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West Goshen Township
Parks and Recreation Board Meeting
March 15, 2000
Minutes
Attending:
Les Bair, Bob Cifone, Kathy McDevitt, Michael Pillagalli, Jennifer Grey-Rice, Ed Smith and Joe Waters
Township Representatives: Sharon Lynn, Kathy Hahn, Ken Lehr, Al Roth and Kent Wise
Friends of the Park: Kelly Cifone and Peggy Niemeyer
Meeting called to Order: 7:00 PM by Vice Chair Kathy McDevitt
After a review of the minutes submitted for the February 16, 2000 meeting, Kathy McDevitt asked to revise the minutes
to indicate that the parent orientation for the Summer Camp program will be held on April 26th at 6:00 PM. A motion was made by Joe Waters to accept the minutes a submitted with the revision. The motion was second by Michael Pillagalli and passed.
The Financial Report dated February 29, 2000 was reviewed. There were no questions of comments pertaining to the Financial Report.
Parks: Kent Wise reported that the crews are beginning spring clean up at Barker Park, Coopersmith
Park, Hallowell Field and the Paoli Pike park area. At Hallowell Field, 5 trees have been relocated to the Community Park to make room for a new fence. Additionally, the work to re-grade and
re-seed selected areas has been completed. Kent Wise informed that a 20 foot walkway and pad area have been excavated and covered with stone for the new gazebo that will be located at the Community
Park in memory of Arnold Bair. Work on preparing the Township ball fields for the upcoming season is underway. Kent Wise reported that he has encountered problems with the electric service to
the new letter sign at the Community Park. An electrician was brought in to correct the problem and perform maintenance to replace any burned out lights through out the park. Tree work is
underway at the Barker Park to take down an oak tree located on the property line between Barker Park and the Goshen Valley condominiums. The Goshen Valley condominiums have agreed to cover ½ of
the cost of the required work. The Township has purchased 2 new lawn mowers and is in the process of obtaining a new tractor. Finally, work is scheduled to begin next week at Richard C. Cloud
Park (formerly Freedley field) to install a new drainage line for the parking lot. Once the drainage line is installed, the parking lot will be repaved.
Recreation: Al Roth reported that all of the dates for the Summer Camp program look good and
indicated the program is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 19th. Al Roth and Ken Lehr have completed three interview sessions with applicants for the Summer Camp councilor positions. Two additional interview sessions have been scheduled for Saturday, March 25th at 9:00 AM and Tuesday, March 28th at 4:00 PM. Al Roth stated that he expects to interview about 20 applicants and indicated he was not sure how many openings would need to be filled for this year's program. The final decisions on the vacant Summer Camp positions will be made sometime after March 28th.
Friends of the Park:
Kelly Cifone reported that a $5,000.00 donation from Radius Communication is expected to cover the entire entertainment cost for Community Day. The Friends are working on a promotion that would take place during summer camp registration. Members of the Friends of the Park would be eligible to select a number from a hat during summer camp registration. The member of the Friends that selects the "lucky"
number will be able to have a family member attend the summer camp program free of charge. The new gazebo for the Community Park will be ready for pick-up on April 9th. Kelly Cifone
will work with Kent Wise to determine when the new gazebo will be installed at the Community Park. Kelly Cifone informed that Will Morrison and Faulkner Pontiac are going to donate ½ of the proceeds from
a 50/50 raffle planned for their April 14th "cruse night" to the Friends of the Park. Finally, the Friends are sending out letters to crafters for this years Community Day event.
Old Business: Ken Lehr
reporting on the Summer Concert Series informed that four of the six concerts planned for the 2000 season have been booked at this time. The schedule is listed below:
Children's Concert - June 18th featuring "Makin-Music".
Open TBD - July 2nd
Swing Band Night - July 16th featuring "City Rhythm Orchestra".
Irish Rock Night - July 30th featuring "Blackthorn".
Open TBD - August 13th
Country Music Night - August 27th featuring "Country Joe and the Honky Tonk Heroes".
The entertainment for Classical Night and Motown Night still needs to be finalized. Ken Lehr informed that he had
received a demo tape from a Motown Band but that the particular band would not be suitable for the Summer Concert Series. Kathy McDevitt reported that she has contacts that could help with the
process of finding a band for Motown Night and indicated she would pass this information to Ken Lehr by Friday, March 17th. Ken Lehr indicated that he was also looking at a Jazz Band with
African-American roots as well at an Oldies Band (Police Band) to fill the open dates in the schedule. Finally, Kelly Cifone asked if the 2000 Summer Music Series schedule can be finalized
ASAP. The Friends need this information in order to proceed with their fundraising efforts.
Jennifer Grey-Rice reporting on the upcoming Easter Egg hunt informed that she had reviewed the logistics for this
year's event with Ken Lehr. Kelly and Bob Cifone offered the use of their house for an "Easter Egg Stuffing" party. Dan Dixon informed that he would be able to line up "Community
Service" people to help fill Easter Eggs with candy for this year's event. Jennifer Grey-Rice indicated that she is looking into purchasing candy from B.J.'s in order to improve the quality of
the Easter Eggs for this year's event. Jennifer Grey-Rice will meet with Ken Lehr after the completion of the Park and Recreation Board meeting to review the candy options for the Easter
Eggs. The Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for 10:30 AM on Saturday, April 15th with a rain date on Saturday, April 22nd.
Bob Cifone reporting on Community Day informed that the entire entertainment cost should be covered by a $5,000.00
donation from Radius Communication. Work on lining up the required food vendors is also under way. Pat Kelly will be in charge of the crafters for this year's event. Kelly Cifone informed that
she is looking into the feasibility of selling Community Day tee-skirts with the proceeds going to the Friends. Joe Waters asked Ken Lehr if he had contacted Chester
County Rentals to reserve the tents required for Community Day. Finally, Ken Lehr reported that he had booked the "Moon Bounce" for this year's event through Kathy McBratney and the West
Chester Borough. Joe Waters asked if we should attempt to line up a 2nd "Moon Bounce" to reduce the wait time for this attraction.
Kathy McDevitt began the discussion on the request by Kim Circe and the USTA Tennis Team for specific use of the
tennis courts on Friday mornings (9:00AM to 12:00AM) for 7 weeks by stating she would like to see the township attempt to satisfy the request. Joe Waters offered a proposal to allow the USTA Tennis
Team to use 3 of the 4 courts at the Community Park on Friday mornings (9:00AM to 12:00AM) for 6 weeks until June 19th when the Summer Camp program begins. The Township could then evaluate and document any feedback to determine the impact on the availability of the tennis courts for residents. Ken Lehr indicated that 2 other groups had also asked for exclusive use of the tennis courts but at this time, the groups had not requested specific time slots. Kathy McDevitt indicated that she would not want to submit a proposal for the USTA Tennis Team until the Township talks with the other 2 groups. Joe Waters indicated he would prefer to limit offering exclusive use of the tennis courts to one group and evaluate the results before allowing other groups to utilize this option. Sharon Lynn asked Kent Wise how the tennis courts are currently being utilized on Friday mornings. Kent Wise informed that the tennis courts are being used more as the weather improves stating that on most week days, at least 2 of the available tennis courts are being used. Kent Wise expressed concern that there would be 3 tennis courts available for the USTA Tennis Team on the requested Friday morning time slots. Bob Cifone stated that he would not want to see residents being forced off of the tennis courts at the expense of the USTA Tennis Team. Kathy Hahn asked if the Township should consider implementing a "usage fee"
for the tennis courts informing that the Township currently charges a fee of $100.00 to any organization that uses the baseball fields more than 11 times in a given year. Kathy Hahn stated that she
currently does the scheduling for the baseball fields and asked if the Township would also want her to do the scheduling for the tennis courts. Joe Waters suggested asking the USTA Tennis Team to
volunteer to help out with Community Day in lieu of charging them a fee for use of the tennis courts. Kathy McDevitt recommended that the Township should come up with a fee structure for tennis
court usage. Bob Cifone asked if someone could find out what the USTA Tennis Team paid to schedule exclusive use the West Chester tennis courts in previous years. Kathy McDevitt made a motion
to establish a "pilot" program that would allow the USTA Tennis Team to use 3 of the 4 courts at the Community Park on Friday mornings (9:00AM to 12:00AM) for 7 weeks to be completed no later than June 19th. The
motion was second by Joe Waters. Sharon Lynn will review the proposal for the "pilot" program with the Board of Supervisors. Ken Lehr asked how he should handle other requests for
exclusive use of the tennis courts. The members of the Park and Recreation board stated that the Township should not allow other groups to reserve time on the tennis courts until the results from the "pilot"
program can be reviewed. Bob Cifone stated that anyone reserving time on the tennis courts should obtain a paper/permit from the Township.
Ken Lehr reported that 7 representatives from the Township including Park and Recreation Board members Les Bair, Bob
Cifone, Kathy McDevitt, Dan Dixon, Michael Pillagalli and Joe Waters would be attending a symposium on "The Power of Parks and Recreation". The symposium is scheduled for Sunday, March 26th at
the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. Joe Waters offered the use of his van for transportation to and from the symposium.
New Business: Ken Lehr reported that he was contacted by the West Chester Borough to see if West Goshen
Township would be interested in co-hosting a 4th of July fireworks display at West Chester University football stadium. The West Chester Borough would be looking for West Goshen Township to cover some of the estimated $25,000.00 cost of the event. The Board of Supervisors is in the process of reviewing this proposal. One option being discussed was presenting the awards to the different Decorated Bike parade category winners prior to the fireworks display. Jennifer Grey-Rice stated that she knew someone that might be willing to help find sponsorship funding for the event. Joe Waters indicated that the West Chester University football stadium is located within West Goshen Township and suggested that the Township could provide the entertainment and supply police support to cover the Township's share of the expense for the event. Jennifer Grey-Rice expressed concern that the members of the West Goshen Township Park and Recreation board would be required to supply support for this event. Kathy McDevitt suggested forming a sub-committee to discuss this issue. Sharon Lynn indicated that the 4th of July fireworks display is still in the discussion stage and stated that the Township is looking for suggestions from the Park and Recreation board. Bob Cifone asked if the Board of Supervisors were in favor of having the Township supply funding for the proposed event. Sharon Lynn reported that an update on 4th of July fireworks would be provided at the April Park and Recreation board meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for April 19th.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ed Smith
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