Parks Commission, September 28, 2022

The town published an agenda for this meeting. No minutes have been published; the recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

budgetcapitalfacilitiesgrantspublic safetyrecreation

Present: Karen (member); Dave (member); Anna (chair); Paul (facilities director). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 33:39Request funds for engineering/schematic design of the Marshall Park master plan and a larger sum for site design construction/site development. — moved by Anna, as heardpassed (Karen, Dave and the chair each said aye)

And 1 procedural: adjourn at 7:55. (▶ 54:10).

The money

1. ▶ 4:56Marshall Park pavilion

   The pavilion line item covers about 1500 square feet and seemed a large sum for that size; the facilities director wants to ask the design firm about it.

   as heard:1500 square feet

2. ▶ 9:06Marshall Park master plan phase funding

   Starting with the phase labelled two would use the whole allocation without adding a bathroom or new users to the park.

   as heard:1.5 million dollars

3. ▶ 12:57Pickleball and basketball courts

   The chair suggested phase one could drop the pickleball courts and include the softball field instead, noting the courts' cost.

   as heard:230 thousand dollars1.5 total2 million

4. ▶ 14:26Prefab bathrooms

   A prefab bathroom unit was estimated at a set price, with two units costing roughly double. The chair and Heather think real cost would be higher and that this should not be a town ask now.

   as heard:148 thousand dollars296 000more than a hundred thousand dollars

5. ▶ 15:28USDA loan for bathrooms

   A USDA loan was proposed for bathrooms at Marshall Park and McNally, to be applied for by next spring. A member noted part of the funding could be grant money.

   as heard:3.25 loan on a 40-yearfour hundred thousand dollars for each set1.2 million

6. ▶ 18:12Overall ARPA ask ceiling

   The town manager gave no indication of a reasonable ask. The commission's allocation is limited.

   as heard:five million dollars3.5

7. ▶ 19:22Construction and engineering ask

   The chair proposed asking for construction money and a separate engineering ask, which together would be most of the funds the town is looking to allocate.

   as heard:between 1.5 and 2 millionfive hundred thousand dollarstwo and a half millionthree point one million

8. ▶ 21:49Schematic design cost

   The schematic design cost was discussed as a percentage of total project cost, with a different percentage cited from the 30 school project. Inflation could raise costs.

   as heard:eight to ten percent500 000seven and a half percentfive or six million dollars5.1

9. ▶ 30:12Bathroom and septic costs

   A member said bathroom attached to the pavilion could cost a large sum, and was bothered that a septic system cost rose sharply because it is a municipal project. The facilities director noted a Board of Health contribution may not remain available.

   as heard:four hundred thousand dollarsForty thousand dollarsover a hundred and five thousand dollarstwo to three hundred thousand dollars

10. ▶ 33:39Motion on ARPA request

    The commission moved to request money for engineering/schematic design and a larger sum for construction/site development.

    as heard:500 000two million dollar ask

11. ▶ 50:37State bond bill earmark

    A state bill with a School Street earmark cannot bond until the next legislative session; other federal recovery money is still unallocated.

    as heard:hundred thousand dollars

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 28:03Commission agreed to ask for engineering funds separately and to leave bathroom construction out of the town ask, pursuing the USDA loan/grant route instead.
• ▶ 35:44The chair will fill out the Google application form for the funding request, due Friday, with a member offering help.
• ▶ 43:40Commissioners will attend the October 4th Select Board meeting; the chair will post a meeting notice in case of a quorum and send the agenda wording.
• ▶ 48:51October meeting will discuss additional funding sources for Marshall Park, the bathrooms and McNally.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• recreation49 min · 90%
• grants41 min · 76%
• capital38 min · 70%
• budget7 min · 14%
• policy5 min · 9%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 2:32Marshall Park master plan phasing, bathrooms and funding ask strategydiscussed; agreed to a flat ask with separate engineering · 25:31 long · capital, recreation, grants
2. ▶ 28:03Motion on funding request for schematic design and constructionvoted, three ayes heard · 7:21 long · capital, recreation, budget
3. ▶ 35:24Application form and facilities director follow-up with design firminformational; chair to complete form · 8:16 long · recreation, grants
4. ▶ 41:35Select Board and Capital Planning on ARPA funding; open meeting law and postingagreed to post a meeting for October 4th · 5:05 long · capital, policy
5. ▶ 46:48Veterans Park repairs, future funding sources, state earmarks and softball field placementinformational; October agenda item · 7:22 long · grants, recreation
6. ▶ 54:10Adjournmentvoted · 0:21 long

What the captions could not carry

• Exact tally of the vote on the motion (Karen, Dave and the chair were heard saying aye)
• Who 'Heather' and 'Greg Royce' are by title is not stated
• Several figures are uncertain, e.g. whether the total ARPA allocation was 3.5 or 3.1 million
• Early lines on childcare and pre-meeting chatter were garbled

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 9:06Marshall Park redevelopmentWhat would the Marshall Park master plan cost by phase, and how much of the town's ARPA money is it asking for?
• ▶ 18:12ARPA fund allocationHow is the town allocating its ARPA funds across competing requests?
• ▶ 14:26Park bathroom costsWhat do bathrooms at Marshall Park and McNally cost, and could a USDA loan cover them?

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