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WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES
AUGUST 9, 2005
Adequate notice of this meeting, in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, has been given by posting one copy of 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.
The regular meeting of the Recreation Commission was called to order at 7:30 p.m.
ATTENDEES
J. DeFranza, M. Kries, S. Backer, D. Schott, R. Barrie, W. Godfrey, WTRC Administrator, N. Godfrey was also present. F. Loughlin & S. Fritts, absent.
Guest: Township Committeeman, M. Kovacs, R. Lucy (DPW) and R. Flint
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
There was a correction made to the July 5, 2005 meeting minutes. Under Meadow Breeze Park, 2nd paragraph, the 2nd sentence should be 600 plantings not 300. A motion was made by D. Schott, seconded by R. Berrie to approve the Regular Meeting minutes of July 5, 2005 as amended. All were in favor.
MEADOW BREEZE PARK
New Tennis Court Project - The Sub-Committee met on July 25 to discuss the different options available for building the new tennis courts. It was suggested that Ron Lozowski of Universal Court Contractors be consulted for his input on several of the issues that were discussed. Universal has been making the repairs to our present tennis courts for many years now and he is very familiar with the location and conditions of our present courts.
After some discussion, it was decided that the Commission should ask the Township Committee for their approval to let the Sub-Committee meet with Bob Miller, Township Engineer, and see what his costs would be to put the specs together on the new tennis courts.
Restrooms- There has been a lot of vandalism being done to the new restrooms. The locks on the doors have been ripped off and jammed so the timer mechanism won’t work. Also the hand sanitizers have been torn off the walls and thrown down the toilets which has made it very difficult for the DPW personnel to repair this type of vandalism. This type of work could be considered a HAZMAT matter. We will continue to work with the DPW to try to solve these problems. We also need to contact the electrician who installed the security light to see if brighter security lighting can be installed outside the restrooms.
Riparian Buffer- Weed whacking around the new planting is needed and watering them has become very difficult. Only one area can be watered by hose, all the other areas have to be watered by carrying buckets of water taken from the creek. It has become very difficult to get volunteers to help with this project over the summer months. There was a lot of Japanese Beatle damage to the new plantings and also some deer damage. The wild multi-floral rose bushes should be sprayed so they don’t take over the existing plants. In order to be able to spray the multi-flora rose bushes a special permit would need to be submitted to the D.E.P. before spraying could be done. These permits were given to P. deBoer, Public Works Manager, to be filled out, if he feels that the spraying is necessary this year. In the fall the North Jersey RC&D will be arranging to have 50+ more plantings put in which should finish the Riparian Buffer Project. Volunteers will be needed to help with these plantings and continue the up keep throughout the fall months.
In other areas of the park, this year Japanese Beatles have taken a toll on the trees around the park, and the trees around the playground have been infested by both Japanese Beatles and bag worms. There has also been an infestation of cicada killers (a type of hornet which burrows into the sand/dirt) around the playground, volleyball court and some of the baseball/softball fields. The DPW park personnel are doing their best to contain them, but it may be necessary to consider hiring a professional exterminator to prevent these types of infestation in the future. It was suggested by M. Kovacs that P. deBoer consider hiring a licensed professional for spraying the park grounds next year.
OLD BUSINESS
1 & 2 Horseshoe Court Lighting & Walking Path Extension Projects - Letter of Interpretation being sent to D.E.P.
3. Ice Skating Rink - W. Godfrey has contacted supplier for a 50' x 100' liner. The cost should be approximately $200.00 - $250.00. He will have the final cost and estimated delivery time at the September meeting. At the September meeting we need to make definitive plans on building the ice skating rink so it will be in place and ready to use by December 1st.
4. D4 Field Dugout Roof Repair - No Change
5. Port Colden Field Restoration - Work has been completed, fields have been laid out, however due to weather issues the area needs to be re-seeded and mulched. Fields should be ready to be used by Spring 2006.
6. Field House Clean up - There are some large sheets of medal that have been stored in the field house for a long time and they should be removed. R. Lucy said that he will clean them out of the field house and dispose of them
7. Old Playground Renovations - There was some discussion on what to do about the old playground equipment. Questions were raised regarding whether or not the swings could be fixed and brought up to code for the time being. R. Lucy will try to find a supplier who can furnish the parts that are needed to fix the swings so they can still be used until new playground equipment can be bought. We should start looking into what type of new equipment we want to replace the old with.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
R. Berrie reported that to date $2,645.54 has been encumbered (included in this is the Recreation Administrator salary) which leaves a balance of $6373.73. There is a total of $134,460.00 left in the Park Bond and we have collected $5921.50 in use fees this year. Use fee expenditures amount to $3388.65 to date. We received a donation in the amount of $250.00 from Warren United Soccer Club as a “thank you” for the great job being done keeping the fields in such good condition. The Commission thanked Ric Lucy (DPW) for the excellent job he has been doing keeping up with all of the field work.
ACTIVE AREAS
The Fall Field Scheduling Meeting was held on July 29, 2005. Representatives from Panther Football, Warren United Soccer, Girls Field Hockey and WTYA Soccer were present. Scheduling and coaches information was exchanged. R. Berrie will work with the soccer teams with field scheduling and fees. Because there isn’t a large turn out for field hockey their funding is limited, so Lynn Griffin, Coach of the Girls Field Hockey, asked if it would be possible to waive the $35.00 per team fee and perhaps cut it in half. S. Backer made a motion, seconded by J. De Franza, to reduce the field charge for the Girls Field Hockey teams to $17.50 per team instead. All were in favor.
M. Kovacs asked that the Recreation Commission consider not charging the schools a use fee for using the fields, however, it was the general consensus of the Commission that the since schools do use the fields a lot and that it takes monies to keep the fields prepared for their games etc., they feel that it is in the best interest of the Recreation Commission to continue charging the schools for use of the fields.
PASSIVE AREAS
Roaring Rock Park - The sign at Roaring Rock Park has been vandalized. There have been numerous bear sittings, including one very close encounter with a mother & baby bear. Bear proof trash containers need to be purchased. N. Godfrey passed out some information on these trash containers and asked for permission to work with P. deBoer on choosing trash containers that will work best and purchase them using Clean Communities Grant funding. D. Schott made a motion, seconded by J. DeFranza, to allow N. Godfrey to purchase the trash containers that she & P. deBoer find the most suitable. All were in favor.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Field Maintenance Donation - Warren United Soccer Club- Covered under Financial Review
2. Status of D.E.P Violations at Meadow Breeze Park - LOI is being prepared by R. Miller, Township Engineer.
3. Discussion/Purchase of water wheel for use by DPW at Meadow Breeze Park - A motion was made by R. Berrie, seconded by J. DeFranza to purchase a water wheel to be used by the DPW at Meadow Breeze Park.
ROLL CALL: R. Berrie, yes; J. DeFranza, yes: D. Schott, no; R. Berrie, yes; M. Kries, yes; W. Godfrey, yes.
Having no further business to discuss a motion was made by D. Schott to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m., seconded by J. De Franza.. All were in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Godfrey
WTRC Administrator
cc: P. deBoer - DPW
B. Miller - Twp. Engineer
WTYA
