benches were set up. Other options were very expensive. DPW is still working on finding an affordable way to cover the player benches.

Installation of Secure Electrical Outlet at New Basketball Courts - D. Detrick spoke with P. deBoer who told him that he was getting quotes.

Vandalism at Restrooms/Pavilion - D. Detrick and W. Godfrey attended the last Twp. Committee Meeting and spoke to them about the vandalism being done at the restrooms and the pavilion on behalf of the Recreation Commission.  D. Detrick asked the Twp. Committees if they would approve the WTRC to use park bond monies to purchase security cameras to be placed in the vicinity of the restrooms and the pavilion . The Twp. Committee approved up to $5000. for the purchase of the cameras, but P. deBoer should get one more quote.  Chief McDonald also told the Twp. Committee that he backed up the decision of the Recreation Commission to purchase and  use of security cameras for this purpose.

OLD BUSINESS

Most of the items for old business have been already covered under Meadow Breeze Park.

Walking Path Extensions  - New Twp. Engineer to find out from the DEP what materials can be used.
Tennis Courts - Beginning May 1 a new padlock requiring key will be put in place of the combination lock.  Keys will be issued to residents when they purchase their 2007 tennis pass.  There has been no fee increase for 2007.
New Playground Equipment - See above
Ice-Skating  - See above
Basketball Court Lighting & Secure Outlet Installation - See above
D2 Field Dugout Roof Repair - See above
Installation of Shade Cover/Awning Over Player Benches - Spring 2007 (DPW) - see above
Level Fields Between Tennis Courts & Field House - Pending DPW
Millpond Rd. Property - Researching Active & Passive Recreation - Sub-Committee formed (Berrie, DeFranza & Fritts) also, DPW to measure a portion of property for possible soccer fields use (See DPW reports above)
Investigate Developing Remainder of Park (Kayharts Lane Side) - Improvements as needed (TBD)
Backboard Replacement at New Basketball Courts - R. Plenge (WTYA) will be handling
Security Camera at Restrooms/Pavilion - See above
Dr. Wasser Memorial Bench - Ordered from Wicki Wholesale Stone, will probably take approximately two (2) months to get. M. Kries, D. Schott & D. Detrick will get together to decide where it should be placed and what we want engraved on it.

FINANCIAL & BUDGETS REVIEW - No new activity

ACTIVE AREAS - Already discussed

PASSIVE AREAS - R. Flint completed the trail map for the Pohatcong Creek Natural Area. He will ask N. Godfrey to make copies of this on color paper for distribution.  D. Detrick noted that there is 1.5 miles of trails there.

D. Schott asked if someone else could attend the April Township Committee Meeting because she has a prior commitment . S. Fritts will swap with D. Schott. 

Having no further business to discuss a motion was made by D. Schott, seconded by W. Godfrey to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. All in favor.

Respectfully submitted, *

Nancy Godfrey
WTRC Administrator

cc:  P. deBoer - DPW
D. Dempski - WTYA
Twp. Committee

* Minutes typed from tape.