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1987-04-13 QUEENSBURY RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF MEETING APRIL 13, 1987 Minutes of the regular meeting of the Recreation Commission of the Town of Queensbury, held Monday, April 13, 1987, at the Queensbury Town Office Building, Queensbury, New York. Acting Chairman Granger called the meeting to order at 7:31 P.M. PRESENT: Commissioners Granger, LaBombard, Lemery, Lettus, Martin, Teti, Councilwoman Monahan, Director Hansen, and Secretary Wilson ABSENT: Commissioner Bly VISITORS: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilwoman Monahan pointed out that the typed copy of the March 17th Recreation Commission minutes did not reflect, verbatum, the motions made by Commissioners Lemery and Teti. The motion in the March 17th minutes stated that the Commission was recommending accepting the 70+ acre parcel of property in lieu of the $250. per unit recreational fee as specified in Local Law #6. Councilwoman Monahan explained that inasmuch as Commissioner Lemery's motion did not mention "in lieu of fees," therefore stating that in the minutes was technically incorrect. There was discussion on the subject and a number of Commissioners agreed that the intent of the motion was to recommend to the Town Board that they accept the land in lieu of fees. Councilwoman Monahan reminded the Commission and pointed out that the Town Board has the prerogative and is the Town entity that would negotiate with any land owner regarding Local Law #6 (i.e. land or fees). Furthermore, she pointed out that the Hiland Park project is a Planned Unit Development (P.U.D.) which, in the first place, requires Town Board approval, and therefore, only the Board has the option to negotiate in these matters. The Commission continued to discuss the Hiland Park development situation including additional area land acquisition, future recreational opportunities and the possible revenue and employment opportunities which this project may generate. It was pointed out that Commissioner Teti's amendment regarding the Town's being able to negotiate with the Hiland Park Corporation in regard to future recreation matters, had been inad- vertently omitted in the actual March 17th minutes. However, after -2- further discussion, it was agreed that even though this amendment was important, nonetheless, this was a Town Board function and would undoubtedly be considered by both parties in future negotiations. After further discussion, Commissioner Teti moved to approve the minutes of the March 9th and 17th, 1987 meetings. Commissioner Lemery seconded the motion and after polling all Commissioners, the motion was unanimously approved. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Director temporarily assumed the position of Chairman and requested nominations for the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Recreation Commission for the one year period, April 1987 - March 1988. Commissioner Lemery nominated Commissioner Granger as Chairman and it was seconded by Commissioner Martin. There being no further nominations, the nominations were closed and Commissioner Granger was unanimously elected by voice vote. Commissioner LaBombard nominated Commissioner Lemery for the position of Vice-Chairman and it was seconded by Commissioner Granger and unanimously approved after no further nominations. Elaine Wilson was nominated and unanimously appointed as secretary to the Recreation Commission for the same 12 month period. COMMUNICATIONS AND REMARKS FROM VISITORS Brad Hague's correspondence was read to the Commission and it was suggested that he be contacted in regard to attending a future meeting. Commissioner Martin explained his correspondence which was included in the monthly packet and spoke on the need to update the Department's Master Plan in light of the rapid growth within the community. The Commission discussed the possibility of an outside professional organization updating the plan and Councilwoman Monahan mentioned that Town Planner, S. Mesinger, was advocating updating the Town-wide Master Plan by the end of the year. The Town Master Plan would most certainly have an impact on the Recreation Department's future direction. After further discussion, Commissioner LaBombard moved to direct Commissioner Martin to draft a letter on behalf of the Commission, to S. Mesinger and the Town Board, that the Commission, "...Support in writing, S. Mesinger's plan for Inventories, Data Collection and Projections, etc., in order to prepare a new Master Plan. II Commissioner Teti seconded the motion and after polling all Commissioners it was unanrnmously approved. The Director briefly reviewed the correspondence which had been received from the Adirondack Gymnastics Academy regarding a possible joint summer program. The Commission questioned the cost involved with this type of specialized activity. Following discussion, the -3- Commission suggested that rather than exchanging services, i.e. gymnastics lessons for swimming lessons, that the Department consider offering free summer gymnastics clinics as part of the playground program. The Director agreed to discuss the possibility of offering these summer type clinics with the Adirondack Gymnastics Academy. The Director distributed a copy of Dick Morse's Hovey Pond project correspondence and Chairman Granger explained the specifics of the testing procedure for the dam. The engineer is again working on the project and will report back to the Commission with more specific information at a later date. Chairman Granger read a copy of a letter which he received from the Albany law firm of Bond, Schoeneck and King, which reiterated that, based of the information supplied by the Post· Star , the Commission had erred in regard to certain matters which were dis- cussed in Executive Session at the February 9th meeting. HILAND PARK MOTION - Discussion Commissioner Lemery commented that after reading the March 17th Hiland Park Subdivision Recommendation that he wished to both clarify and inform the Town Board in regard to the intent of the Commission's motion made that evening. After much discussion, the Commission was recommending to the Town Board that they accept the parcel of property in lieu of fees. It was pointed out that Local Law #6/ Section 10 of the Town's Zoning Ordinance specified an either/or situation (Town Board option) in regard to the land or a per unit fee. Therefore, Commissioner Lemery moved to amend the March 17th motion as follows, "...The Town Recreation Commission recommend that the Town Board accept the 70+ acre parcel of property which the Hiland Corporation is offering to the Town. We recommend that they do accept this property in lieu of the recreation fees that have been established by the Town in Local Law #6/ Section 10, of the zoning Ordinance. And at the same time, to include the seconded part of the motion that Commissioner Teti added to it where we would be able to, in the future, to negotiate with the Hiland Park Corporation with regard to any other recreational opportunities that the Park (Corp.) may provide to our community. II Commissioner Teti seconded the motion and there was discussion re- garding other recreational opportunities and possible land acquisition between the Hiland Park Corporation and the Town of Queensbury. There being no further discussion, the, Commission was polled and the motion was unanimously accepted. The Director was instructed to have the new motion/resolution re-typed and submitted to the Town Board as soon as possible. -4- CHANGE OF TITLE - Discussion The Commission questioned Councilwoman Monahan in regard to the status of the change of title for both the Department and the Director which had been submitted to the Town Board some time ago. Initially, it was anticipated that a title change would be beneficial in helping the Department to enhance its image within the community. In a related matter, it was reported that the Queensbury Association, a group not associated with the Town, was out soliciting funds supposedly to help defray attorney fees (land acquisition matter). Both the Commission and Councilwoman Monahan were concerned and feared that this organization might be considered a recognized arm of the Town Government. The Commission again reiterated their desire to have the Town Board consider the change of titles and Council- woman Monahan, after explaining the reason for the delay (possible legal ramifications), agreed to again broach the subject with the Town Board. Chairman Granger also requested that the Director alert him should no action be taken within the next 2 weeks. SCHOOL/COMMISSION REPORT Commissioner Martin briefly reviewed the recent events of the March 16th joint meeting between School and Recreation Commission personnel. He explained some of the possible joint projects which included a youth center, the outdoor learning/recreational center and the lighting of outdoør school athletic facilities. Commissioner Lemery questioned whether the Committee and the Director were in a position to actually negotiate with the School District on behalf of the Town Board, and it was pointed out that, in fact, they were not. Commissioner Martin reminded the Commission that this was an initial meeting for the express purpose of having both organizations get to know one another. Subsequent meetings will hopefully generate additional topics of concern and a course of action can be formulated by both the School Board and the Town Board towards possible joint recreation projects. Commissioner Martin pointed out the next joint meeting had been scheduled for May 12th and Chairman Granger suggested that both groups work towards formulating long-range goals and objectives. RIDGE ROAD PROJECT UPDATE The Director distributed a 2-page bid tabulation sheet and up- dated the Commission regarding the status of the Ridge Road Park project. It was pointed out that the sealed bids for the earthwork, fine grading and seeding of the softball fields/parking ,lot, had been opened on Tuesday, April 7th. The engineer and the Town Attorney are reviewing the bids and should make a recommendation to the Town Board by the April 14th meeting. The Director also reported that the Woodcock Brothers Drilling firm had almost completed drilling a water well at the site. Both soil and water test samples were taken and are presently being analyzed by an Albany-based testing lab. -5- Chairman Granger commented on the condition of the barn structure which was included with the acquisition of the Ridge Road property. He pointed out that roof repairs are definitely necessary and based on an informal estimate, the projected cost will be high. Further action and discussion on possible barn roof repairs were deferred until a later date. SUMMER PROGRAM REPORT - Discussion Chairman Granger suggested that inasmuch as the summer season is right around the corner, that the playground/program review committee be reformed to analyze and make recommendations regarding the 1987 summer playground program. Commissioner Lemery agreed to chair the committee which would include Commissioners Lettus, LaBombard and the Director, and it was agreed that they would meet as soon as possible. The Director also pointed out that the swimming pool report would be completed and mailed out within the next few weeks and requested an informal meeting of the Commission to discuss recommen- dations for the upcoming swimming pool season. Chairman Granger suggested that the program review committee meet with the Director initially, and thereafter, an informal meeting of the entire Commission, be called before the next regular scheduled meeting, to discuss specific program recommendations. POSSIBLE LAND ACQUISITION The Commission briefly discussed the availability of property adjacent to the proposed Hiland Park development. Councilwoman Monahan was questioned regarding her ideas and after a brief discussion, Chairman Granger volunteered on behalf of the Commission to draft a letter to the Town Board requesting them to actively pursue this matter. Commissioner Lemery moved to accept the Chairman's offer and Commissioner Lettus seconded the motion and after all Commission members were polled, it was unanimously approved. Former Supervisor Mike Brandt's recent editorial in the Post Star, which recommended a possible cooperative agreement (watershed property usage in exchange for water) between the City and the Town was discussed. After some discussion, it was suggested that a joint meeting between the Recreation Commissions of both Queensbury and Glens Falls might be a first step towards a possible cooperative venture. In light of the quantity of business before the Commission that evening, it was suggested that any further discussion on this topic be deferred until the next regularly scheduled meeting. FUTURE TOPICS FOR CONSIDERATION Chairman Granger complimented Commission members on their increased interest in both Town-wide and Department recreation matters but pointed out that attendance by all Commissioners on a regular basis was crucial to the future expansion of recreation services in the Town of Queensbury. He suggested that in the -6- near future, that the Commission should think about setting up internal rules and regulations to govern and help guide the conduct of Commission members. In regard to the recording of all Recreation Commission minutes, it was recommended and approved that minutes of Execut~ve Session not be officially recorded. Commissioner Lemery requested to know if the Commission had given any consideration to the Queensbury Central Fire Company's request regarding use of the Hovey Pond property. Chairman Granger explained that any decision by the Recreation Commission would be somewhat premature considering that the engineer's study regarding possible recreational use of the pond, had not yet been completed. DIRECTOR'S REPORT The Director briefly reviewed his enclosed monthly report and he and Commissioner Martin elaborated on some of the educational sessions which they attended at the recent State Conference. Both agreed that the Conference was extremely worthwhile and informative. Commissioner Martin outlined much of the information he received at the Conference including; the danger of insufficient municipal liability coverage and the importance of contractual agreements. Commissioner Martin emphasized that these were areas of concern and importance to both the School and the Town and that they should be investigated in more detail in the near future. The Director updated the Commission regarding the Environmental Quality Bond Act information and relayed that the application packets should be available shortly. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:53 P.M. The next meeting will be held on Monday, May 18th at 7:30 P.M.