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Parks and Recreation meeting reviews park projects, cameras and winter sports scheduling
Summary
At the October Parks and Recreation meeting, staff updated members on park maintenance and projects (pickleball court, sprinklers, park cameras), the near-complete middle-school field, and plans for winter basketball registration; members approved the minutes and adjourned.
The Parks and Recreation meeting heard updates on multiple park projects, the rollout of surveillance cameras and plans for winter sports registration.
The Director reported that leaf pickup is expected to begin in November and that crews are completing small repairs across town parks. “All the cameras are up at all the parks,” the Director said, noting one camera at Lonsdale remains pending electrical work. He described using camera footage as a resource rather than continuous monitoring and recounted a recent, unusual clip: “a horse’s head just pops up out of nowhere at 04:30 in the morning and hung up for about 45 minutes,” which helped explain droppings found under the Chase Farm pavilion.
Why it matters: the department’s projects affect field availability for youth sports and neighborhood safety; the camera rollout is intended to deter vandalism and provide evidence when incidents are reported.
On facilities, the Director said dugouts at Linemaker have been repaired and that sprinklers will be installed at Mandeville’s backfield; the infield will be redone when the youth season concludes. New signs at Mambo were delayed by weather and will be installed after related school construction finishes. The pickleball courts have been paved and fenced; lining is delayed about a week and parking-lot work remains, with the department hoping the project will be finished in October. The Director said a swing gate will control access to the pickleball lot and staff will set time limits to prevent overnight play.
Commissioners raised maintenance and safety issues across parks. One commissioner said the newly paved basketball court at Lonsdale appears to slope away from the building; the Director said drainage and contractor responsibility would be reviewed. Members reported graffiti shifting to carved plastic on play equipment, lighting failures at a restroom building that make evening use feel unsafe, and a bench at Quineville that needs a securing screw. Several members suggested using spare solar lights or checking photocells as interim fixes; the Director said he would follow up.
School fields were also discussed. The Chair asked about the Lincoln High School field plan and said he would follow up with Greg. The middle school project is about 95% complete and expected to be usable once netting and fencing are installed next week, officials said. The Director said staff are coordinating gym schedules with the school department’s Tony and expect winter basketball registrations to open in late October or early November, with programs and practices beginning after Thanksgiving.
Procedural actions: members moved to accept the minutes at the start of the meeting; the motion was seconded and accepted. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn was made and seconded.
The department will follow up on lighting repairs, the Lonsdale court slope concern and final timing for pickleball court completion and gym scheduling.
