Minutes from 1/13/09 Meeting of the Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee

Submitted by Lawrie Bolger, Recording Secretary

1. Meeting Opened -- Meeting was called to order at 7:33 p.m. In attendance: Tom Bierl, Lawrie Bolger, Chris Conaway, Bill Haaf, Zeke Hubbard, Joe Stumpo, Ricki Stumpo.

2. Announcements -- Zeke Hubbard reported that he was officially re-upped as the Chair of the Parks, Recreation & Trails Committee and as the Emergency Management Coordinator at the January Supervisors Meeting. He is available to attend any meetings of the PRT sub-committees, as needed. Lauressa McNemar will be the designated Supervisor for the PRT Committee, being available to attend any PRT meetings as needed.

Ricki Stumpo presented the PRT Meeting Calendar for 2009 as follows: 1/13, 2/10, 3/10, 4/14, 5/12, 6/9, 7/14, 8/11, 9/8, 10/6*, 11/10, 12/8. *Due to the Supervisors Meeting date on 10/13, PRT Meeting Date of 10/13 was changed to 10/6.

3. Public Comments

a. Ricki Stumpo reported that a resident stopped by the office on 12/30/08 to thank the Township for the trails and presented her with a thank you card and gift.

b. Ricki Stumpo reported that, on 12/31/08, a resident, John Tierney, registered an in-person report that he was hit by an ATV while jogging on the trail adjacent to Creek Road, and that his wife was bitten by a dog on the same trail. The Committee agreed to send to the Board of Supervisors the following recommendations to address this incident:

i. Town Watch Proposal: that a Town Watch Organization be formed to patrol the trails, park and Township Facilities.

ii. Police Proposal: that police be hired from local townships such as E. Bradford or Birmingham, on an incident basis. They would have the power to arrest.

A letter to John Tierney, detailing the Committee’s recommendations to the Board, will be sent.

4. Old Business

a. Park BMP’s – dropped. All actions items for Park must go to Susan for approval; she will keep a log of scheduled work.

b. Park Permit & Fees – Tom Bierl presented the Park Permit, Reservations and Application Requirements and Fees for review. Changes and edits were discussed and will be incorporated for final approval via email. The Park Ordinance will be reviewed to check for personal grill use.

Pocopson Park

Park Permit, Reservations and Application Requirements and Fees

Pocopson Township ordinance 147 requires that groups of fifteen or more obtain a permit to use park facilities, including the soccer/lacrosse field, baseball field, tennis court, pavilion and barbecues, basketball court, volleyball court and Tot Lot. Permits are subject to the following rules.

Permit Rules:

· A permit is required for a group of 15 or more people to occupy and utilize a single park facility (defined below.)

· A permit is also issued to reserve a park facility for a group of any size.

· Permits will be issued upon application for three sessions: 8 a.m. – Noon, Noon – 4 p.m., and 4 – 8 p.m. (or sunset if earlier than 8 p.m.)

· For-Profit Organizations - herein defined as individuals, organizations, or groups seeking to utilize the park to provide service to their clients - are required to obtain permits to utilize or reserve park facilities.

· Permit applications can be printed from the Township website, obtained at Township Office or faxed to the sponsor from the Township.

· Applications can be filed for multiple sessions and multiple dates.

· Permit applications may be submitted at the Township Office, faxed to Township Office or e-mailed to the Township. The completed application must bear the sponsor’s signature. Address and phone number for the transmission methods indicated are provided on the permit application. Applications must be received at least seven days prior to the first requested date.

· Approval is not automatic. Consideration is given to the number of people a facility is designed to handle, the number of people in the group, prior permits, the availability of the facility to others seeking random access, community service provided and history of prior permitted activities by the sponsor.

· Approval is further contingent on receipt of any required fees at least three days in advance of the first reservation date. Failure to pay when required voids the entire application.

· The Township will post a list of permits weekly on notice boards near park parking areas.

· Upon arrival permit holders must post their permits at the facility reserved by the permit. Should the facility be occupied, the group occupying the facility should be shown the permit and politely asked to leave. In the event they refuse, permit holders should call the number indicated on the permit.

· Permits maybe canceled without penalty until three days before a schedule reservation date.

· Failure to occupy the reserved facility as described in the permit results in automatic termination of the permit (all scheduled sessions covered by the permit) except when the weather is inconsistent with the facilities being use as scheduled.

· Security deposits will be returned after verification of compliance with the permit and the park facilities have been inspected for compliance with Township requirements and released. Return or notification of deficiency will be sent not latter than two week after the final reservation date.

Covered Facilities and Facility Specific Requirements

· Park facilities are designated by the Park Director and they are listed on the application. They include but are not limited to the following: Pavilion, Tables within the Pavilion, Courts (Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball, and Horseshoe), Baseball Diamond & Field, Baseball Field, Soccer Field, Tot Lot and Swings.

· Tot lot and swings cannot be reserved, but groups of 15 are still required to obtain a permit. For-Profit Organizations may not occupy the Tot Lot or swings.

· Only one tennis court may be reserved at each session. The court on the West side is available for reservation. The Tennis Court on the East side is occupied on a first come first serve basis. For-Profit Organizations may not simultaneously occupy both Tennis Courts.

· The minimum reservation at the pavilion is two tables and one barbecue grill for between 6 and 12 people. A minimum of 24 people is required to reserve the entire pavilion facility. For the purposes of reservation, pairs of tables north and south are reserved as a table group. Table pairs are numbered from West to East. Grills may not be available for all table groups.

Insurance Requirements

• Proof of insurance may be required based on the application.

Enforcement of Park Rules and Reservation Requirement

• The Township will post a list of permits weekly on notice boards near park parking areas.

• Failure to comply with Park Rules set forth by Township Ordinance, Reservation Requirements set forth herein or Requirements set forth on the Permit including maximum and minimum group size specified constitutes breech of Park Rules and Reservation Requirements and will result in the loss of Park Facility Usage Rights granted by the permit, loss of security deposit and fines for specific conduct that maybe imposed by the Township Board of Supervisors.

Refundable Security Deposit:

· A refundable security deposit will be charged when a permit is issued.

· The size of the group dictates the amount of the deposit after the minimum is satisfied. The Security Deposit is per person for maximum number of people the permit allows in a single session. It is not refundable until the permit has expired. The Security Deposit per person per session is specified on the application along with the minimum Security Deposit required.

· Security Deposit refund is contingent upon verification by Township staff that facilities are in good condition. The security deposit will be refunded within 2 weeks of permit expiration.

Maintenance Fee

• Reservation of a park facility requires a maintenance fee per session. The fees are specified on the application form by facility.

For-Profit Organizations

· For-profit organizations pay the refundable deposit, the per session maintenance fee(s) plus an additional participant fee that is levied per person per session for all sessions covered by the application.

5. New Business – Zeke Hubbard requested a list of Committee Members’ emails and phone numbers; Ricki Stumpo to compile.

6. Sub-Committee Reports

a. Trails – Tom Bierl reported that he discovered that trail easements have been omitted for several properties currently being considered, or already designated, for Open Space. Specifically, the Cousins Property’s Agricultural Easement prohibits a trail easement, despite homeowner’s support of trails. Tom will draft a letter to the Supervisors objecting to the loss of trail easements for Open Space Properties.

b. Stream Team – Bill Haaf reported that the letter to approximately 80 Stream Property Homeowners, encouraging their participation in the Tree Planting Program, is ready to be mailed.

c. Founder’s Day – Ricki Stumpo announced that planning meetings would begin at the end of January.

7. Minutes from the December 2008 meeting were approved.

8. Meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.