West Goshen Township
Parks and Recreation Board Meeting
July 16, 2008
Minutes

Attending: Les Bair, Bob Cifone, Jennifer Dobbins, Mary Lou Enoches, Jerry Napiecek, Michael Pillagalli, Nancy Pine, Ed Smith, and Megan Zug

Township Representatives: Ken Lehr, Tom Steines, and Kent Wise

Meeting called to Order: 7:00 PM by Chair Mary Lou Enoches

After a review of the minutes submitted for the June 18,2008 meeting, a motion was made by Les Bair to accept the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Jerry Napiecek and passed.

The Financial Report dated June 30, 2008 was reviewed. There were no questions or comments pertaining to the Financial Report.

Parks: Kent Wise reported that the crew is busy cutting grass and grooming the Township's ballfields. Kent Wise said the crew completed mulching the beds at Community Park. At the entrance to Barker Park, crews completed replacing about 200 feet of the post and rail fencing. Kent Wise reported that the crew was also busy doing tree work at Coopersmith Park (where Farmington Lane backs up to the park). Two dead oak trees were removed. Additionally, the crew topped off the Hallowell Field playground with new playground mulch. Kent Wise reported that the concession stand at Community Park was targeted by vandals. The vandals who have since been abducted took candy, gum and the cash register from the facility.

Recreation: Tom Steines reported that the Summer Recreation Program reached the half-way point on Friday (July 18^th). Tom Steines said the campers are being kept busy with field trips and daily events including "Water Day," "Crazy Hair Day," and "Carnival Day." Field trips include roller skating at CN Skate Palace, ice skating at Ice Line, a trip to the Brandywine Zoo, and Water World. At this time there are 96 campers registered for Barker Park (down from 111 in 2007), 62 campers registered at Coopersmith Park (down from 86 in 2007), and 127 campers registered at the Community Park (up from 110 in 2007). Additionally, around 91 campers have participated in the various sports clinics with skateboarding being the most popular. Tom Steines informed the members of the Park and Recreation board of an incident in which a camper left the group at Community Park to use the restroom facilities and was inadvertently left behind while the group left for the Brandywine Zoo. Tom Steines informed a full investigation is underway with the counselors to determine how this incident could have happened and to make sure it never happens again.

Tom Steines informed that at this time there are 29 campers registered for the Summer Teen Program (up from 21 in 2007). Tom Steines indicated that the daily attendance ranges from fifteen to twenty campers a day. Tom Steines reported that twenty participants attended the recent trip to Dorney Park, and indicated that attendance for the community service projects is also averaging about twenty campers per project. Last week's project had the teens doing trail work at the Stroud Preserve. Next week's service project will have them doing more trail work at Springton Manor Farm.

Friends of the Park: Jennifer Dobbins, reporting for the Friends of West Goshen Parks, informed that there is nothing new to report at this time. Jennifer Dobbins informed that the bequest committee would meet on July 17^th.

Old Business: Ken Lehr, reporting on Township bus trips, informed that all of the remaining summer bus trips have sold out. This includes the August 17^th trip to Yankee Stadium, the September 6^th trip to Shea Stadium, and the September 16^th trip to Yankee Stadium. Ken Lehr informed that the Township started advertising for the December trips including the December 1^st trip to Radio City Music Hall, the December 6^th trip to Lancaster, and the December 13^th bus trip to New York City. Mary Lou Enoches stated that she liked the handout designed to promote the "Three Great Holiday Getaways" the Township is offering in December that includes information on the Radio City Music Hall trip, the American Music Theater trip and the New York City on your own trip. Finally, Ken Lehr reported that the October 2^nd to 6^th trip to Cape Cod has sold out. The Cape Cod trip is a joint venture between East Goshen Township, West Goshen Township, and the Borough of West Chester.

Ken Lehr, reporting on the June 21^st Go Skateboarding Day at the Township's skatepark, informed that this year's event attracted a good turnout of about 300 people. The event was sponsored by Fairman's. Ken Lehr thanked Tom Steines for providing support for this year's event, indicating he was not able to attend because he was providing support for the Township's New York City bus trip that was scheduled on the same day. Ken Lehr informed that the Battle of the Bands winner ("Drop Out Academy") performed as part of the Go Skateboarding Day festivities.

Ken Lehr, reporting on the July 4^th Decorated Bike Parade, said about 70 children participated in this year's event, which was held in soggy weather conditions. Jerry Napiecek stated that in spite of the weather conditions, everything went well. Ken Lehr informed that next year's 4^th of July would fall on a weekend, and indicated that attendance for the Decorated Bike Parade historically falls off when the actual holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

Ken Lehr, reporting on the Summer Concert Series, informed that two of the first three events had to be moved inside due to inclement weather. The third concert featuring "Special Blendz" ended a few minutes early due to lightening. Information on the 2008 Summer Concert Series is listed below:

Ken Lehr, reporting on the Community Day, informed that a planning meeting was held at 6:30 PM prior to the July Park and Recreation Board meeting.

Ken Lehr, reporting on upcoming theatrical performances, informed that the Township will present a Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at Community Park on Saturday, July 19^th at 7:00 PM. Megan Zug asked how long the performances normally run. Ken Lehr indicated that the play should be over sometime around 9:30 PM.

Ken Lehr, reporting on the "Watch Dogs," informed that the group met on July 2^nd at the dogpark. At the meeting, members of the "Watch Dogs" received hats identifying them as members of the group and three sets of cards: one pertaining to rules for dogs, one pertaining to rules for children attending the park and one identifying the responsibility of patrons to clean up after their pets. Mary Lou Enoches indicated that she always sees a lot of people at the dogpark. Kent Wise informed that at this time everything seems to be running smoothly. He reminded everyone that the dogpark is closed each day from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM for normal maintenance.

Ken Lehr, reporting on Harvest Day, informed that the 2008 Harvest Day festivities are scheduled for Sunday, October 19^th at Community Park.

Ken Lehr, reporting on the bequest from Jesse March to The Friends of West Goshen Parks, informed that a sub-committee consisting of Jennifer Dobbins, Nancy Pines, Peggy Niemeyer, Jerry Napiecek and himself met on Thursday, July 10^th to come up with recommendations on how the donation should be utilized. The sub-committee is recommending the funds be placed in an interest bearing account to provide income and fund small capital projects. The sub-committee identified a capital project that included the purchase and installation of a permanent sound system at the Community Park amphitheater. Ken Lehr informed that the cost of a permanently mounted, water proof sound system would be $8,000.00. Jerry Napiecek stated that since Jesse March enjoyed the concerts at the Community Park, another option would be to utilize the donation to bring in a larger name/headline act to perform as part of the Summer Concert Series. Mary Lou Enoches asked if it would be possible to purchase the sound system and place the remaining funds from the donation into an endowment. At the sub-committee meeting, Peggy Niemeyer suggested purchasing a retractable awning/cover for the stage front at the Community Park amphitheater. Megan Zug stated that a retractable awning/cover would be beneficial but indicated this would not be the most cost effective way to utilize the donation funds. Michael Pillagalli asked if there was a timeframe for the proposed capital purchase, stating that he would like to see nothing happen with the funds until after Community Day. Michael Pillagalli recommended waiting to see how this year's Community Day turns out stating if attendance is low, the Township would probably make a decision to discontinue the event. If this were the case, the funding for the 2009 Community Day could be utilized to purchase the sound system for the amphitheater. Kent Wise stated that most of the bands that perform at the amphitheater have their own sound systems and indicated that this cost is passed along to the Township in the price the band charges for their performance. Michael Pillagalli expressed concern that the new sound system would/could be the target of vandalism. Megan Zug suggested placing the entire donation into an interest bearing account and utilize the proceeds to fund the Summer Concert Series, stating that we had to reduce the number of concerts this year from six to five due to financial restrictions. If the entire $25,000 donation were placed into an income bearing account, an annual income of at least $1,000 would be generated. Michael Pillagalli made a motion to utilize the entire $25,000 donation to establish an endowment fund for the Friends of West Goshen Parks. The motion was unanimously approved by the members of the Park and Recreation Board and passed. Nancy Pine reported that she has reviewed the Trust agreement and that use of the donation is unrestricted. Thus, the Township would be in compliance with the Trust by establishing the endowment. Kent Wise indicated that the Township has funds listed in the Treasurer's Report that could be used for capital improvements. Megan Zug stated that if any future "restricted" donations come to the Township, these funds would need to be put into a separate account and could not be added to the fund being established for the Jesse March donation.

New Business: Ken Lehr confirmed that the Township would support the pocketbook booth at the Goshen Fair this year and requested that anyone interested in volunteering time to assist with the running of the booth contact Sandy Turley to reserve the desired time slot(s). Jerry Napiecek asked if there were written procedures/instructions pertaining to "bonus spins," stating that there were issues with this practice last year. Ken Lehr indicated that there are written instructions, but there was nothing in them specific to "bonus spins".

 Ken Lehr reported that the Township would support the American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, August 6^th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Township Building. Ken Lehr asked anyone interested in giving blood to contact Sandy Turley for an appointment.

 Megan Zug asked if the Township had made a decision on Tina Brogan's request for a Township sponsored tennis program. Ken Lehr reported that Casey LaLonde discussed this request with the Board of Supervisors and that a decision was made to not offer a Township sponsored tennis program at this time.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for August 20, 2008.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ed Smith