WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES
FEBRUARY 6, 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.  Committeeman B. Mueller and WTRC Administrator, N. Godfrey were also present. D. Schott and J. DeFranza were absent.  Guest: P. deBoer, J. Cooper, R. Lucy (DPW) and R. Flint.

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 S. Fritts, seconded by W. Godfrey to approve the minutes of the Reorganization Meeting of January 2, 2007.  All in favor.

MEADOW BREEZE PARK

Public Works Manager, Peter deBoer and DPW employees’ Jeff Cooper and Ric Lucy were present to bring the Commission up to date on Park issues. The following was discussed:

P. deBoer met with the new Township Engineer and spoke to him about the walking path project which had been delayed pending DEP approval until late last year when DEP approval was obtained.  The new Engineer and P. deBoer will be meeting with R. Miller (ex Twp. Engineer) on February 7 for a transition meeting and should get everything that R. Miller has been working on, including the walking path and horseshoe court lighting projects. To deBoer’s knowledge the only thing regarding the walking paths that Miller has outstanding is finding out what type of material we can use.  deBoer will work with the new Engineer, who has said that he has a good working relationship with the DEP. 

With regards to the horseshoe court lighting, since the Warren County Horseshoe Club will not be using the courts at night we are not going to continue on with this project and will probably be taking the existing  light poles down. Because the poles are within the wetland buffer the DEP should be notified before they are taken down.  There was a discussion on what else the existing lights could be used for, i.e., football practices, etc., so for the time being we will leave the lights up and M. Kries will check with the horseshoe club to make sure they will not need lighting for the courts.

The Township Committee will be deciding at their next budget meeting where the funds for the new playground will come from.  The playground equipment will be ordered after that. P. deBoer recommended that we go with the rubber mulch instead of wood because the rubber mulch would be cost effective in the long run.

The tarp that was bought for the ice-skating rink was not large enough to cover the entire old basketball court. deBoer thought about different ways of shortening up the court to make it work. Because the court is in the wetlands area he decided that bringing in a backhoe to add any dirt or sand to the area would not be wise at this time. The WTRC may want to think about getting a portable rink and putting it somewhere else in the park.  Oxford Township has one and they have been having a lot of problems with the sides being cut by the skates etc., in fact, Oxford didn’t even put the one they have up this year.  J. Cooper will talk to Oxford to learn about the pros and cons of the one they have so we will have an a better idea of what we would like to do for next year.  D. Detrick suggested that maybe we should think about using the portion of the Morris Canal that runs from Meadow Breeze Lane to Kayharts Lane the park. deBoer said the only problem with that is there is a portion of the land that is owned by someone other than the Township.  There was discussion on whether or not the Township could enter into some type of lease/land swap agreement with the property owner. D. Detrick and deBoer will meet with the property owner to see if they are interested in this. If they are, Committeeman Mueller will bring this up to the Township Committee and see if they would be willing to enter into some sort of an agreement. The Township Attorney will also be notified of our intentions to see what our legal options would be.

P. deBoer will get quotes on running the wiring for electric and installing a secure outlet at the new basketball courts.

This outlet will be used for a portable score board.

P. de Boer and J. Cooper went to Independence Township to look at the shade covers that they had installed over the player benches at their park.  P. de Boer will look into getting some more ideas that we could use for our player benches.   Whatever we use will have to stand up to hard usage and vandalism.

R. Flint asked the Commission if we had come to any decision on how we will be securing the Tennis Courts. N. Godfrey reported that she had asked J. Cooper to stop by Washington Lock and inquire about a pad lock and cost of having “do not duplicate” keys made. The cost for the lock would be approximately $20.00 and the keys would be $2.00 each. The keys will be given out to players when they come into the Administration Building  to purchase their passes for the year.  After some discussion a motion was made by R. Berrie to go ahead with the purchase of the pad lock and having approximately 50 “do not duplicate” keys made, S. Fritts seconded. All in favor.

P. deBoer reported that the vandalism at the bathroom and at the pavilion  is still bad. Someone has actually pulled out the shrubs by the bathroom and they are still stacking the tables at the pavilion 3+ high. R. Lucy said that if we decide to go with chaining the tables down the cost of the chain would be about $7.00 - $8.00 a piece. Detective Schott is now involved with this ongoing issue.  P. deBoer and J. Cooper met with a representative from a company that makes security cameras and quoted a price of $3500 for cameras to take care of both the restrooms and the pavilion.  A motion was made by W. Godfrey to have P. deBoer proceed with getting more quotes for security cameras and installation,  R. Berrie seconded. All in favor.

We had received a request from Warren United Soccer to reposition S5 and R. Lucy reported that we cannot do this and keep the size 60' x 100' because there simply is not enough room and because of the condition of the field.  Ric & DPW has done all that it can to rehabilitate the field in its present space.  To start trying to move it around would do more harm than good and is not recommended.  Field usage will be discussed further at the field scheduling meeting on February 26.

DPW will try to get over to the Millpond Rd. property and measure it to see if we can make a couple of soccer fields  on a portion of it.

End of discussion with DPW.

OLD BUSINESS

Most of the items for old business have been already covered with DPW.

Walking Path Extensions - see above

Tennis Courts - see above

New Playground Equipment - See above

Ice-skating Rink - see above

Basketball Court Lighting & Secure Outlet Installation - see above

D2 Field Dugout Roof Repair - On Hold - Pending New WTYA Representative

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 - ON HOLD/ Researching Active & Passive Recreation - Sub-Committee formed (Berrie, DeFranza & Fritts)

Backboard Replacement at New Basketball Courts - W. Godfrey reported that he had spoken to R. Plenge (WTYA/Basketball) and he felt that we could use the existing backboards if we could put a box on them, so the players have something to shoot at. 

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Township Committee has not approved the 2007 Township Budget yet, but we have $5219 in use fees.

ACTIVE AREAS - Already covered under the DPW discussion.

PASSIVE PARK AREAS

B. Mueller has asked the Historical Preservation Commission to come up with a few names which we can give to the north side of Roaring Rock Park.

There are several projects that a group such as the Boy Scouts/Eagle Scouts can do.  They are not difficult projects but would be a great help with maintaining the parks.

NEW BUSINESS

N. Godfrey reported that the Spring Field Scheduling meeting is still on for Monday, February 26, 2007.  Everyone has been contacted and some paperwork has already been distributed.

The sub-committee (M. Kries, D. Detrick & D. Schott) has been working on ideas for the memorial for Dr. Wasser.  D. Detrick had some photos of some stone benches which have been put up around the County in honor of some special people who have lived in and served the County.  D. Detrick has contacted the manufacturer of the benches and they cost approximately $275 (not engraved) or $375 (with engraving) each. The benches are made of Blue Stone (a granite like material) and can be installed either as a nonpermanent or a permanent object.    Everyone was in agreement that this would be a perfect memorial to Doc. The sub-committee will work on where the bench will be placed and what will be engraved on it.   

D. Detrick suggested that the Recreation Commission consider doing something to honor a “special” Township resident each year. This person does not necessarily need to be deceased, but they should be someone who has served and dedicated their time to helping the Township grow in some way. There are plenty of parks and open areas in the Township where a bench could be placed in honor of a special individual. 

Officer Tod Pantuso has expressed a desire to have an evergreen tree planted up by the pavilion and to hold an annual  holiday tree lighting event. He would be willing to work on the details and help with the publicity for this event. N. Godfrey will ask T. Pantuso to come to one of our meetings, in the near future, to discuss this further.

Having no further business to discuss, a motion was made by W. Godfrey, seconded by S. Fritts to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m.  All in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Godfrey

WTRC Administrator

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