===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Park Commission Tel: (978) 582-4160 Dennis Mannone, Chair 520 Chase Road Karin Menard, Clerk Lunenburg, MA 01462 Pete McCauliff MEETING MINUTES May 16, 2018 7:00pm DPW 520 Chase Road Lunenburg, MA 01462 1) Dennis Mannone called the meeting to order at 7:03pm. Attendance: Karin Menard, Dennis Mannone and DPW Director Jack Rodriquenz. 2) Karin Menard motioned to accept the minutes of April 11, 2018 - approved 2-0. 3) DPW Director / Town Manager Updates - Jack quickly went through a list of items that he and Karin had discussed early in the week. One of those items was the playground area at the beach. Dennis is concerned that the ground surface doesn’t meet state requirements for use as a playground. Karin suggested picnic tables for families to have lunch at and maybe incorporate some sort of shade structure. Dennis though those were good ideas and we can add it to our master plan as we create it. Jack updated the commission that the first accident damage to the fence at the Town Beach has been re- paired. He mentioned that as far as he knew this was an uninsured driver. The town inquired to their in- surance company and he said they don’t cover this type of damage. Karin suggested he ask his adminis- trative assistant to track down the name of the driver and send a bill. The damage from the second acci- dent is in process of being repaired. Jack also mentioned that Chestnut Street parking still remains a concern during ball games. Parking is only allowed on one side but it is not a wide road so it easily bottlenecks causing concern that emer- gency vehicles would not be able to get through. Jack also mentioned that he had sent an email earlier in the year to the Police Chief, Fire Chief and Town Manager offering solutions but he got no response. Dennis thinks the concern is big enough to continue having discussions with the Fire Chief and Police Chief. Karin mentioned that the commission has already talked to the groups using the fields and re- quested that their players and spectators use the main lot at Marshall. ===PAGE 2=== Dennis Mannone motioned that we minimize street side parking on both sides during ball games and to encourage people to park off of 2a in the main parking lot due to concerns over public safety access on chestnut street. Approved 2-0. 4) Town Beach - General 2018 Discussion - Karin met with Adam Burney to discuss getting set up on the online payment system to accept online registrations for beach passes. Adam was going to do some leg work on his side and then reach back out to her. 5) Wallis Park Playground - Karin updated the commission that there would be a ribbon cutting on Tuesday at 7:15am. The playground build was completed on May 5 and the only current concern is the smoking by visitors on and near the kiln dried wood chips that were just spread. She reported that tem- porary no smoking signs were put up last week but we may need to work on better signage if the prob- lem continues. 6) Whalom Luxury Apartments - Playground/Land Update/Discussion/V ote - Gary Lorden’s office pro- vided a sketch and plans for the playground they would like to install at 250 Whalom Road as part of an agreement they have with the Zoning Board of Appeals. The playground would be installed on a .78 acre piece of property that would be donated to the town. Dennis expressed concern that this is being forced on the Park Commission. Karin agreed saying she had mentioned to Garry Rhodes, when they met a few weeks ago, that agreements that involve other boards should be discussed with them prior to approval. Both Karin and Dennis felt something different may have been done if they knew another playground was going in 2 blocks away from Wallis Park. Karin said the Z.B.A. was looking for the Park Commis- sion to give their approval for the playground and location. Dennis said that he would need to recuse himself from a vote as he works for a company that does work for Benjamin Builders. Karin said she would go back to Garry Rhodes and see how he would like to proceed since it appears that only two members of the commission are currently active. Dave Passios asked why the Bus Shelter was being put on land being donated to the town. Karin explained that both the bus shelter and the playground were required to be put on the piece of property being donated by the ZBA. 7) Spring 2018 Baseball Field Usage- Karin mentioned that the Little League payment did not include tee ball plays and that she has no notes of discussing waiving those player fees for the 2018 season. Dennis suggested Karin follow up with them to see and see what they say. Karin also noted that we had not heard any more from Dan Proctor about using the 90’ diamond at Marshall Park this summer but she would try and find his email to reach out to him. 8) General Parks - Request by Dave Passios to discuss questions / concerns raised at Annual Town Meet- ing - Dave Passios was in attendance to discuss questions and concerns raised at the Annual Town Meet- ing. His research showed that there has been a difference of over 139k between what was budgeted and what was spent over the last 5 or so years. He mentioned that it was not appropriate to take money from one line and move it to another when the fields need work. He showed pictures of the bleachers at Mar- shall Park that were in a state of disrepair that could have easily have been taken care of with that mon- ey. Karin agreed and pointed out that although the grass seems to be adequately cared for there are other things that need to be addressed such as fencing, removal of old equipment like the skate ramp and some repairs to the Beach house. Jack gave a bit more background and provided an overview of the organiza- tional chart for the DPW. Jack said with him overseeing 5 of the 6 areas (exception was Cemetery divi- sion) and the passing of the Pavement Management Program there was only so much of him to go around. Karin said she felt strongly that the commission needs to make their needs known to the Town ===PAGE 3=== Manager in hopes of brining in someone to oversee the day to day park needs. Dennis said we can’t wade through the past and we need to come up with the big picture and also be getting regular budget updates. 9) Discussion on long term plan / ideas / capital items for Parks - Both Karin and Dennis agree that we do not have enough field space. Dave Passios asked how many outside groups use the fields and if there was conflicts. Karin said the main user of the baseball fields was the Lunenburg Little League but the High School also uses the fields for the JV and Varsity Softball/Baseball teams and that there were a few smaller groups that also used them. She mentioned that there were currently no conflicts since everyone has been able to work together on their schedules but that other sports groups in town who used the high school fields were not always able to get the field time they needed due to the high number of kids in- volved in high school sports. She said that although giving baseball and softball programs a place to play, it would be nice to be a bit more well rounded and include field space for other sports. Dennis though a feasibility study or survey to get more information would be beneficial. Jack reminded the commission that years ago a resident in town was interested in a land swap and we could look further into that. 10) Other Business a. Unanticipated items - none 
 b. Correspondence, Announcements and Public Comment - none 11) Karin motioned and Dennis seconded to adjourn at 9:10pm. Approved 2-0