MOUNTAIN LAKES RECREATION COMMISSION

Minutes for May 20th, 2014

7:30 PM Borough Hall

 

 

 

Present:  Commissioners - Wright, Caputo, Sentowski, Peterson, Herrerra; Recreation Director – Lane

 

 

Absent: Commissioners - Spoto, Terhune, Shertzer, Thompson; Borough Council Liaison – Borin; Board of Education Liaison – Mitchell

 

 

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2014 Beach Tags – A motion was made to request only one proof of residence per family.  A family will be defined as any two adults living at the same address and all unmarried children not over 21 years of age.  Grandparents living at the same address may be included in a family plan.  Grandchildren under 18 years of age living at the address may also be included as family members.  Motion was made by Wright and seconded by Peterson.  All were in favor.

 

Non-Resident Students in Recreation Programs – Deb Shertzer has proposed that the following guideline be sent out to all Recreation Programs:

 

With the recent increase of non-resident students enrolled in the Mountain Lakes public schools, the Mountain Lakes Recreation Commission would like to provide recommendations/guidelines regarding inclusion of these students in youth recreation and club sports programs that traditionally provide athletic opportunities to Mountain Lakes residents.

 

The Commission encourages the inclusion of all district students in ML recreational and youth programs.  However, there are several implications that should be considered by the programs:

 

á       Each program should set their own policy based on league eligibility rules, current and future enrollment, facilities availability and volunteer resources.

á       Each program should have a written policy regarding the inclusion or exclusion of non-residents.  If programs allow for non-resident participation, the policy must be non-discriminatory.  All non-resident students (tuition, children of staff members, Lake Drive students) must then be able to participate in open programs or try out for travel/elite teams. 

á       The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that municipal recreation programs provide reasonable accommodations to make programs accessable for individuals with disabilities.  If recreation programs are open to all students attending ML district schools, the programs should be accessible to any student with disabilities if reasonable accommodations can be made.

Pete Sentowski motioned that the guidelines be accepted as presented.  Pete Herrerra seconded.  All were in favor.  Audrey Lane will distribute the guidelines to all programs associated with Mountain Lakes Recreation.

 

Haswell Field/Midvale Parking Plan – Two revisions to the Haswell Field parking plan were presented.  All commissioners preferred Plan ÒDÓ with an enhanced drop off area.  However, it was agreed that the plans did not give adequate consideration to pedestrian traffic.  A request will be made to eliminate right side parking and replace with a defined pedestrian access route.  This may make it possible to increase the number of diagonal spots on the left but this is not considered critical.

 

Borough Facility Signs – Commissioners agreed that Sign Option B looked best.  However, it is felt that it is not necessary to include ÒRecreation CommissionÓ on the signs and DPW will be asked to remove this from all future signs made in this style.

 

Coaching Mastery Workshop – Overall, the commissioners who attended the workshops were disappointed.  The quality of the presentation and the materials was not considered as high quality as the PCA and Rutgers Safely programs.  An overall discussion of possible Sportsmanship initiatives and future programs was deferred to the June meeting.

 

Non-Resident Beach Usage – Residents continue to complain about beach usage by non-residents, especially at Birchwood.  Audrey Lane has discussed the issue with Bob Tovo and he has agreed to work with the Police Department to increase after hours and weekend patrols.  The commissioners would like to see signage at the beaches and tennis courts indicating that the police will be patrolling regularly, possibly including their phone number.  Audrey will discuss with Bob Tovo.

 

Capital Projects – The 2014 final capital budget should be approved in June.  Currently the proposed budget includes a beach facility plan ($40,000), new Midvale Field Playground equipment ($125,000) and renovations at the Midvale Boat Launch ($15,000).  A drainage upgrade on Upper Halsey Field is no longer included in the proposed budget.

 

Tennis Court Rules – DPW has suggested some minor modifications to the wording of the rules.  It was agreed that Nicole Wright and Audrey Lane would manage this unless any significant modifications are required.

 

DirectorÕs Report  - Audrey Lane reported that both the Trout Derby and the Easter Egg Hunt were successful and acknowledged the great work of the Trout Derby Committee and thanked Kelly Thompson for her time and effort and recruitment of volunteers for the Egg Hunt.  

 

Empty Bowls was a good venue to discuss new programs and returning summer camps with residents.

Boys lacrosse program took advantage of the background-testing program purchased by the recreation program and all of their coaches were successfully screened.

Recreation teams have had more access to the turf this year in large part due to communication with James Smith and the use of schools.  It was noted that it is frustrating to see unused turf at prime practice or game times.  Audrey will work to implement a practice of asking Recreation teams to keep her posted if they do not plan to use their allotted time so that this 'released' turf time can be used by other recreation programs.

Audrey is in the process of finalizing details for several summer camps including the recreation summer camp, a pony camp at Midvale, a digital Movie-making camp for middle schoolers, several sports camps, and a golf camp run in coordination with Mt. Tabor Country Club.  

Fire works and insurance forms are currently being prepared for the Fourth of July celebration in town. A grant request has been submitted to the ML Town Club for a contribution to the fireworks fund.

Audrey met with Lydia Spoto last week in an effort to learn more about the Hub Lakes league.  She hope to recruit more participants this summer via a virtual flyer sent out through the schools and will also post information on the Mountain Lakes website.

Summer concert bookings are currently being finalized.