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West Goshen Township
Parks and Recreation Board Meeting
March 20, 2002
Minutes
Attending: Les Bair, Bob Cifone, Dan Dixon, Michael Pillagalli, Jennifer Grey-Rice, Ed Smith and Joe Waters
Township Representatives: Ken Lehr, Pat McIlvaine, Al Roth, and Kent Wise
Friends of the Park: Kelly Cifone and Peggy Niemeyer
Meeting called to Order: 7:05 PM by Chairman Bob Cifone
Bob Cifone began the March 20th meeting by leading the members of the Park and Recreation Board in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
After a review of the minutes submitted for the February 20, 2002 meeting, a motion was made by Dan Dixon to accept the minutes as submitted.
The motion was second by Michael Pillagalli and passed.
The Financial Report dated February 28, 2002 was reviewed. There were no questions or comments pertaining to the Financial Report.
Parks: Kent Wise reported that the crews are have completed their regular "Winter Maintenance" that includes cleaning and painting the grills and trash barrels at the
Township Parks and replacing the backboards on the basketball courts at the Paoli Pike Park. Kent Wise informed that the crews are also changing the oil and filters and sharpening the blades on the
Township's mowing equipment.
Kent Wise indicated that construction on 2 new walls at the Community Park Amphitheater is complete and stated that the only remaining task is gluing on the caps that will finish off the top portion of the walls. The crews will wait for warmer weather to complete the installation of the caps and paint the new walls. Kent Wise reported that work to open the Township ball fields is underway. The crews are in the process of edging the ball fields and cleaning up the dugouts. Additionally, 10 tons of "Diamond Text"
will be applied to the base paths on the 5 Township Ball Fields.
At Coopersmith Park, the crews are performing a spring clean up that includes hand raking all of the grass area of the park, tree work (Pin Oaks), edging and mulching the shrub and flower beds and turning on the water. All of the spring clean work at Coopersmith Park will be completed in time for the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt. At the Community Park, work to correct electrical problems that are a result of poor workmanship during the original installation continues. Kent Wise stated that they are still finding additional problems and indicated that the Township still has a way to go before all of the electrical problems are corrected. Kent Wise reported that the Township has put out bids for a new truck, a new riding mower and a replacement walk behind mower. Finally, Kent Wise informed that new employee Joe DiGiandomenico would start on April 1st and work as a swingman replacing Bob Gragulia. Kent Wise indicated that Joe DiGiandomenico will split his time between and the Parks and the Road crews.
Recreation:
Al Roth reported that 21 of the 25 counselors from last year's Summer Camp program would be returning this year. Al Roth indicated that this represents the largest percent of returning counselors ever for the Summer Camp program. Al Roth informed that there are still 4 openings for the 2002 Summer Camp program and stated that he would work with Ken Lehr to set up 3 to 4 interview sessions during the months of March and April to fill the openings. Al Roth reported that the Township has received applications from 13 new candidates for summer camp positions and indicated that all of the applicants would receive notification from the Township on the status of their application. Al Roth indicated that the names of the applicants that are not initially hired would be placed on a waiting list for future reference. The 2002 Summer Camp program is scheduled to begin on June 17th and run through August 9th.
Friends of the Park:
Ken Lehr reporting for the Friends informed that the next quarterly meeting for the Board of Directors of The Friends of West Goshen Parks will be held on Thursday, April 4th at 7:00 PM in the West Goshen Township Building. Peggy Neimeyer informed that applications for the 2002 Community Day have been sent out to 60 Crafters with a request to return the completed application(s) back to the Friends ASAP. At this time the Friends have received responses from 4 of the Crafters. Peggy Neimeyer stated that there are less than 3 months remaining until the first event of the 2002 Summer Concert Series and indicated that Pat Kelly needs to have a list of previous sponsors to begin the process of securing donations to cover the cost of this year's program. Peggy Neimeyer stated that the members of the Park and Recreation Board should be concerned that the process of securing sponsors/donations for the 2002 Summer Concert Series has not taken place. Ken Lehr informed that the plan is to transition the responsibility of securing funding/donations to Pat Kelly and indicated he hoped to have Kelly Cifone introduce Pat Kelly to contacts from the businesses/ organizations that have provided sponsorship in prior years. Ken Lehr indicated that he would talk with Sharon Lynn and Pat Kelly in order to facilitate this process. Les Bair asked if someone could provide additional detail on the fundraising issue(s) pertaining to the Summer Concert Series. Jennifer Grey-Rice informed that during the Community Day wrap-up meeting, options were discussed and suggestions were made for a process to transfer the sponsor/fundraising duties of the Friends to Pat Kelly. Jennifer Grey-Rice stated that the Township needed to follow through with these suggestions as soon as possible. Dan Dixon asked if the information required amounted to a contact list to identify past sponsors. Ken Lehr indicated that he would be able to put together a list of contact names and phone numbers in order to move the process along. Finally, Kelly Cifone reported that Faulkner Pontiac would again be donating ½ of proceeds from the 50/50 raffle on their April 12th "cruise
night" to the Friends of the Park.
Old Business: Ken Lehr reporting on upcoming bus trips informed that the Township has planned a trip to Baltimore to see the Phillies play the Orioles on Saturday, June 29th.
The cost of the bus trip is $29.00 per person. Ken Lehr informed that Township had reserved 2 buses for this trip. The buses will depart from the Township Building at 1:00 PM; and arrive at
Baltimore's Inner Harbor at 3:00 PM.
The bus will return immediately after the completion of the 7:05 PM Phillies-Orioles game. Ken Lehr estimated that the buses should return to the Township Building at around midnight. Additionally, Ken Lehr informed that the Township is also looking into the possibility of offering a bus trip to Yankee Stadium in August. Ken Lehr reported that the Yankees are home over the August 9th – 11th (vs. Oakland A's) and August 23rd – 25th (Texas Rangers) weekends and indicated that there would be a conflict with a Summer Concert Series event on the Sundays of both weekends. Ken Lehr informed that the Township would only line up 1 bus for a proposed trip to Yankee Stadium. Ken Lehr informed that the Friends are looking into the feasibility of offering a bus trip to Gettysburg this year.
Ken Lehr reporting on the Easter Egg Hunt asked if all of the members of the Park Board were able to fill their bags of Easter Eggs with candy for this year's Easter Egg Hunt.
Ken Lehr informed that Dorine Conant volunteered to be the Easter Bunny for this year's event and indicated that Pat McIlvaine, Victoria Dow, Nancy Rodgers and Noreen
Crowley have volunteered to be judges for the Decorated Hat contest.
Ken Lehr indicated that participation medals (with the date of the event) would be given out to everyone that takes part in the Decorated Hat contest at the Easter Egg Hunt. Joe Waters asked what was the response from the promotional fliers the Township distributed for this year's event. Ken Lehr indicated that last year the Township received around 200 registrations in advance of the event and informed that to date, the Township had received 158 registrations (89 via EMAIL, 79 via paper) for this year's event. Ken Lehr reported that a quarter to a third of the people attending the Easter Egg Hunt do not register until the Friday prior to the event. Joe Waters asked if anyone from the West Goshen Township Police department would be on hand to help out with traffic control. Ken Lehr stated that he had contacted Joe Gleason to line up support from the West Goshen Township Police department for the event. The Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd with a rain date on Saturday, March 30th.
All volunteers are asked to arrive at Coopersmith Park by 9:00 AM to help with preparations and hide the Easter Eggs.
Ken Lehr reporting on the 2002 Summer Concert Series indicated that the Township has lined up the U.S. Navy Jazz Band to perform during the 2002 Summer Concert Series. Additionally, Ken
Lehr informed that he was contacted by representatives from the East High School Jazz Band to discuss the possibility of having the band perform a "sneak preview" for the Summer Concert Series at
the Community Park on June 2nd from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Ken Lehr stated that the June 2nd event has been added to the Summer Concert Series schedule. Michael Pillagalli asked what is the cost of the entertainment that has already been booked for the 2002 Summer Concert Series. Ken Lehr indicated that he would be able to provide a figure for the entertainment already under contract for the 2002 season. Michael Pillagalli made a motion that any funding for Summer Concert Series entertainment that is not covered in the Park and Recreation Board budget and/or offset by Fiends of the Park fundraising should come out of the Community Day budget. The motion was second by Les Bair and passed unanimously. The dates for the 2002 Summer Concert Series are June 16th, June 30th, July 14th, July 28th,
August 11th and August 25th.
Ken Lehr reporting on the 2002 Community Day informed that he is in the process of comparing prices for inflatable rides and indicated that the Township would use North Pole Productions again
this year.
Dan Dixon suggested that in light of the fact that funds budgeted for Community Day could be used to cover the Summer Concert Series entertainment costs, the Township should hold off signing any contracts for services specific for Community Day until the funding for the Summer Concert Series is in place. Bob Cifone informed that the Commerce Bank would again provide a donation to cover the cost of the "Grease Band".
The date for this year's event (normally scheduled for the 2nd Sunday in September) has been pushed back by 2 weeks to Sunday, September 22nd with a rain date of Sunday, September
29th.
Ken Lehr reporting on the proposed "Teen Battle of the Bands" informed that a tentative date for the event has been scheduled from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Saturday, May 11th at the Community Park. Ken Lehr informed that in order for a band to be eligible to perform, at least 1 member of the band must be a Township resident. Additionally, each band participating in the "Battle of the Bands"
will be required to submit a list of the songs and lyrics they will be performing to the Township for review. The performances will be limited to 3 songs per band (15 minutes). Ken Lehr indicated that
the Township would utilize Jim Mobile to provide the soundboard services for the event. The winning band will be offered the chance to perform on Community Day.
Ken Lehr informed that the winning band could also be offered $200.00 to $300.00 for their Community Day performance if the budget permits.
Ken Lehr reporting on the 3-acre parcel of land the Township plans to acquire at the intersection of Rt. 100 and Greenhill Road informed that the transaction has been delayed to the May time
frame. Pat McIlvaine indicated that the delay does not indicate that the Township is having any issues with acquiring the land. Ken Lehr informed that Sharon Lynn has suggested that the Township
develop a formal survey/questionnaire that would be used to sample the opinion of Township Residents on ways to utilize the land. Dan Dixon asked when the Board of Supervisors plan to begin
development of the new 3-acre parcel of land and stated that the Township should allow enough time to review the responses from residents on the survey/questionnaire before the start of development.
Bob Cifone asked when the school board plans to begin their development efforts. Finally, Pat McIlvaine informed that there are still issues with the Jerrehian estate over the development of the land.
New Business: Dan Dixon asked what time the members of the Park and Recreation Board would be leaving to attend the Park and Recreation Board Citizen Symposium scheduled for
Sunday, March 24th at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia.
Ken Lehr offered thanks to Jennifer Grey-Rice for picking up the prizes for the Easter Egg Hunt.
Pat McIlvaine asked Kent Wise if there is anything that can be done to improve that appearance of the area in front of the amphitheater stage at the Community Park. Kent Wise informed
that the "Astroturf" installed over this area has become wavy due to bicycles traffic and stated that he is open for suggestions on ways to improve the appearance.
Kent Wise indicated that he would like to see pavers installed but indicated there is nothing in the 2002 budget for this project. Kent Wise informed that installing pavers would not be that expensive if the Township crews did the work. Kent Wise reported that his only concern with installing pavers over the area in front of the amphitheater stage was that someone could get hurt of they fell off of the stage. Ken Lehr asked if there are any rubber surface products that have the same appearance as pavers. Kent Wise indicated that there are 2 cracks running the entire length of the amphitheater stage that also need repair. Kent Wise indicated that the cracks might be due to the fact that there are no expansion joints in the amphitheater stage concrete.
Pat McIlvaine asked if it would be possible to install backboards at the Community Park tennis courts that would allow someone to play by themselves. Kent Wise indicated that he would
need 6 to 8 sheets of marine plywood (cost of $50.00 to $60.00 a sheet) as well as support posts to build the back boards. Kent Wise stated that he would need funding in the budget to cover the
cost of installing the proposed backboards.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for April 17th.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ed Smith
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