Meeting minutes
Town of Gray Recreation and Conservation Committee
January 18, 2006
In Attendance – Dean Bennett, Carl Holmquist, Matthew Bourne, Peter Martell and Denise Duda
Dean welcomed Denise as the town council liaison. The group is encouraged to have a contact with the council.
Dean distributed a packet of information, including the winter program flyer for Parks and Rec., as well as the proposed 2006 budget and a statement of the Rec. departments Enterprise accounts.
Dean posed a question to the group regarding long-term goals for the committee. It was agreed that each member would provide goals during the next meeting. These goals would be discussed and prioritized, eventually forming a plan for the group.
Carl mentioned the use of the towns ArcView mapping tool and the benefits it would be to the committee and the town. Carl has contacts whom are familiar with the tool and have volunteered their services. The group will be pursuing/discussing this in more detail at future meetings.
The group discussed the financial documents as well as the recent information regarding the existence of an account for use in Town recreational activities. The understanding is that this account is funded from subdivision fees that are paid to the town on a per lot basis. It is somewhat unclear as to whether or not the Rec. department and/or this committee have access to these funds. The committee feels that it’s very important that they have at least one member of the group that has a very firm understanding of the budget process and that is keeping close tabs on any financial changes or updates.
Dean described the current process his department follows as part of the approval process for new subdivisions. The process appears to be failing, as he is not notified of site walk throughs for the purpose of possibly obtaining recreational space within some of the larger subdivisions.
Denise encouraged the group to be sure to email these and any other concerns to town officials such as Mitch Berkowitz, Town Council members and the town planner, based on the area of concern. E-mail will begin a documented paper trail that will keep everyone informed and will stimulate action.
Next meeting will be held February 13th, 2006 6:30pm at the Town maintenance building.
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