===PAGE 1=== Town of Lunenburg Park Commission Karin Menard, Chair 978.582.4160 Chris Sullivan, Vice Chair 520 Chase Road Susanna Jewell, Secretary Lunenburg, MA 01462 Dave Passios, Member Ana Lockwood, Member TOWN OF LUNENBURG PARKS COMMISSION MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 MINUTES 1. Open meeting-K Menard opened via zoom at 7:00pm. In attendance was Chris Sullivan, Dave Passios, K Menard, Ana Lockwood, Town Manager Heather Lemieux and DPW Director Rob Oliva. 2. Public and Board Comment-C Sullivan asked R Oliva where the hockey nets and benches from last season were. R Oliva will check. D Passios would like to reopen the topic of portable toilets provided by the Commission for a late February meeting. 3. Approve Minutes 5/26/21, 6/30/21, 11/17/21, and 11/22/21. K Menard conveyed that some of A Lockwood’s name were misspelled and that a vote of unanimous needs to be broken down by name. D Passios voiced that some comments at the meeting with WOLA were not correctly represented but K Menard mentioned the 12/2 meeting is not on the agenda. Motion to approve the set of four minutes by C Sullivan, seconded by D Passios Roll call vote: C Sullivan-aye A Lockwood-aye D Passios-aye K Menard-aye 4. Town Manager/DPW Director/Recreation Director Updates-R Oliva stated that the gate at Marshall Park by the softball field got closed after they had seen tire tracks at the main field. He mentioned someone accessed the park from Chestnut Street also. He’s trying to find a solution of granite blockage. The landscaper did the fall cleanup of the field and did a good job. D Passios mentioned that the DPW crew did a great job on the cleanup that the landscaper was not responsible for. A Lockwood asked about an update on the town beach, R Oliva did request it but didn’t get the information but will ask again. The light post will be put on their agenda to pull up, the area had to dry up for work to commence and the DPW gripper claw was out of service but is fixed. She also asked about the weeds growing in the town beach and that there is a grant available through the Open Space Committee and asked for information. R Oliva mentioned that it’s under state control so he’s not sure of process if chemically treatment was sought. K Menard was going to talk to R Pease for information. D Passios gave the history of the light post at Marshall Pond. D Passios left the meeting. 5. Recreation Director Hiring Updates and Discussion with Town Manager-H Lemieux opened a discussion on the appointment of Rob Thompson to fill the permanent Recreation Director Position. It will go before the Select Boards meeting on the 21st for ratification. She stated that R Thompson has been the temporary director since September. The position was posted in October and expired in November. She received two applications. She added that Rob stood out as an obvious choice because he had prior experience as a recreation manager for the US Army in Germany and at Alternative Perspectives in Devens. He has 13 years’ experience in the field. He was highly recommended from his reference checks. This is a part time position and the job description as the previous Directors’. Discussion followed from the members in support of his appointment and discussed the line of communication and responsibility between the Parks Commission, the DPW and the Recreation Director. ===PAGE 2=== C Sullivan made a motion to recommend Rob Thompson to the Recreation Director Position, D Passios seconded Roll call vote: C Sullivan-Aye D Passios-Aye A Lockwood-No K Menard-Aye. 6. Field Use Policy Discussion Including Prioritization of User Groups and 2022 Fees-K Menard received a copy of the School Subcommittee’s recommendations that is going back to the Subcommittee for changes to the field usage. 2022 User fees were brought up but K Menard thinks it’s too late for the spring. Decision was made to plan on the summer to revisit fees for 2023. The Commissions field use for the fall ended November 30 so the policy that was drafted doesn’t match this date as it listed November 1 as the end of the fall season. 7. Upcoming Agenda Item Discussion- K Menard had spoken with Katherine from WOLA, she, WOLA representatives, D Passios, R Thompson, R Oliva did a walk through at Marshall Park. Katherine came up with a proposed timeline for meetings. January 6th will be the hybrid meeting held at the Town Hall and via Zoom. The only thing on the agenda is WOLA, other than public comment. Katherine will be sending 2 conceptual designs to the Town Manager and the Parks Commission by January 14th and would like feedback on which design would be the preferred choice by January 21st, K Menard would like to meet on Thursday, January 20th via Zoom for member comments and turn that into a regular January meeting. A Lockwood would like another meeting with WOLA for a walk through of the designs. K Menard will email Katherine to get that in motion. Discussion on if the WOLA contract will include this meeting in their contracted cost. The beach will be on the agenda in the next couple months. Discussion on the budget for maintenance of parks and collection of fees collected. A Lockwood volunteered that she would work with R Thompson on that. C Sullivan asked about the ice rink for Marshall Park. He will send R Thompson an email regarding that. 8. Other Business 9. Adjourn -C Sullivan made a motion to adjourn at 8:00pm seconded by A Lockwood. Roll Call C Sullivan-aye A Lockwood-aye K Menard-aye. Respectfully submitted Dawn Pavone, minutes secretary