HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-27DRYC
January 27, 2016
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Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission
January 27, 2016
Members Present: Kathy Servoss (Chair), Tom Fuchs, Stephanie Mulinos, Diane Pamel, David
Bravo-Cullen, and Judy Sinicropi
Town Hall Staff: Jennifer Jones, Recreation Director
Guests: Craig Anderson, Planning Board
Reports:
a. Town Board update
- The Board has asked the DRYC chair to report every other month – see attached
- The Board has passed a resolution approving the purchase of the Hoag-Harvey property.
The Commission members discussed the purchase, the reasons for the purchase and the use
of the Recreation Capital Reserve to pay for the purchase. They realized that many of the
potential uses they had considered, and that were discussed with the Planning Director in
August, are not viable (it is not possible to put baseball or softball fields on the property due to
conservation desires and the restrictions the County requires). Additionally, they were not aware
when they passed the resolution supporting the purchase in August that the purchase was to be
made using Recreation Capital Reserve funds.
Some concerns raised during the discussion include:
- Is the trail actually part of the purchase?
- The DRYC was not consulted about using the money from the Capital Reserve.
- The Commission was misled regarding the potential recreational uses of the property; the
Town Board has no interest in building ball fields or building a park on the property
- The County is investing $15,000 toward the purchase with an agreement that conservation
easements will be applied to the tributary streams and Fall Creek which further reduces the
potential of active recreation activities
- The Town Board has recently asked the DRYC to create a business plan for a new park and
the use of Reserve Funds in addition to a lack of plan for the Pinckney Road property
undermine that charge.
T. Fuchs offered the following resolution:
Whereas, the Town of Dryden Town Board passed resolution #40 authorizing the purchase of
real property on Pinckney Road on January 21, 2016; and
Whereas, the Town Board further passed resolution #41 authorizing the use of funds from the
Recreation Capital Reserve funds to pay for the purchase; and
Whereas, the Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission was not consulted regarding nor
approved the use of Recreation Capital Reserve funds for the purchase; and
Whereas, the Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission has learned the potential recreational
uses of the property desired by the Recreation Department, primarily baseball and softball
fields, are not viable as suggested by the Planning Director at the August 2015 meeting; and
Whereas, the cost of developing a park on a property of 15 acres will cost the Town
approximately $800,000, per the Comprehensive Plan, and
Whereas, Town Board members clearly stated at the January 21, 2016 Board meeting, the
property will not be developed into an active recreational park; and
Whereas, the purchase and withdrawal of the funds will negatively impact the goals of the
Commission, including the charge from the Town Board on August 20, 2015;
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Therefore, be it resolved, the Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission agrees with the
purchase of the Pinckney Road property for purposes of Conservation and passive recreation;
Further be it resolved, the Commission does not agree with nor approve the use of the
Recreation Capital Reserve funds for the purchase.
The resolution was seconded by S. Mulinos and passed with 4 ayes and 2 nays.
The two nay votes do not approve of the purchase of the property without a well defined plan for
use of the property.
b. Recreation Department - Jennifer Jones
Please see attached.
Spring Programming: Lacrosse, potentially track (pending the availability of coaches), the spring
egg hunt (they have reserved the elementary gym as a back up in the case of poor weather),
and CPR training (J. Davison is a certified trainer for several courses) and potentially baby-
sitting classes.
Ball room dancing was requested again but finding an instructor is tough.
c. Community Space – Stephanie Mulinos
- On April 2 they are playing bingo from 3-6pm at the Dryden Fire Hall “Just a Taste of
Community Space”
- It is an opportunity to introduce the idea to the community
- They have done a stake holder analysis and will make sure the priority members are there
- They are looking around Town for areas that can be renovated for appropriate space
- Some members have visited the Cortland Youth Bureau to ask them how they got started
and what challenges they have faced.
- They are trying to get all the information together so when they have a location and a plan,
they will be in a position to request financial assistance.
Review and approval of minutes from December 2, 2015
D. Bravo-Cullen moved to approve the minutes. S. Mulinos seconded the motion and the
minutes were unanimously approved.
Community Grants: Jennifer Jones
J. Jones passed out copies of the new grant application. The Commission members reviewed it
and made suggestions.
- the 10% budget cut (per the Town Board) will not affect the grants
- multiple applications will be accepted, each with a potential $1000
- fully or partially funded - will the activity still occur with a reduced or no funding?
- low cost or no cost programming will get priority
- what is the budget for the program? Most grants request a budget for the program and will be
beneficial for determining the best funding options. J. Jones has added a budget form so the
evaluators will be looking at the same information in the same format.
- she added a page of “rules” – ie, they have to give credit to the Town of Dryden Community
Grants for funding, they need to turn in a report within 30 days of the program or December 31,
2016 whichever comes first and they will need to sign the contract and return it to J. Jones.
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T. Fuchs recommended J. Jones implement the changes to the Grant application as
recommended by the Commission and email it to everyone for final approval. The goal is to get
the press release out by Feb 15th.
J. Jones reminded the Commission that there are still 3 open seats. Recruiting was strongly
encouraged.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Erin A. Bieber
Deputy Town Clerk
Dryden Youth Programs
Youth Report for January 2016
David Hall – Dryden Youth Program Manager
Iron Chef – Session 1 - Iron Chef is officially the most asked about program. Over the years I have offered, and continue to offer, programs that
get kids excited and engaged with life. There is truly something special about Iron Chef. More kids inquire about Iron Chef than any other
program. Thinking about all the goals and attributes that the Rural Youth Services Department aspires to help youth with, not only is Iron Chef
fun but it encourages our goals in amazing and powerful ways. In every sense of the word this program encourages collaborative thinking,
sharing, teamwork, compromise, creativity as well as self-responsibility.
In the most recent program two older students (8th graders) were the judges.( attempts have been made to run Iron Chef without the
judging aspect but the groups insist upon it. The groups seem to really enjoy the anticipation of the judge’s decision as well as the constructive
criticism. ) Each group’s success is based on teamwork, creativity, presentation and cleanup. As each team works with the same ingredients to
make something unique I walk around giving advice and encourage each team to ‘clean as you go’. I love hearing the friendly back and forth
between team members as they work out how they are going use the given ingredients. For many participants the food that is provided is often
foreign to them. I am proud to report that everyone ate Brussel sprouts this past winter. The use of smartphones to look up recipes is prohibited,
however cooking advice provided from my own limited experience. This most often means that I ask them to turn the heat down and use medium
to medium low temperatures. Judges keep a watchful eye as well, taking their job seriously. If someone seems to be going above and beyond
expectations I am sure to point this out.
After everything is spotless and all sample dishes have been eaten the judges reveal the winners. In the most recent meeting a variety
of fresh vegetables, local tortillas and ground beef were provided. The variety of concoctions made with these simple ingredients was quite
impressive ranging from ‘chips and salsa, burritos and a stir fry. One individual even made a soup, which I personally thought was the best item
of the day. Our judges went with the group that thought they would surly lose. Their “Sad Meal” was tasty, hot and well plated. The other groups
did well too.
Program Dates # of Youth Girls Boys Avg. Daily
Attendance
Monday Makers 9/21 – 12/21 12 4 8 10
Community
Helpers
10/21 -11/18 7 3 4 7
Nature Crafts 10/27 – 11/24 10 9 1 7
Primitive Pursuits - 11/5 – 12/17 13 5 8 10
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2
Get Lost 12/1 – 12/22 8 3 5 7
Iron Chef - 1 12/2 & 12/9 12 8 4 10
Iron Chef - 2 12/16 & 12/23 10 8 2 10
Winter Hiking 1/12 – 2/23 9 3 6 Began on 1/12
Iron Chef - 1
winter
1/13 & 1/20 12 5 7 12
Primitive Pursuits -
winter
1/13 – 3/31 10 4 6 Began on 1/14
Monday Makers -
winter
1/25 – 3/21 11 9 2 Began on 1/25
Dryden Wellness
Day
1/11 3 groups of 10 Approx.. 5 Approx.. 5 30
January 2016
Recreation Director Report
Submitted by Recreation Director Jennifer Jones
Winter Programs:
o Winter programming has been running smooth. The department has served over 230
participants so far this season ranging between the ages of 5-66. Current programs
are youth basketball, youth wrestling, shooting stars, karate, adult soccer, adult
basketball, Sunday Pickleball, and adult fitness.
Coming up is the 7th annual Father Daughter
Dance which grows larger every year. New this
year, the recreation department hosted a league-
wide youth basketball scrimmage with 10
different towns in attendance. In two days, we
hosted over 80 different scrimmages. Our
recreation coordinator, Andrew Pierce did a
fantastic job organizing this event. We also had
support from Bailey Place Insurance as a sponsor
for the event to help cover gym rental fees.
o The department has also started implementing
addition training for volunteer coaches and
referees to provide higher quality programming. This training is provided by Positive
Coaching Alliance and/or our recreation staff.
o Youth Basketball- We currently have around 100 youth in this program from grade
K-8. Travel teams have just begun for grades 4-8 which will continue through March.
o Youth Wrestling- This year we have seen a significant drop in participate due to a
new wrestling facility opening in Ithaca. The wrestling skills and drills program
served with such low numbers (11), we are looking into other options such as
partnering with Groton and Lansing.
Groton and Lansing have also seen a
significant decrease in their programs and
we may all benefit from combining our
efforts.
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DRYDEN RECREATION &
YOUTH COMMISSION
93 EAST MAIN STREET
DRYDEN, NEW YORK 13053
(607) 844-8888
o Youth Karate- This program is running strong with a full session right now of 17
participants. This season includes a mother who is taking the program with her son.
It is still a goal to move this program to a school location in the future.
o Senior Fit for the winter season has been cancelled due to so many participants
going south for the winter. We may try to run the program a gain in the spring.
o Adult Fitness started last week with 11 participants.
Spring Programming:
o The Dryden Recreation Spring 2016 Community Program Guide is currently being
created. This guide promotes programs from March through June including youth
programs, adult programs, community events, and even more from local
organizations.
Grant Opportunities:
o We are currently applying for two grants for youth sports this year through Dick
Sporting Goods and Good Sports.
____________________________________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM
TO: Jason Leifer, Town Supervisor
Dryden Town Board
FROM: Kathy Servoss, DRYC Chair
DATE: January 21, 2016
RE: Commission Update
The members of the Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission attended a retreat on January 9,
2016. During the retreat, goals for 2016 were discussed and chosen. The Commission is
planning to work on the following:
1. Fill the open commission member seats
2. Marketing Plan
a. Create a Vision Statement from the mission statement for the marketing plan
b. Plan to create a centralized location for information for Town events, etc.
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3. Youth Engagement to help plan teen programming
a. Community Engagement - DRYC presence at three or more events in 2016
4. Update the Recreation Master Plan
5. Find Grants for all programming
6. Winter Festival - possibly use it for recreation program scholarships
In addition to the above goals, the Commission decided to spend equal time discussing both
Recreation and Youth Development programming. Each focus will be discussed on alternating
months, as noted on the attached 2016 Work Plan.
We look forward to presenting our 2015 Annual Report to the Town Board in the near future.
kds
Enclosure