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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-04.pdfPage 1 of 3 Draft 12/4/2013 Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission December 4, 2013 Members Present: Sharon Todd (Vice-Chair), Steve Meyer, Stephanie Mulinos, Tracy Kurtz, and Jo-Ellen Bailey. Vicki W ilkins joined at 8PM. Director of Recreation: Melissa Bianconi Guests: Linda Schoffel, David Hall, and Nikki Nease County Youth Services Representative: Kris Bennett The meeting was called to order at 7PM by Vice-Chair Todd. 1. Reading and Approval of minutes from October 23, 2013. S. Mulinos moved to accept the minutes with the addition of information regarding last month’s guests. S. Meyer seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. 2. Additions/ alterations to the Agenda: M. Bianconi suggested adding Youth Services Report as #5. 3. Introduction of Guests: Members of the DRYC and guests introduced themselves. Since there has been significant contact between this evenings guests and the DRYC, most were familiar with the others. 4. Report from the Town Board Liaison: Not present 5. Youth Services Report: Dryden Youth Report, David Hall Instead of simply emailing his report this month, Mr. Hall came to the meeting and reviewed the programs he leads. His written report is attached. His Primitive Pursuits Program is always full and he has decided to break the 12 week session into two 6 week sessions. He wants to reach as many kids as possible. OURS Program Report, Nikki Nease The OURS program just held their end of the semester party. All of the participants receive an award based on their own unique qualities. Fun Fridays have a teen circle. Parents and kids were given a survey to determine which issues are important or deserving of conversation. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awards a total of 6.3 million dollars nationwide to increase Confidence and Competence in the area of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Tompkins County 4-H Youth Development program will be 1 out of 6 in the state to receive this award. Linda Schoffel presented the year to date budget for the Dryden Youth Program and the OURS program. Mr. Hall has been given a significant amount in donations toward his programs. His budget appears to be fine for the remaining part of the year. Page 2 of 3 Draft 12/4/2013 The OURS budget is also on target. They have done a lot of fundraising and h ave almost doubled their projected revenue. Under program expenses, trips and tours exceeded the amount budgeted but the kids went to Roseland Water Park and the NYS Fair. Van 6 is the OURS van and other groups have to pay a per mile fee which help s support the cost of the van. W hen OURS uses the other vans they have to pay the fee as well and at this point they are using the #6 van and another van consistently. Ms. Schoffel asked about the funding for next year. M. Bianconi responded that the budget has been passed with the expansion to the OURS program and the creation of the Youth Employment Program. M. Bianconi asked Ms. Nease and Mr. Hall to attend the next regular Town Board meeting to help the board members put a face to the names and programs. It will hopefully provide support for their programs. Rachael’s Challenge is going to be presenting a power point to the Town Board and they are bringing some of the participating kids to the meeting. Do Mr. Hall or Ms. Nease have kids that can come? Mr. Hall shared an experience when a student asked him if he actually gets paid for what he does. It is amazing to the kids that you can get paid to have fun. M. Bianconi said she has spoken to the Shermans (Ithaca Organics and Jerry Dell Farms) who have indicated they would love to have a youth employee. 6. Youth Needs Assessment: S. Todd’s Research and Evaluation class may be able to be help with the Parent communication and information gathering Assessment. The course is year-long which will extend the timeframe for completion of the Assessment. In the spring, the stude nts will be learning about the research processes and applying it to the Needs Asse ssment. In the fall, they will implement the plan and gathering the data. M. Bianconi verified with K. Bennett that extending the time frame will be fine and K. Bennett added that it may take longer but the amount of information will be greater which will benefit the final Assessment. S. Mulinos verified that S. Todd’s class will be looking at the parent information section. M. Bianconi indicated that since that is the only part they will be doing, the DRYC can move ahead on schedule with the other parts of the project, including meeting with the local service groups, some of Ms. Nease and Mr. Hall’s program participants, and other local groups. S. Todd pointed out that having her students work on the project gives them a great opportunity to help the community, a sense of doing something that will be beneficial and therefore, it isn’t just homework. K. Bennett mentioned that she wanted to talk to Ms. Nease and Mr. Hall about the potential of having one of their parents serve on the board next year . 7. Recruitment of members: M. Bianconi pointed out that as of right now, we are not going to have a quorum as of the first of the year. We are going to have nine positions available. S. Mulinos asked if there is a blurb available that she can use when discussing the Commission with prospective members. Page 3 of 3 Draft 12/4/2013 S. Meyer thought it might be relevant for people to know why the DRYC is important. It influences decisions and encourages monetary decisions. M. Bianconi agreed that serving on a board like this gives folks the chance to influence their tax money. December 18 town board meeting - it would be good to have more members there - reports from dave and nikki also. JoEllen and Sharon are done at the end of 2013 8. Old business M. Bianconi said there was some really old business such as operating guidelines that can wait until next year. K. Bennett asked if we should be nominating a new chair. M. Bianconi didn’t believe it was necessary, the group had a short discussion and decided to wait until next year. There being no further business, S. Todd moved to close the meeting at 8:28PM. Respectfully Submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk The next regular DRYC meeting will be January 22, 2014.