Park board meeting notes: 24.11.04

A Quincy Votes! member attended this meeting. While care has been taken in their creation, these notes are not official meeting minutes and may contain errors or omissions. 

Highlights of the 11/4 Park Department monthly public board meeting:

• The Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) has notified the City about potential contamination from military waste at Brill Field. This field is one of over 5,000 sites the ACoE has to investigate. It may be a while before they can test and provide any further information. Discussion among the members noted that after the site stopped being a military site, it was a school, a hotel and now a field. 

• There was a comprehensive presentation on the City’s Open Space and Recreation Plan by city environmental scientist Heather Lis.

• City will submit a new open space plan to run from 2024 to 2031. The plan will be posted on a City website. (I haven’t seen it posted yet though).

• Conservation, forestry, parks, farms, green buffers, undeveloped land with conservation or recreational potential are all part of the plan. 

• There are two types of recreation: passive recreation (walking, hiking fishing) and active recreation (parks, sports fields).

• The reason to do this is that when a municipality has an approved open space plan, they can apply for (and potentially receive) state grant money in support of their approved plan.

• There are seven goals in the plan, and updates have been provided on each of them.

• Signage discussions: Signs with a list of rules will be posted on the tennis courts at Bishop and Russell parks. Continued discussion of posting dog leash rules at Pageant Field. A mockup of a sample sign will be done as well as confirming what the City’s current ordinance on leashing dogs is. Potential would be to start enforcement (with warnings, then tickets) in the spring. 

• No update on projects this month.

• Next meeting is December 9th (not Dec. 2nd) at 5:30

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Full notes are below:

• Correspondence from the Department of the Army re: Brill Field

Army Corps of Engineers advised that the property is identified as eligible for federal environmental restoration program. US Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for investigating whether there is contamination. This site has been identified as potentially containing military munitions. Please review the enclosed munition safety material. Army Corps of Engineers will coordinate its investigation and determine if a response is needed. Because of the large number of sites (over 5,000) it may be some time before that site is reviewed. WE have been officially notified of that. Letter will be read into the record.

Board discussion: The site was previously a school, a hotel and now a field. 

Requests:

• None

Old Business:

• Presentation: Updated Open Space and Recreation Plan. Seeking Board endorsement on the plan. By Heather Lis, City's environmental scientist.

Plan is almost final. The length of the plan was extended. 

Open space plan was valid from 2019 to 2026. We are now going to submit a newly updated and revised open space plan for 2024 to 2031. Open space usage went up with the pandemic, but now, instead of working on a plan that expires in two years, the state allows municipalities to submit a new plan, provided you get new public input. 

Conservation, forestry, parks, farms, green buffers, undeveloped land with conservation or recreational potential. Plan talks about public land, but it could include a section on private lands.

Passive recreation: walking, hiking fishing

Active recreation: parks, sports fields

Why? Makes us eligible to apply for state grants.

Did do additional public input and did do enhanced environmental outreach

Metropolitan Planning Council will review the plan too.

Last year did open place planning meetings and community survey. City did environmental remediation. Last June talked about the results of the survey. Asking the Board to approve the plan. 

7 goals are the same:

1. Maintain and upgrade parks: all objectives met.

2. Safe public access to waterfront areas and water-based recreational activities

   Discussed dredging of Sailor's Home Pond. Will be making request of city council next week. 

3. Expand recreational opportunities to reflect Quincy's cultural diversity, community interests and needs of underserved populations

   1. Included in bocce courts, cricket field, etc.

   2. Managing the Furnace Brook Golf Club

4. Identify additional funding sources for open and recreational spaces

5. Manage open spaces and natural resources to support Quincy's sustainability and resilience to climate change

   1. Includes managing the new Beachcomber Park

   2. Now have a harbor management plan

   3. Have a bicycle and pedestrian network plan

   4. Have actions related to tree Warden, environmental scientist and heritage conservator positions

6. Make open and recreational spaces accessible to people w/ disabilities and older people

   Looking at ADA inventory, and keep it updated

7. Treat open spaces as experiential classrooms to promote environmental stewardship

Final plan will be put on website. Still a little time to do final updates. 

Heather is looking for board endorsement of the plan.

• AFC Soccer proposal – fence quote / (Quarry Hills). Fence quote was $30,000 - $35,000, and that is more than they can pay without impacting fees. AFC would pay for the material, but requests the City do the installation. (Background: want to take Quarry Hills as their home, and want to partner with the City to make improvements. This is an ongoing discussion. They have been struggling with people driving over the field.)

• Signage for Pageant Field Pavilion indicating that the park is closed for an event/ dog rules. Jay put together ideas. Dog rules, because we are having more "off leash" incidents. Found a sign at the dog park. Has met w/ Dave Murphy. Dog park cost $5 million, and is "off leash", but we are toothless, as we have no way to tell people what is / is not allowed. He thought the one at the dog park was pretty nice and then add rules and regulations about dog leashes. (Some people put leashes on dogs, then let them run.) We have no way of enforcing them, because we don't have written rules. Is there a city ordinance about dogs on the leash? Yes, but we need a sign. When the fields are fallow, off leash might not be a problem (Dec - March), when there is no conflict with games, etc. Is thinking this would help with the "hearts and minds" campaign. It could become a universal sign (dog bone sign); user friendly, and can be changed per park. This is draft, not final word. Will need to find out about off-leash fines and how it could be enforced. (It won't be enforced by QPD, as that would be an add to the union contract). Nicky Malvesti is the dog officer. He could write a fine or ticket for an abuser (normally would start with a warning). Up at Pageant, looking at about eight of these signs. 

Discussion: we can't run counter to city ordinance (so if the ordinance says always leashed, then can't put on the sign off-leash usage.) Have to coordinate w/ dog enforcement. Once signs go up, then a month later do active warning, start by giving warnings, then tickets. Might start this spring. The board could decide what parks might benefit from this. Will research City's ordinances regarding dogs on leashes. Also, no dogs on the City track at Faxon Field.

• Signage request: Tennis court rules at Bishop and Russell parks. 

• Going to get these signs posted on Bishop and Russell parks

• Vote to approve the language / approved.

New Business:

• Set next Park Board Meeting: December 9, 2024, 5:30 pm (approved)

Projects:

• Commissioner’s report (Dave not here)

• Tree lighting on Friday 5:15 pm

• Santa arrives on Saturday

• Christmas Parade on Sunday

• Tree lightings around town

Executive Session: (if needed)