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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-02-24DRYC February 24, 2016 Draft Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission February 24, 2016 Members Present: Kathy Servoss (Chair), Stephanie Mulinos, Diane Pamel, Tom Fuchs, Judy Sinicropi Liaisons: Jason Leifer and Dan Lamb, Town Board Guests: Kris Bennett (TC Youth Services Coordinator), Nikki Nease (Rural Youth Services/OURS/YOURS/Youth Employment), David Hall (Dryden Youth Program manager), Shelly Lester (Rural Youth Services Coordinator), Craig Anderson (Planning Board), Marty Hatch (Planning Board) and Kyle Hollenbeck Attachments: 2015 Dryden Youth Employment Annual Report, Rural Youth Services Dryden Youth Programs 2015 Annual Report, Dryden OURS spring programs, OURS & YOURS Mentors Reshaping Success Spring 2016 Training (Feb report), Rural Youth Services (Feb report), Dryden Recreation Department Report, the Jim Schug Trail proposal - Kyle Hollenbeck and The Conservationist article regarding D. Hall program. Reports: Town Board: Jason Leifer J. Leifer reported that the petition requesting a public referendum regarding the purchase of property on Pinckney Road was submitted to the Town Clerk last Friday. Only one petition sheet was submitted in regard to using the Recreation Reserve fund. - a vote needs to be held between 45-60 days from the date the petitions were submitted (Feb. 19th) - Supr. Leifer stated that he reviewed the minutes from last fall and was surprised that the former Town Board/DRYC liaison did not share information with the DRYC, especially in regard to the use of Rec. Reserve funds. T. Fuchs stated that he understood the funds in the Recreation Reserve Funds were for costs related to the development of recreation. He did not realize the fund was for acquiring land as well. The language used in the resolution creating the reserve fund did not clearly state that the money could be used for a land purchase; the development of assets is not the same as the purchase of land. S. Mulinos stated that the resolution may not clearly state that land can be purchased using those funds but it can be interpreted that way. She pointed out that the former Town Supervisor had come to the DRYC and stated they should create a plan for the Rec Reserve fund. The DRYC was not kept in the loop during the discussion regarding the purchase and feels there was a disconnect between what the DRYC was being told and what was actually happening. D. Pamel feels that they were given incomplete information regarding the use of the land, including playing fields and a continuation of the trail. Now it appears the land will be use for passive recreation; there is a lot of information that was not presented DRYC February 24, 2016 Draft up front or has been presented inaccurately and the decisions made by the Commission were based on somewhat false information. The usefulness of the land is not going to be the way it was presented to the DRYC. Supr. Leifer responded that situation might not have been as bad if the Town Board liaison had attended meetings and shared what was being discussed at the Town Board level. He does not anticipate that kind of miscommunication happening again. D. Lamb stated he doesn’t want any misunderstanding about the purchase. He offered to answer any questions the Commission has. It was never meant to be implied that this land would complete the trail; it is a key piece but not the only piece. K. Servoss stated she visited the land on the day the Conservation Board visited and clearly recalls discussions regarding ball fields, basketball courts and a community center. At the time, she was not aware of the need for 50 feet on each side of the tributaries and there are 3 or 4 tributaries. She is in favor of being able to walk along a stream but with those requirements there isn’t room to put ball fields or anything like that for sporting activities. She was under the impression that ball fields were one of the reasons for purchasing the land. D. Lamb stated that he agrees we need ball fields for the town and if not there (on Pinckney Road) then they will find another place to put them. There were other reasons to acquire this property. T. Fuchs agreed that the potential educational benefits of the property make it worth buying. S. Mulinos brought up the Dryden group that is working toward creating a community center that would include ball fields. She is happy to hear that members of the Town Board are in favor of that idea is favorable. She asked how to engage the Town Board to gain more support. D. Lamb suggested a draft budget, taking a look at the large employers and schools in the area for support and community fund raising. Once the community is on board it is easy to provide political support. J. Leifer pointed out that there are two ways to go about the Community center – a neighborhood project or a Town project. The Ellis Hollow Community Center is a good example of a community project. D. Lamb stated that a local funding match will make it much easier to get state or federal grants. J. Leifer and D. Lamb are friends with the director of the Finger Lakes Park System, Fred Bonn. He is from Etna and his assistant is from Dryden so that might be a funding source or are of support. DRYC February 24, 2016 Draft A village/community group is also working on improving Montgomery Park. The Village government is kept aware of the situation but isn’t actively participating. 2015 Annual Reports from Youth Programming: Shelley Lester, Dave Hall and Nikki Nease: Reports Attached. S. Mulinos asked if it is possible to determine the number of program hours in relation to the number of children served. S. Lester indicated that should be relatively easy since they track that information for other funding sources. D. Hall added that information is useful but pointed out that probably won’t include the number of hours that are spent on unexpected contact – ie: taking a student home after participation in a program, the one on one interaction. S. Mulinos restated that it is important to have as much information that is available to evidence the need that is being met. D. Hall and N. Nease changed the style of their reports and asked for feedback from the Commission. D. Hall has written a book and was interviewed for an article in the 2015 Conservationist Magazine. D. Hall previously expressed concern about the new lunch program Mr. Thon suggested/encouraged. It has turned out better than Mr. Hall expected and he is pleased with the results. He has a slight wait list for programs but in general most programs are full. N. Nease shared her report. She shared information on fund raising efforts, including the Duck Race (flyers were shared with the Commission). She had 72 volunteers last semester equaling 2310 volunteer hours at $23.07 (Federal rate of volunteer pay/hour) = $53291.70. Her daily programs are funded by grants. Youth Employment – N. Nease said she will secure the jobsites in March and in April she will start disbursing the applications. Spring event will involve how to navigate public transportation and canvassing businesses for information for youth employment. S. Mulinos asked if N. Nease has considered any of the recommendations/ideas that were discussed per the youth employment. Nikki asked if they can return to that discussion later, currently she is getting her spring programming up and running and will gladly revisit employment parameters (shorter work terms might mean more youth served, emphasis on the process of finding a job, filling out applications, etc). DRYC February 24, 2016 Draft K. Servoss has asked N. Nease and D. Hall to attend the Town Board business meeting in July. M. Hatch added that he serves as the Vice President on the Cooperative Extension Board. The Board just signed a contract with Cornell to permit the Arnot Forest to use for youth programming. Cooperative Extension updates, Kris Bennett: Last fall Cooperative Extension completed the Program Quality Assessment of the Municipal Youth Services. Later this year, they will be doing a follow-up PQA to verify the recommended steps are being taken. This time the review will be an external team doing visits so it should be a smoother and quicker process. Achieving Youth Results, Kathy Servoss: Representative from the national level attended a meeting recently and they had a great conversation. She will keep the Commission updated as they learn more. Valor, Strength and Conditioning, Kyle Hollenbeck: Mr. Hollenbeck presented the Commission with a proposal to put basic exercise equipment along the Jim Schug trail. The equipment/exercise will use body weight and minimal equipment. Near the equipment would be instruction cards that will show users the proper way to use it. 4’ x 6’ is all the space needed. Mats can be placed under the equipment. Maintenance is very minimal and he has volunteers willing to help. Concerns regarding theft have been addressed and are based on the fact that the equipment will be attached to the ground or too heavy to easily move. Recommendations included that he talk to the DPW since they maintain the trail, scope out the trail more to determine the best spots to put the equipment and talk to the Conservation Board. They asked him to come back next month with a more detailed proposal including potential cost of the equipment and signs, any potential safety hazards, some pictures of the equipment, etc. The Commission will generate more questions. Please see attached Review and Approval of Minutes from January 2016: S. Mulinos moved to approve the minutes, J. Sinicropi seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. Recreation Department Report, Jennifer Jones: See attached K. Servoss asked if J. Jones had the spring programming ready. J. Jones stated that Town Board member Linda Lavine had some concerns regarding the programming and thus the program/recreation booklet will be held up for now. When asked what some of the issues Ms. Lavine was concerned about, J. Jones said she was told to cancel the field trips which Ms. Lavine feels are a waste of time and not educational but most of DRYC February 24, 2016 Draft the other programs will continue. The Commission was not happy with Ms. Lavine’s interference since she has never participated in the past, including the years she was the liaison to the DRYC. The members of the Commission are very happy with the booklet and feel that it is an improvement over past booklets. D. Pamel asked if J. Jones could add a section on the summer programs that the Village will be offering. It is early but those programs have had declining number in recent years and a reminder that they are coming up might help. J. Jones also reported that the Recreation Department has gotten a grant from Dick’s Sporting Goods for youth lacrosse. It is only a couple hun dred dollars but each little bit helps. They have also received a $1000 grant from the Community Arts Partnership for summer concerts. She has submitted an application for Youth football through Good Sports for equipment but she is not sure how much the award will be. She has also applied for a Finish Line youth grant which awards up to $5000 but again, she doesn’t know how much they might award. D. Lamb asked if there was a network that recreation departments use to share information on grants. J. Jones stated that yes, she meets with other recreation groups in Tompkins County but most of the grants are found by searching google and other established organizations that are known for grants. J. Jones is a member of the New York State Parks and Recreation Association and the New York State Health and Recreation Association. The Community Grant application process: The revised application was approved by the Town Board and those applications will be aware next week. Deadline is April 1, 2016. They will determine a date to review the applications at the March meeting, review the applications as a board in April and then get them to the Town Board in May. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50PM. Respectfully Submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk