August 19, 2025 – Recreation Commission – Video & Transcript

August 19, 2025 - Recreation Commission

Autoscroll:

Asa Foster: Uh. can we call our meeting the Recreation Commission meeting today at Tuesday. August 19. 2025 at 1030 meeting is hybrid and pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025 this meeting will be conducted in person and via remote means. in accordance with the applicable law. This meeting will be recorded which will be made available to the public on WayCAM as soon after the meeting as is practiceable when required by law. when required by law or allowed by the chair. versus wishing to provide public comment or otherwise participate in meeting may do so by in person attendance or by accessing the meeting remotely. as noted above. You request public comment to be limited to two minutes per person and times your approximate items may not be discussed in the order listed or at a specific time estimated. All listed topics may be subject to deliberation and vote. As far as the agenda is concerned. and is called order public comment. minutes. dog park. FY 26 goals. annual report. review. correspondence. if any. Commissioner announcements. reports and concerns. recreation director's department report with follow up questions and comments. schedule of the next meeting. date and potential agenda items. topics not reasonably anticipated by the chair. 48 hours in advance of the meeting. if any. and adjourn so recall the order we have a public comment. We have any public comments? Should we have any public comments? Anybody online?
Katherine Brenna: Never quote. but they have not raised their hands. Asa Foster: are they good
Katherine Brenna: are we good. Asa Foster: Okay. Do I need to identify that people who are participating. Katherine Brenna: it's on the agenda. I believe Asa Foster: so. Let's take a couple of minutes to review the minutes that Michael Grant provided for us a meeting on July 8.
Katherine Brenna: Yeah. did I mention this is off our canned
routine
yeah. we could make that edit . this. I don't know that means but I highlighted it. It was usually the rational. You could say. Asa Foster: yes. Michael Grant: I've got it open so I can make any revisions that we need to Asa Foster: everybody have a chance to read. Mark Norton: So Mike 9b? Yep. against the route 20 South landfill yep. Michael Grant: yep.
Asa Foster: Any other Mark Norton: sorry. Mike. I feel personally for you there. Michael Grant: no. what. what? What needs to be changed there. Mark Norton: no. it's not 205. oh. it's
Michael Grant: 20S. Ah. got it. Okay.
Asa Foster: Okay. would someone make a motion to accept the minutes as presented with one change on number nine? Michael Grant: Just I caught a typo in 12. It was not Tom pond. town pond Katherine. Did you have any comment on that? Katherine Brenna: Yeah.
I do there. I don't think I said that. I don't think there was algae reported it it would be Lake Cochituate is the only one we monitor for which. like. I don't know what Town pond is. but. um. we haven't had any algae problems at Town beach this year. But I would have to go back to the tape to know what I was talking about a month ago. Okay. but it just doesn't feel accurate to me. So. Asa Foster: yeah. so how would you like to change it? Katherine Brenna: I think maybe either a minute or that's fine.
Maybe there was algae at South pond. which is Lake Cochituate. which is not the town beach. I Jeff Bergeron: think that was exactly what was said. is that we said that there was an algae Cochituate. but it the only time that there was an issue was at the other beach that nobody swims out. Yeah. Katherine Brenna: I think that was. it was just like. yeah. And I think it was just the visual observation. I don't think it was ever confirmed. So I'm just sensitive about that. because we spend a lot of time trying to educate the community about the algae situation at Town Beach. which has been non existent for the last two years. Michael Grant: Why . I omit it? Then Asa Foster: sure it fine. okay. So. so someone make a motion to approve these minutes with the with the corrections as suggested. Unknown: I'll make a motion. A second. Asa Foster: second. All in favor. Okay. thanks Mark Norton: for doing that. Mike. Asa Foster: thank you. It went well done. Item number four on the agenda is the dog park. And discussion about the dog park proposal presented by Nicolette Mascari and Jessica Greher Traue. Huh? Wow. that's a shocker. And Jon Weintraub. but Nicolette Mascari: thank you. Asa Foster: I don't see John put it Nicolette Mascari: up here. Yeah. great. Thanks for putting us on your agenda today. Katherine Brenna: Michael do you see the screen?
Michael Grant: Yeah. Katherine Brenna: yes. Michael Grant: I see Nicolette. Nicolette Mascari: Hi. Mike. Hey. good morning Katherine Brenna: You don't see a slide show. Michael Grant: I do not let me Katherine Brenna: Are you there?
Yep. great. Nicolette Mascari: okay. so I'm Nicolette Mascari. I live at 29 Shaw drive. Jessica Greher Traue: Hi. I'm Jessica Greher Traue I live at Nicolette Mascari: and we're here to kind of talk to you 10 Adams lane.
about our desire proposition for a Wayland dog park. Our mission is pretty self explanatory. We're really looking to create an inclusive environment and the community dog park that offers a self well maintained space that's dedicated and okay to have dogs off leash to to play and socialize. We really think this is a great opportunity to have not just the pets. but their owners come together. stay active and build connections. So this is just also speaking to the physical and mental well being. but it's also a large fight on a community component and amenity for the town. Why we think Wayland needs a dog park. Leslie Stewart: I'm sorry. Oh. yeah.
Nicolette Mascari: So we're really honing on this community aspect. It's a connection across generations. So as we know. this isn't just young families having dogs. We know that a lot of elders in our town who live alone. they have dogs as well. So it's really just. Just an opportunity to bring across generational component to the community that otherwise wouldn't have been socialized or in the same place at the same time in our town. the demand truly does exist. About one in every three families in Wayland has a dog. We know this from the licensing report from from downstairs. We don't know how accurate that is. For instance. there might be one license for a household that might be trying to cover all pets. or some pets in the household might have more than one pet. But this is just the data from the town and who is licensed. We know that a gap exists. There's really a lack of a dedicated space in town. We have to travel to other towns to kind of get a dedicated dog park. So we know that our community members and our town. our people are kind of going elsewhere to get this amenity and supporting other businesses and other towns as they travel outside. And then there's a large health and safety component to this. It reduces off leash incidents where dogs are not supposed to be conservation trails. etc. It has a potential to reduce waste in conservation areas. which we hear time and time from conservation that that can be a pain. A pain for them is that people not picking up for their pets. and it supports the well being and connections of the owners and their pets. So we kind of want to advance to the next slide. We feel like we're in this little dog park desert. So we kind of mapped around Wayland. where some of our residents are going. In Wayland. they go to the way the Maynard dog park. Eddie's in Natick seems to be the most popular and the closest the Framingham dog park and the Waltham City branch. which is about 30 minutes away. So as you can see. we pulled or we surveyed some of the people on our Facebook site. and it seems like Eddie's Park is about 6.6 miles away from town center. I believe. is what we used as a pinpoint for that. And you know. that's about a 25 minute drive. And then. going to kind of talk about what our initial survey results were too. Katherine Brenna: Yep. Jessica Greher Traue: So last fall. we just put together a Google form and promoted it through various town social media pages. So the data that you see here is from that initial push for the survey. So while we have a response rate of about 90 residents. all were 18 plus 84% of that sample owned dogs. So we did have some community members participating in our survey who don't have dogs and were voicing their opinion. including some that were actually in favor. despite the fact that they're not even. you know. pet owners themselves. So what you see on the right hand side are just some of the quotes that were submitted when we asked if folks had any other thoughts to share. So some are. you know. just simply Affirmative. But here we are. as somebody saying. like. we all go to pure towns to use their parks. And just saying that. you know. there are some private grants available. This larger quote in the middle. I think is really nice. because it's not a dog owner who's voicing their opinion and realizing the fonts rather small. They said. I think it's really helpful to have a dog park where dogs can run around safely off leash. We live close to conservation land where dogs are supposed to be on leash. and many times people let them off leash. This is not safe for the dogs. As they run up into our driveway. and risk of getting hit. they also scare my kids. I really. I love dogs. but I'm not a dog owner. It would be great for them to have their own space. And then. you know. the next quote is just somebody talking about. you know. their opinion of the native dog park being run really well. And if you know. a park is adopted somewhere in town here. just thinking about the kind of regulation they have there as a model. Next slide. So Nicolette discussed a few minutes ago. kind of the needs in town. and you know. some of the benefits or potential outcomes when properties like this exist in towns for the dogs. as discussed. it's a safe place for them to play and exercise. and it improves their socialization and behavior. And I'll just give an example. I have two dogs. One of my dogs is really friendly and social. She's just really awful at recall. and so when I've had her off leash and fields. she'll come back once or twice. and then she'll just find something else way more exciting. And so it's really difficult for us to navigate with her. and the existing properties in town that we are allowed to take her. I also have a puppy that we're going to need to socialize. and. you know. need to safely meet other dogs. And right now there isn't necessarily. Place to do that unless. you know. we find friends that could potentially bring their dog over. or host. you know. host us at their spot. And to the extent. with my older dog. I am enrolled in a recall class right now. and I got to a point in the class where they said. Okay. it's now. It's now a time for you to bring your dog to a dog park to be able to use a high distraction environment and practice what you're learning. And they didn't have that available to me within a short. you know. drive. So just the perspective. you know. from somebody that navigates it with the past. for owners. as Nicola alert alluded to earlier. you know. in addition to the convenience of keeping folks here in town and building those social interactions with other owners. It is encouraging responsible pet ownership and training again. to that note around recall and being able to. you know. have your dog respond to you. And then for Wayland. it enhances that sense of community. the socialization and the health of residents. as you all know. from just the work that you do and building community and offering recreational opportunities on campus. loneliness is a big issue across generations. as well as the technology and the kind of fences it builds around people for engaging with others. And one of the best anecdotes to that is the human to human. direct interaction and socialization. and that's something that these dog parks provide. because residents will naturally ask somebody. a stranger. that they're meeting there. oh. what's your dog's name? And they just start to talk in the ice is broken very quickly. It also has the ability to elevate mobile businesses. We have three veterinary practices in town. We have a specialty pet store. We have a few other stores that sell pet items. and we also have residents in town who are in the pet industries. and also supports businesses like things like coffee and lunch. Because if we're traveling up to a half an hour to another town. we might be stopping off at a Dunkin over there. or at another coffee shop over there. or. you know. just picking up a sandwich. because it does require more of a time commitment. So we're thinking about it from a business perspective. and really trying to make sure that we're supporting the local businesses here. and then it can also serve as a hub for programming for pet owners. And so thinking about partnering with local organizations or local businesses. you know. think about like mobile grooming sites or dog trainers who can come and give free classes. or involving other entities in County. like the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts. and doing community service projects around her next slide. So we've done some research with other towns. and we've had some some really great partnerships and consultation with folks who are involved in the creation of dog parks in towns like Natick and Framingham. And if we're summarizing the requirements. they are fairly minimal. We need a location that's accessible and safe away from high traffic zones. ideally with parking. When we're thinking about folks who have you know. different mobility needs. We want to make sure that we're not creating hilly. super. you know. tree root terrain that's difficult to navigate. Fencing. We just need secure fencing around and. you know. gated entry to be able to safely bring your dog in and out. off leash. waste stations. just for disposal. seating and shade not required. but would be nice. because that would encourage people to linger and then water access. addition. additionally. not required. but would be really nice again to be able to provide drinking solution for both dogs and their owners. Yeah. thanks. So this slide is just an example of what a budget for dog park would look like. This is based on creation of other parks in other towns. recognizing that construction costs. supplies costs are going to vary based on. you know. location and what's required for that location. we can only right now just give an example of what the budget could look like. and would have to do more of a feasibility study once land is designated for this type of park. to get a stronger sense of the process. Nicolette Mascari: So when we kind of look at what we've accomplished and what our next steps are. You know. last year we really formed this committee. We've started to engage people on a lot of the social channels. primarily using Facebook. We did this initial survey. We have reviewed at length. the town GIS map. the wrap report. We've met with key stakeholders. like we met with animal control officer Jen Kelly McPherson. spearheaded the eddies Park. native dog park. so she's kind of our subject matter expert. We've talked with Sean fair. who I believe is stepping down the Conservation Committee. or. I'm not sure. Sure. So we have spoken with him about the waste issues and having dogs that can't recall who are off leash on some of those trails in town. Travis Ahern. also another subject matter expert. as he was in charge of he sat on the board. excuse me. in Danvers. and he kind of spearheaded an issue. the projects the dog park over in Danvers. So this year. kind of what we're working on. what we're continuing to look to do is identify a dedicated space which is really just where we really need to start. in order to get things like the budget and people on board and do the feasibility report. we want to connect with other people and products and pipeline where this might be a good fit. Once we do that. we can connect conduct that feasibility report. report. search for more specific grants and funding. We continue to generate buzz and interest through Facebook and sitting in on meetings like this and talk with people. and then we have met and connected with Anette Lewis. We really reviewed the rock report with her. Leslie. We had coffee with you just to kind of talk. to see if this could be a possibility. And we're continuing. continuing to check in with Mike McCall regarding Town Center and where that projects at and just where he thinks that he might see this fit. We've provided some examples of where dog parks exist today in some of our neighboring communities that sit within parks and rec so farm pond dog park is about one mile from their downtown. It does have parking and is surrounded by other amenities. such as a state park. the Memorial Park. green spaces and parking. It has fountain shade. Shelter has rise stone. It offers ability for agility equipment and dog way stations. And so you can kind of see where it is in the red dot there. and then what it is surrounded by in Carlisle. This is brand new. I don't know if you guys have been in the soccer fields down there at the North Memorial Park here. It's not exactly next to them. but you can see them when you pull in. They share the same parking lot. It is adjacent to their soccer fields. It is has. you can kind of see it on the map right there as well. And then the hoppington dog park is maintained by their park and rec department. Is a fully fenced off leash aerial. It has a double gated pen insurance one for has an area for small and large dogs to be separated. It is more it's picture like. almost like a private drive to get to the soccer field. And the dog park is as you enter the private way to your right. It has its own parking it is a little bit more separated. Mark Norton: Right. Summer. Jessica Greher Traue: So just to kind of summarize it. demand exists in town. It is a gap within the current town. amenities that we offer residents. And I realize that this can be polarizing. but I also like to point out that. for example. we do have the the town sponsored equestrian rank right over by Claypit Hill School. We far less horse owners here in town that are using that amenity. And it would be nice for us to meet a greater need of. you know. for our residents. knowing that again. about one in three households do have at least one pet that's registered with the Tom supports. you know. human well being and our canines well being. building community connection and support for local business. We've done some of the initial research with the town reports and talking with those stakeholders. And really what we're what we're here for. is we're seeking partnership and guidance and support on next steps. We feel like we've got a really solid foundation of committed and engaged residents who are ready to do the work. but we're at the point where we are reaching a little bit of like a ceiling with where we can take this project. And you know. we're looking for more engagement from folks who have been through this process before with other projects. but also recognize that a project like this really does complement the mission. for example. of this commission right here. and thinking about whether this could be a good. you know. partnership and fit. So I think we can probably pause here just if there's any questions or discussion. and I think I saw somebody online might have had their hand raised a while ago. Luke. Katherine Brenna: you want to go for that? Sure?
Jon Weintraub: Hey. this Jon Weintraub. Katherine Brenna: oh. hey.
Jon Weintraub: every time I log into zoom. I don't know whose name is going to show up in my family. but apparently my son. Luke's thanks. You know. I want to reiterate our thanks for allowing us to come in and pitch our our proposal. I think Nicole and jet Jessica hit did a great job hitting on the points of why dog parks are something that that would be a dog park would be great for the town. The thing that I want to just really harp on is the community building aspect of a dog park. A lot of times. we people want dog parks because they want to be able to bring their dogs out and keep them entertained and exercised. What I've seen. I've been to a ton of dog parks because I've I've had a dog for seven years. I don't know if you guys have dogs. but especially when he was a puppy. he needed a lot of interaction. and I would take him on my travels. So I've been to dog parks up and down the East Coast. and in the summer. I spend a lot of time at the dog park in Falmouth. not as much time as I think my dog would like us to. But the biggest takeaway that I've seen spending a lot of time at different periods of the day part at this particular dog park is the community building. the community building between generations. especially younger families and older individuals. And I think that is why it would be great to have one in Wayland. When you're new to town and you you might not have kids. or your kids aren't yet in school. it's it's difficult to meet people in Wayland. and a dog park provides that opportunity. And when you're an empty nester and your kids are no longer involved in activities. Wayland doesn't really have a downtown where people come together. Dog parks kind of act as that gathering place I've see at dog parks. where you have certain people come at the same time every day. purposely to meet their friends who they've met through the dog park. It allows people. as they get older. to continue to care for a dog. where they might not be able be as mobile and can effectively walk a dog. So a dog park provides that opportunity. and I think Wayland. I'd love to see more amenities for our older residents. so that they decide to stay longer. so that they continue to subsidize our kids who are in schools. So again. I think I just really want to harp on the community building aspect of dog parks.
Leslie Stewart: I have a question. Is there an ideal surface that you'd be looking for. if it's just a grass or. you know. first private sand. or maybe part of its wooded wood. just trying to see what. what possible spaces we could have that would not need an overhaul. Yeah. Nicolette Mascari: the dogs don't like the pea stone. even though we see that often. John can speak to that a little bit more. But what we found works best is actually just large wood chips. So this could be when trees are taking down in town. or a tree falls in the middle of the road. Our idea here is like we would have the town just come. you know. if it's DPW or where that falls. chop it up and just drop it off. So I think that that is the most preferential ground covering. It's easier for the dog to maintain. usually in need. When I spoke with Kelly. they only have to spread out once a year. And they and we were kind of you mentioned on it a little bit touched on it a little bit earlier. but using community groups like the boys and girls. like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to come and use community hours to work on a park like this just helps spread in the spring or in the fall. whenever we decide to do it. So we are kind of thinking about this holistically. and how we can do this even build upon community even more. and have everybody get involved. but wood chips. Jessica Greher Traue: and they don't untreated wood chips. So again. thinking about how. you know. every fall when we have our tree hearing in town. and then. you know. trees are identified for removal. You know. the company that's chopping those up. you know. is chipping them right then and there on the street. right? So it's very easy to just have them dumped. you know. in a location. Asa Foster: Would this? Would this be a handicap accessible? Yes. it would okay. Now. wood chips create its own set of problems. as far as that. Nicolette Mascari: right? So usually there's like a cement pathway around and two. and that's. Where we talked about to the parking and making sure that it's ADA compliant for people to come and be able to walk at least around the perimeter on some sort of cement or stepping stones and things Asa Foster: would this be. would be available to the general public. so not limited to waiting residents. Nicolette Mascari: We've talked about that a little bit before. We don't feel in our hearts that it would be right to exclude other people. since we've been using there so for so many toys with the idea of having. like. a key fob for residents. But we really think this is Park and rack. and we're looking to build connections. and we've been. you know. kind of using other parts that would be open Asa Foster: to the general follow up question to that would be in a lot of a lot of places where dogs are walked in a professional dog who bring their dogs. and they'll bring 6478. dogs. yep. Would that be applicable here? It Nicolette Mascari: would not. So we have a list of suggested rules that are very strict. that follow kind of a similar format. The other ones where it is not used for business or commerce purposes. It has to be. you know. you have to own the dog. Jessica Greher Traue: yeah. and limit on how many. how many Asa Foster: dogs you can. you can bring at a time. yeah. Jon Weintraub: that's. that's pretty much common across all dog parks. And I have not. you know. I haven't seen anybody violate that. Surprisingly. Asa Foster: how would you. how would you move forward in this. with respect to if it's going to cost the town X number of dollars to to to do something like this. or to construct something like this. I assume that you couldn't do it all for grants. so you'd have to go to town and address this at a town meeting. because there are financial considerations here. Is that what we propose to do? Nicolette Mascari: I think we would start with sponsorships and grants. then we would go to the town. and then we try to fill private like sponsorships and things like that. to fill in the gaps. Yeah. Well. John. yep. John. Jon Weintraub: yeah. So the that is our plan. We're also. you know. we've looked at different spots around town. including the town center. and one angle that we are. we are looking at we're not. you know. holding our breath. Yeah. holding our breath. But if the new. whoever buys the New Town Center. if we can pitch them to build the dog park. there's an amenity. potentially. we could get them to foot the bill for it. because of the benefits that that would bring to the to the town center and Jessica Greher Traue: to the tenants.
Asa Foster: the business attraction. more people that. And you Nicolette Mascari: can get a cup of coffee. You can do your food stuff. you know. And Mark Norton: but you know. Jon Weintraub: And the other benefit is. I think. when we were talking about the Framingham slide. if you remember that picture that showed the proximity to rec fields. if we were to do this in an area near rec fields. there's a lot of crossover benefit for families. as their kids are practicing. other family members can be at the dog park taking care of walking their dog or exercising their dog and and so forth. So Jessica Greher Traue: I've been I've been to Little League games over at that Framingham site. and there's definitely families that are splitting. splitting their time.
Asa Foster: Now. do you? Do you. if you're considering this. we're looking at at different fields that exist in the town. recreation fields or property the towns. Is there any place in particular that you look where you think such a park would be appropriate? Nicolette Mascari: Yeah. there's so we so many considerations that we're still not aware of. We tried looking at and scanning at some of the park sprints. just like our King field over here. like. is there a space that could be big enough that's not being used. understanding. like with the Tom js. is that actually wetlands? Like. would that work get too wet? So I think we have surveyed a bunch of the parks. but we're always thinking about the other considerations that we're not aware of. And so that's kind of why we're here today as well. Jessica Greher Traue: Yeah. I mean. I think. as John mentioned a minute ago. like. there's a couple of parcels in town center that could be really perfect for this. but. you know. we're navigating that that's not property that's owned by the town. and there might be other projects earmarked there. but I. You know. a space like that parking already exists. The you know. the the waste. you know. pick up already exists on the property. It wouldn't require a ton of site prep because it's been cleared. And also. thinking about some of the. I think limitations from Raytheon initial sale that property. right? Like. this is the type of construction that's minimally disruptive. you know. when we think about again. some of this. the soil considerations over there. But ultimately. we're looking for a parcel that's not that's more centrally located. right? Like. we don't want to look at Alpine field. because that really creates just as much of a distance as some of these other parks for our residents who live down in addition to it. and we also want something that's not so isolated that a community member wouldn't feel safe if they found themselves there alone. Nicolette Mascari: You know. we've talked a little bit about the local fields. How did they get there. Jessica Greher Traue: and what was it? Yeah. probably off of there. And Anette. Anette was helpful in sharing a couple of parcels that I don't remember. Who they're under. I don't know if you do. but there's that one over by the pike that she had shared. and so she was at least. you know. helpful in saying. like. there's land that's owned by other entities in town that can't be developed for what's under their purview. But ultimately. and I see John's hand is up again. ultimately. like. it would be great to find something that's more in this area of town that essentially. look. Nicolette Mascari: if we build it. we want to make sure that they come and location and accessibility is a major factor. Is most things that Asa Foster: you you spoke with conservation about this informally. yes. okay. and what's their response? Unknown: They are. Their gut reaction was great. I think that there's a lot of issues. And also speaking with Jennifer Connor on the animal control officer who oversees that would be fantastic. She says the most calls that she gets for dogs are on conservation land. where people aren't able to control their dogs. There's an issue on a parking lot. There are a lot of rules that. you know. the dog's supposed to be on leash in the parking lot. and then off leash at a certain point. There's waste concerns on conservation and trails. they get a lot of complaints about that. So I think it would alleviate some of the pain points that the Conservation Committee is constantly dealing with. with dogs and. you know. lack of an actual dedicated space. and this isn't to replace that. I think one of the concerns that we got. Our comment was. well. why can't we? Why can't they just continue to use that? It's not meant to replace it. It's used to this is actually just a dedicated space for them to be on a leash where conservation land there are other people doing other things. like enjoying bird watching. or. you know. just taking a casual stroll or rehabbing. and then having. you know. a bunch of dogs come flying at you and running by. just that's not. you know. the primary purpose of the conservation trails. Building a dog park would be a dedicated space for them Asa Foster: would one of the considerations in terms of where this would be located. the access to actually be able. able to enclose that area? Yes. absolutely. that is. and that's that will be a problem. just in terms of looking where. where at local Could you. could you find a place that you could enclose? Yeah. I Jessica Greher Traue: think it would involve there. from our understanding and meaning with Anette. there is. if we're in the lot and the fields are to our left. there is still property on the right hand. yeah. so. but I think. you know. one of the challenges with that location. then is we'd have to thin out some more trees. We could leave trees. You know. the Maynard dog Park is completely enclosed. right? But I think. as you all probably went through.
Nicolette Mascari: okay. it's a very we hit a nerve. Asa Foster: Not. not with me. no. I know general public. Jessica Greher Traue: We're gonna hit a lot of we're gonna hit a lot of resistance and and Unknown: anytime you do anything in Wayland. yes. we're aware. We're learning that you Mark Norton: want to get out of town center. I think Stop and Shop is seven acres that you wanted to go to. So I didn't know that they owned some of the property. I think they control through the lease. So there's a Nicolette Mascari: lot of like. looming questions with Town Center. Obviously. at the moment. we're trying to stay close to it. yeah. Asa Foster: obviously. just as an idea. and I don't give me consider this. but if you look at the South. the property. the South landfill. yeah. there. I mean. there are lots of quote. unquote considerations in terms of that property and what can be used down there. not done there. But if you could. if you could include an athletic field here. as well as the dog park there. I think that would solve one of the issues that you raised in terms of of having people use the dog park. and also. you know. part of a. sometimes. some type of a program that's going Jessica Greher Traue: on. It's our understanding that the committee that's looking at the development of that property hasn't. hasn't. hasn't met in a while. We're not sure. you know. if that project's moving along. How long before it moves forward? You know. we could. it could be 10 years before that comes to fruition. And we. we had. you know. in February. I think we had followed up. but we reached out to them at the suggestion of a resident in town to get on their agenda. And we're. we're told we don't have a meeting planned anytime soon. So we felt like we hit a little bit of an obstacle with just trying to forge. you know. some some overlap with that. Yeah. I Jon Weintraub: think that'd be a great it would be a great spot. if. to your point. it was built out. But I think for us to be the lead on it the the site work that would have to be done just for dog park. as far as parking and accessibility and lighting and water and power. would be prohibitive to to have us be the like. to your point. if there was momentum on the athletic field. then it would be a great thing For us to piggyback on. but to be the this. to spearhead that. I think. would be very difficult because of the cost that. Asa Foster: no. I'm not suggesting that you would be spearheading this. and that would be minor use of this. I'm simply suggesting that if it was movement in the town to do something develop that that property as it as an athletic facility. as a primary that this would be a good spot to add that on. Yeah. okay. And so I think that that committee. and I think the Select Board as as an interest in that property. in terms of doing that effort at all. So that might be a nice segue for something like this.
Leslie Stewart: In your slide. you had reference to a half acre to two acres. and what. what are you sort of as? What do you have an idea of. what would be possible in Wayland and what would be sufficient for your needs? Yeah. I mean. Jessica Greher Traue: there's no. there's no like rubric. you know. that says when you're. you know. like when we think about other facilities. we know. you know. specific field requires a specific. specific. you know. size. But. you know. like wall fam. it's probably the two are probably even on a quarter of an acre when you think about the size that they have. So. you know. a half might be completely sufficient. The biggest thing for us is that you would want to have it divided into a small dog area and a larger dog area. So we would just need the dimensions to be sufficient. so that it could be like 1/3 two thirds. So I know it's not assertively answering your question. but I have an acre inefficient. yeah. because Unknown: we're not Carlisle. you know. yeah. the Carlisle exactly parallels. just. just fields. yeah. green and horses. Jessica Greher Traue: yeah. I'd love that. And what. you know. again. like looking at Town center. you know. there's that parcel that's behind Xgolf. you know. adjacent to the east parking lot that. I think was a few years ago in town meeting. you know. we were looking at that as potential land to it was offered for sale for us for a very small amount of money. when we were thinking about the. you know. the COA Community Center build. And that. that parcel. right? There is plenty big. and it's Nicolette Mascari: an odd shape. There's not much else you could do with it. Well. there's no standard guidelines that we would have to follow here. Asa Foster: You know what the soil condition is? Here? The soil condition? Yeah. everything I'm asking. I'm actually asking the question. because there's so many places in town Wayland. where you can. you can do things. or you can't do things right because of previous use. yeah. And so if this. if that would be an area where you could. you could do something like a dog park. I know at Loker you couldn't do. Housing. and you can't. you can't build any housing at that.
Jessica Greher Traue: yeah. and I think that's. again. why we were. you know. speaking with Michael about like approaching the owners or who potentially would be the new owners of that space. because digging the holes for fence posts is not as disruptive. right as the full excavation for building a foundation. you know. right? So that's also kind of why. you know. I don't. we don't want to put all of our eggs in that basket. but we really recognize that there is a potential for use of that land. knowing that this isn't going to be disruptive. Asa Foster: right to it. Would you have hours? Would you of Nicolette Mascari: operation actually? Yeah. so it's like dawn to us. Okay. no children under 12. There's. there's a. Asa Foster: there's a whole list. Okay. yeah. Jeff Bergeron: exactly right. Are there any others of. like. zoning issues in terms of. like. being kind of. like being close to my houses for like. noise. or anything like that. but. um. Nicolette Mascari: not that we've seen that's not like standard. you know. we did take into consideration. like. if we did this in town center. we have all those condos and town homes that are around but interestingly enough. all of those people are walking their dogs around town center and picking up their waste in town center. and they usually have smaller dogs. So it's kind of an interesting point. However. I think that they would get some use from it. because they are a lot of dog owners themselves. and they're constantly walking their dogs and sitting on a bench outside fairies and just sitting with their dog on a leash. But I will say. Jessica Greher Traue: like. if we have a cup. you know. if. if. if we're able to have. you know. the direction of here's three parcels to consider that is something that we we put together a rubric around assessing space and doing kind of site visits and the proximity to residents. and then the noise was one of the variables that we were people.
Asa Foster: I consider pickleball courts this. Jon Weintraub: I will argue that a dog park is significantly less disruptive than a pickleball court. What the one surprising thing when you spend time at dog parks is how quiet they actually are. Because. you know. there will be an occasional bar. but it is not. It's surprisingly quiet.
Mark Norton: So I don't think we're not speaking for the group here. but a sale of us is something that's necessary. I think it's how can we help you? What do you need and is that something need to come back for? Is that something we get in action that we can help you with today? Nicolette Mascari: I think it would be great to understand what's in your pipeline. What are you guys looking to do? Are there any other projects or grants or other things that you're aware of. or other spaces that you're aware of. we don't know what we don't know. And we feel like we've exhausted the rap report and the GIS map. and really have talked to a lot of the key areas that we would need to and everyone has pretty much said the same thing. We support you great research. Yeah. we think it's a great idea. but we're just at this fork where it's like. okay. but what next? Yeah. and where and how. You know. what do we what are we not thinking of. and what is in your pipeline that could we could potentially either tag onto or. you know. consider we just don't know what we don't know. and we all you Jon Weintraub: know. also not to harp on the community and the aspect of the older generations. but we think that it's something that the rec department does a lot of great things for our youth and others. but this would be an amenity To the town that the rec department could provide that would be embraced by. you know. the whole. all generations and and because. Katherine Brenna: oh. that's our goal. yeah. Jon Weintraub: exactly. And this and again. So this is. we look at this as recreation. right? Because it's getting it's getting people out. but it's also getting. as I said. You know what I've seen. and I've. I've made some really nice relationships at the Falmouth. our dark Park. across generations. like connecting my kids with with other kids. but also meeting. you know. even elderly people who. who I've. you know. become friendly with. and have learned a lot from. but this is their recreation. right? They get out. So. you know. we don't. I don't know how you know what kind of the mission. what? What could you provide us as far like. is there an opportunity for. Financial support from direct department. as well as helping us potentially get access to the space. If the town center doesn't work out.
Asa Foster: my perspective. we have to look at what. what spaces we we have that we quote. unquote. control. And then. you know. depending upon that. then what usage do we see that space being the best uses you could use for that space. I. I'm. I think having a dog park would be driven for the community and all for the reasons that have been stated. The question is. is. you know. what spaces could we use to help that process along? If that's if there is a space. yeah. Nicolette Mascari: and part of this educating and letting them. letting you know there isn't a specific shape. There's not a specific size. Here are the requirements. Here are the benefits. You know. is there anything that's coming to mind today that's. you know. just sitting here. like. well. you know. we have this much space. We use this much for a soccer field. but there is this patch of Asa Foster: best. best. Yeah. my point in terms of the South landfill. yeah. because that's that would be a nice amenity or add on to and I also think that that. as you well know. this town has. there are always folks In this town who don't support programs or projects because they don't support. I mean. program plus. But I think if you get. if you add this on and onto a program and it has a benefit to a wide range of folks. from young people to older. older people. you're going to find a wider range of people who support Exactly. yeah. Leslie Stewart: do we. at this point speak to the somebody in the town to see. you know. what parcels are around our businesses that are not used. or maybe talk to DPW to see what properties they're servicing that are under use. that maybe they I mean. how do we identify kind of unidentified plots? I mean. I personally thought I like the idea this. I wonder on my own whether the space between the. I guess the east of of Stop and Shop that extends down the rail trail to the Tom depot is is kind of a thinner but large enough space that border some businesses. and then would be on the back side of town. But I don't know who owns that are. what it's what it's used for. what it was previously for.
Jon Weintraub: how that's great questions. We've met with Anette Lewis. and we've talked about a bunch of different spots. They all have some pluses and minuses. I think that particular spot that you speak of. we've considered the topography of it can be challenging as well as there's some Historic Railroad related artifacts there. like. there's a turntable where they used to turn the locomotives around.
Katherine Brenna: The docs might. sorry. yeah. agility. yeah. Jon Weintraub: agility. that'd be great. And then. and then and parking for that particular location. you know. to get access it from the parking at the town center. you have to go down. you know. downhill. so the accessibility would be difficult. And then if you access it from the DEP the Wayland depot. then it would just put more strain on that parking. which is heavily used for the bike path. And then. if there's any events at the Historical Society or the library. typically takes up parking there as well. Asa Foster: That's it. The Historical Society is a is a real consideration that a group that needs to be taken into consideration. As far as we ran into that we ran into that local Okay. are there any. Nicolette Mascari: are there any other communications happening between you and the old South landfill for future recognition parks. Asa Foster: Oh. absolutely okay. Oh. yeah. that's why that there's a committee. Is that ongoing? Yeah. Well. that was mentioned before. because of the committee that was it was going to. is looking at that. And there's no mention of when the next when the next meeting was going to. Have going to happen. But there is movement there in terms of of doing something with the self info and what needs to be done. into in terms of cleaning up the property and all that. and then moving forward doing something. Katherine Brenna: Okay. so re Jessica Greher Traue: engaging that maybe we'll send them an email. and at Mark Norton: least you'll see I need to check in with them. And great. So I'll circle back to you guys.
Jessica Greher Traue: I mean. I think. like from I think what I'm gaging is that it might be helpful. at least. to present to you. like some of these plots of land. at least that we've learned about. almost saying feasible or not feasible. And here's why would that be helpful? I
Asa Foster: hate to cut this. We only have another half hour. All
right. Well. we don't want to. Jon Weintraub: we don't want to. we don't want to hold you up on one of these last weeks of the summer. So again. thanks for your time. We greatly appreciate it and Asa Foster: whatever. thank you for coming in the most worthwhile presentation. Jon Weintraub: Well. great. Any follow up questions. feel free to reach out to any of us. Asa Foster: sure. Well. thank you. Thanks. Tom Luke. okay. let's go. The next up on our agenda is the FY 2026 calls and discussion of the commission department goals and related budget requests for FY 2026 through FY 2030 and a possible vote would drop a list presented at our last meeting. So that is this particular list here. Leslie Stewart: That that top section there. I don't
Katherine Brenna: know if I got your list completely accurate. I did it from memories. So No. the Asa Foster: other park project was just covered that one. if I'm looking at this. I think that from my perspective. the number one proposal here is something that really does need to be addressed is collaborating with the DPW on field maintenance. I think the current conditions. I don't know how closely new folks have had or have had an opportunity to look at local but the condition of that field is not good. and for the amount of money that was spent on that property. and for the condition that it is in currently. it needs to be something done about how that field is maintained. and I'm not sure quite how that should be done. but. but. and whether or not that was. it was a contractor. Can tell the Calvo and DEP w you got to be something done about that. And can you Katherine Brenna: so the contractor who built the field. Cataldo. has long severed its ties with the Tom. and not that that we wouldn't work with them again. They. um. their project has been closed out. So their permits are closed. their contracts down. and they've been paid. They're kind of a year out from this now. They own some of the trees and things like that. a year after they had planted. all of those warranties are gone. Now. DPW has engaged a company called PJ organics. which does a lot of the soil testing to determine what's happening underneath. And they have made recommendations to the DPW to introduce different nutrients into the soil to help with the situation there. And they are doing that. It just. it takes time. like you can't just there's not like a paint brush. This is going to solve the problem. They have to reintroduce things. and it seasonally. and it might take. you know. a year or two. And we saw this with oxfall. a little bit that the sod initially needs time to get used to its new home. and eventually it kind of settles in and. you know. works out some of the same problems that we have at loker. We saw at Oxbow that it's really wet at first. it holds water. And DPW had to do some introduction of sands into the soil there to help with the drainage. And they'll probably have to do that here at local but they do have a good plan provided by a third party consultant that they are following. Asa Foster: yeah. okay. so there they are. Are you confident that that. that they will follow through on this.
Katherine Brenna: as expected? I am going to say. yes. okay. I feel like this is how. Been Unknown: year after year. there's there's questions about our the maintenance plan and various sites. And I'm wondering if we could also encourage a specialist to be on our. not on maybe the maintenance crew that specifically has knowledge about fields. Or I do Katherine Brenna: think the DEP W does employ people with the right credentials to make this happen. Like I said. like we reserve the fields and we use the fields. and we run our programs in the fields. but we don't maintain the field. So we make requests to the DPW through their superintendent to maintain the fields. And they do their thing. There is. I think I linked it to you all late last night. an MOU and memorandum of understanding between the Board of Public Works. the recognition and the school committee about maintaining fields. all fields. school fields. town fields. however they are. And I think that that group said this wrong. perfect. yeah. that that group is supposed to convene at what frequency. but to talk about where the needs are Mark Norton: and who are the parties. It's the Board of Public Katherine Brenna: Works which oversees the DEP W. the recognition. whichever suits the Mark Norton: you or one of us or both the Katherine Brenna: entire board. The MOU is between three boards. so it's the school committee. the recognition of the Board of Mark Norton: Public Works. but we're all not going to meet together for accountability. right? There would be. sorry. Katherine Brenna: I'll go back. And yeah. I mean. I think I wasn't around when the MOU was born. You might have been on the commission. It was a collaboration between three boards. Mark Norton: And so the three. it wasn't like six people representing the three boards. two. two. like. so. yeah.
Asa Foster: actually. if my recollection is correct. it was just. it was a the school committee and and recreation and DEP W sort of elaborated on different projects. depending upon who was affected by it. There weren't. there were not. They were not specific members of the school committee or the recreation or the DEP W. It was more or less the all three boards or entities. depending upon what the project was. Mark Norton: agreed to work together. Yeah. but there. and so I'm wondering how much more improvement can occur with better communication across the parties. Or do you feel like the parties are communicating well right now? Katherine Brenna: So I in my time here. I don't think the boards have discussed this topic at all like it hasn't been on any agenda that I've seen. and no one has talked to me about it. the myself. Joe just said. the superintendent of the DEP W overseeing parks and the athletic director in their department are in regular multi time a day communication during those field seasons. So I feel like we're okay there that like. generally. when the athletic director recommends improvements or changes to the fields we agree with them. We use a lot of the same fields that they do. So it's not like there's so much sharing and cross use that happens that they are everybody's feeling. So even if they fall like some fields that we own are owned by Rec and some of them are on school properties. And the school is they use mostly school properties. but they do use town properties too. yeah. Cochituate and town building and Luke or even. So there's a lot of crossover. I don't feel like the communication there's. there's regular communication among Mark Norton: the staff. 100% Yeah. totally. yeah. I Katherine Brenna: think there are issues with. I don't necessarily think it's budget constraints. I think potentially It's Labor constraints. that they don't have enough people at the DEP W to do what we need and maintain the fields to the degree that we need them. And then there's also just an inventory issue that we don't have enough fields that DEP w can take what they you know. they're what they'll say is you will fix all the fields you have to get often. and so we don't have enough space to close the fields that we need to close. Like this season Alpine is every year there's one offline. yeah. but we're behind because one is not enough to take. you know. you have to work on more than one at a time. yeah. Jeff Bergeron: I guess in the communication part of that. you know. and just recalling days from from soccer. is there. like. if there's a town group or something that closes a field because it's too wet. or something like that. does that then get communicated to DEP W band. to the schools. because. for instance. if there's a field that's like. determined by wreck or determined by one of the you know. talent programs that it's unsafe to play. Play on. but then they're mowing it because it's too wet. It Like It's it's wet. but then they still mow it. Or clay pit. they're letting kids that are still going out to play recess in a field that's been been completely torn up and there's holes. like. is there any type of communication to be able to say this field needs time? Like. they like. we should be blocking this field off so that way it's not being used at school. or it's not being mode. or it's not being like. don't run a tractor on this. It's underwater type conversation. or like. field 11. which is the one that's down in the pit of Claypit. always gets wet and everything like that. But then there's after school activities. and there's other things that are down there. or other sports are using it. even though. yeah. it's been closed. Mark Norton: I would say it's all parties like I've seen. I've seen teams out there when the fields were closed. I've seen kind of the examples that you've mentioned. as well. I don't think it's exclusive to anyone party. I think it's the feels close. close like and Katherine Brenna: so our policy right now. and even the new one that we just voted through. The policy is the DPW opens the field for the season. So April 15. or somewhere in around there. they'll say this one's ready to play for the season. which means they've done their work. they've lined it. they've mowed it. they've striped it. and then the responsibility to determine if the field is usable on a day to day basis is by the permit holder. So if you show up for baseball game. you're the coach and the field's wet. you could cancel the game. that that decision might not necessarily be communicated to say the next group. yeah. because sometimes it happens where the morning games aren't playable. and by the afternoon. the field is fine. So we put it on each group. There's we don't have the personnel to visit all 64 sites every day to say open. closed. And so we put it on the permit users. The permit users don't always abide by the guidelines. And when we know of that or that. we can see the evidence that they've. you know. done damage to a field because they used it when they shouldn't have. We can hold them accountable. and we have. but aside from staffing every single field. which isn't realistic. there's no way to. like. really have true enforcement. It's. you know. it's on the honor system. and we permit these groups like Wayland. new soccer or whatever. what have you. and hope that they do right by our fields. Another Asa Foster: Another example that would be what happened at Loker and these people from Natick just destroyed the McCall because they a bunch of adults crawling over football or whatever they were doing that was patently illegal. trying to do it. and they offer some excuses. I guess we don't have legal leg to stand on in terms of that situation. But those are. those are situations that exist. and as Katherine said. we don't have the personnel to be able to to Katherine Brenna: and that's not true. like just Wayland. like. I don't know any record about staffing every field. you know. Leslie Stewart: but if one one group is making a decision to not use the fields for the health of the field. and then an hour later. the next permit user is using it and reversing whatever good that was done last hour. there should be some sort of communication amongst the field permit owners that. that. holders that that this recommended Katherine Brenna: we do coordinate that made so specifically at Cochituate. like. if the morning EMAS softball guys can't play their game. you know. we'll cancel that game. and we'll inform the next group that the morning was canceled and it has to be rechecked in the afternoon. But sometimes we will close it for the whole day. or DPW will come in and say. close it for the whole day. Jeff Bergeron: Does that get marked on the field? So that way you don't have somebody who just shows up and says. Oh. Cochituate. like the field in Cochituate. does. they're like. nobody's using it right now. I'm just going to come out and use this and hold an informal practice. Asa Foster: Otherwise. that's exactly what happened. Unknown: Yeah. there's no. no. no one's there. So Katherine Brenna: But it wasn't closed because of poor conditions. It was open. like for playing. right? They needed a permit. yeah. and there is and cameras there now. But that type. that example of that one group. is not the first. Like. people use fields all the time without permit generally. because we have such a field shortage. if you're using a field without a permit. you're going to run into a conflict so that you know the next group is going to show up and say. I have a permit to use this field. and you'll have to leave. But there's. yeah. I mean. they are public parks. and they are open to the general public when not permitted. Unknown: Are we running off of our intended purpose now to just identify our goals. and then we've identified this goal Well. Katherine Brenna: and that's what one of my questions for the commission would be to to I think it's important for the department goals and what we do at the staff level to be aligned with what the rec commission is doing. But some of these goals. I think our department calls. you know. like the water quality testing program at the beach we're doing that. that would be staff like. I don't think. unless you see something wrong with that program. to change direction there. So I don't know. I think it is a policy making board that your goal should be. Kind of about policy. and then the operational stuff would be left to department staff. and that's why I added a couple of what our department goals are for FY 26 that are aligned with the budget that we put through. And then. yeah. I think the MOU stuff with the field maintenance is the biggest topic that we have. I think this dog park. if they are honing in on a parcel that belongs to REC. or even if they don't that REC could be a partner in that. If that is something that interests you all.
Leslie Stewart: I wouldn't mind striking the seasonal ice rink. I think we've discussed it last week or last time and said that it just the ice rink. Yeah. the number nine just. just because there's. Katherine Brenna: well. and I just say. so complicated. The ice rink. similar to a dog park. has expenses associated with it and not a revenue source. And so we would have to build that into the budget. which has already been voted through for this year. So it would have to be an Mark Norton: FY 27 probably more Cochituate related. Katherine Brenna: yeah. that's. I mean. we've had them in other locations too. but. yeah. Asa Foster: it's so difficult to do that I must. from my experience with that. You see. ground has to be frozen before you do it. And if. if. if you do it before the ground is frozen. you're done. It doesn't work. Yeah. I think seasonally. even if you look at what we experienced seasonally here. the winters don't seem to be as severe as cold as they were. And so. I mean. I don't my opinion is Leslie Stewart: winter to observe. So Katherine Brenna: last winter. which we saw a lot of skating in around Wayland. on the different ponds. was the first winter that we would have been able to offer outdoor skate in the 10 years that I've been here. So Asa Foster: I I just. I don't think that needs to be a high priority. Yes. I agree that.
Unknown: Okay. so we should get when you're saying we should remove five and six because they're already part of your department. Yep. operating. I Katherine Brenna: am actually working with the Health Department on some of the algae and the testing that's happening at the beach. but I think we have a good handle on it. And like I said. we've gone now two summers without any closure. So Asa Foster: terms of number seven request to move the in
Nashoba ski program back to Wednesdays. that's that is that I we talked Katherine Brenna: about this a little bit last time the when the school start times and dismissal times changed. it made that nearly impossible. right? So. until Nashoba changes the way that they are offering what they offer us. or the school start times change again. I don't see how we could do it. Okay.
Asa Foster: pickle ball opportunities. I know I there's resident who's contacted me number of times about doing some pickle ball stuff at Town Center and building an enclosed area would not be a like a building type of situation. but putting some type of of screening around it. it would eliminate or reduce the noise factor for all the people who live in the condos around there. And I don't know what whatever happened with with the potential pickleball courts that were going to be put in. but I think that that's something that might be revisited if Town Center was sold. because. because the people in along Town Center. well. it's been insurance. Well. it's this is that they were not big fans of doing anything in terms of amenities that we might like to have done at the town at the town center. Katherine Brenna: I'll just say too that there's a group. it's like a subset of the Economic Development Committee and another group of volunteers that are looking at bringing either playgrounds or more social activities. even. like a dog park to town center to kind of help with the economic development. And that's why I would probably connect our dog park folks with them. because I think there's some overlap there. sure. but yeah. that's in the economic development Yep. the Economic Development Committee is. is a town board committee that looking to help the commercial Wayland. Asa Foster: I have another one here that is a rail trail extension. What's what is happening? Because I know that we built the rail trail and we weren't actually not audible. Katherine Brenna: but we. Were on the it's not our property. so we were ancillary. Asa Foster: yeah. But do you. is there any. any information that you might have that would would enlighten us as to what they're going to do. as far as a real Rail Trail extension to meet up with. with Sudbury and and Katherine Brenna: all of that would go voted down in Sudbury. isn't that Asa Foster: right? Ice Rail Trail Katherine Brenna: pretty extensive? Yeah. I don't know. I can look. I can find Asa Foster: out something about that that might be May. I had that question asked me from a couple of people. I
Unknown: anything else that you can mark. It seemed like we were going to mention something about the ice rank. We
Mark Norton: don't need to have it as a specific goal.
Asa Foster: And would you like to. would you like to see an ice rink that. that sort of temporary type outdoor Mark Norton: I think more work needs to be done. So I don't think it's a 25 goal. Okay. so
Asa Foster: no field hockey program. The field hockey program is. what's the status of that? Katherine Brenna: So it's currently a Wayland recreation program. We have about 100 players that enroll in the league. We participate in the Commonwealth league. And right now it's we run it through the rec department. which is different from other models. like when you soccer. when you look across who are 501. c3. boards. for whatever reason. field hockey in the state of Massachusetts is typically run through rec departments. In our Commonwealth League. I want to say there's like 35 other towns that do it. and only three of them are not run through the rec department. So that's just kind of how it goes. I mean. if the volunteers that are involved with this organization wanted to formalize into a 501. 3c. I wouldn't be sad about that. just because it's a lot of work. But I right now I don't know what the incentive is to do that.
Unknown: Well. they get priority. they get your time. and then they get priority over all the other their priority ranking is different from the other sports as a Katherine Brenna: record. But I don't think that. as the person who's implementing the program. like we run all of our programs. and like we don't Wayland youth soccer wants to feel Monday at four o'clock. We'd never say. like. you soccer. we're going to put some football there or something. Unknown: You know. it is your time that we're paying for and and. you know. there are volunteers. I don't Katherine Brenna: know. but so the way that it works is the participants register for the program. and they pay a fee. and those fees similar to you soccer go to the fields and Seth Tom. yeah. So it pays the expenses for the program. So the rec department isn't subsidizing this program. The users are similar to software. So football.
Michael Grant: is there a goal associated with the program. or it's dropping from the list.
Mark Norton: and the goal is to migrate that out of your department and into a more traditional youth program like little league or waylandeve football or so. Katherine Brenna: That's an avenue. right? But I can't force anybody to create a 501 3c. I'm not going to create the 501. c3. yeah. And so. unless there's a group of volunteers that do that. I don't see that so we can. like. I'm indifferent on it. honestly. okay. I would. at the cost of seeing that program go away. I wouldn't support that. you know. like. there's a group of volunteers. and if it's going to fold. if we don't support it. then I think that would reduce the number of services that we're supplying for the town of Wayland. And I don't necessarily think that's a good Mark Norton: thing. but can you step onto it over a three year period where. Katherine Brenna: yeah. no. I mean. they they could make a plan however they want. Asa Foster: Do you say 100 kids? There's 100 kids this season. It seems to have grown to 100 kids in a very short period of time. And I want Katherine Brenna: to say there's about 12 volunteers that are involved in coaching and organizing the program in addition to this the league. I Asa Foster: mean. it seems to me like it's a reliable program has never success in a significant amount of intro Jeff Bergeron: to anybody who would be volunteer. like. who is willing to. like. step up and. like. take a lead as like. a founder of a field hockey youth program. Or Katherine Brenna: we do have three pretty committed founders of the program. Their girls are close to aging out of the program. So they are heavily recruiting kind of younger parents to try to take it over. But like again. I can't force someone to see three themselves. Maybe you all Asa Foster: can. Question would be. is it is. is that have a meet? Maybe you want to come meet with us? I don't know. but. but what do they see these three families who are involved now? What do they see the future of this being. and how can we help them with respect to that? I mean. I would. I wouldn't. I think if they want to come in and just sort of talk with us at a meeting. Leslie Stewart: that benchmark Katherine Brenna: might be not this group. Now that's kind of like I said. We started with 12 girls. and now we're at 100 in the last probably two or three years. Isn't the first time this has happened. Like before. my time here in Wayland. like 15 years ago. Similarly. there was a group of parents. They banded together. they ran their kids through the Commonwealth Field Hockey League. which exists. and then the program kind of went away for a little while. Okay. I think it's pivotal to have the prior involved here. similar to ways that you know. that's what runs it. And so Asa Foster: there's a wonderful theater. though. for for the school system. yeah. yeah. fuel hockey game historically. has been quite good. yeah. Katherine Brenna: I'll tell you our our little Wayland youth field market programs.
Michael Grant: My My wife is one of the founding families. so I'm. I'm happy to talk to her about what. what she projects for the future. Oh. that'd be terrific. Asa Foster: absolutely. But if they want to come and talk with us about that. I think we could. we could make time for them as a meeting. Terms of doing that. Mark Norton: What do we have to do the next Asa Foster: five minutes? One of the things that I would like to just. just sort of speak about. is the 14 West Plain street status. I think that the Recreation department gets a huge short shrift in this town because of the location in the town built in this this building. everybody else can work a four day week. Recreation can't. And so When. when. when recreation department is forced to work in conditions like they work in in the summertime. air conditioning off. Basically. the building is closed on Fridays because. because the town has made. it sounds. made the determination that they're. they're going to work extended four day work. That's great. Yeah. that doesn't work for us. yeah. So I would be. I would be a big time supporter. if. if they're going to continue the pursuit of 14 West Point Street. that it'd be. we'd be considered as moving the record. It'd be considered we move the recreation department to that building. And I. I think that that I made the case to a couple of Select Board members. and they. they they get it. they understand just a question of how that building is going to be if it goes if the purchase goes through house. I'm using their other stakeholders or libraries interested in it was Katherine that you mentioned. Katherine Brenna: library schools. I think housing was Asa Foster: somewhere. eventually moving this. moving the school to the Children's way. but the central office. central office there. if. if they want to close that. that building on on Fridays. because it. because it's the school building. well. why don't they stay here and close it? Yeah. yeah. So you get people who can use it. who need to use it on a five day workload. Unknown: How can we support that? Are we striking numbers five through nine from the top and adding 14 through 17 From the bottom as our holes.
Michael Grant: I don't have the list in front of me. so I don't know if it's possible to send it. or if somebody's tracking
last night. Katherine Brenna: My Oh. did you?
Asa Foster: Or descriptions?
Unknown: I just texted it to you that's really helpful.
Katherine Brenna: Yeah. I sent it through Wayland at this last night. when I was 9:37pm. still not Michael Grant: seeing it in my inbox. for some reason.
Leslie Stewart: Weird. Also. in 14 I've started looking at this. and I have six examples from other towns. and I was just going to compile those together the naming policy. Oh. so I have some information to Katherine Brenna: To me that would be something the rec department would look to rely on the commission for.
Asa Foster: Well. which you know what I think one thing we need to do is. before we adjourn. is set up our next meeting. And does anybody have any Katherine Brenna: if that meeting is after September 30. then we need to approve the annual report now. or you could authorize me to finalize it and submit Mark Norton: it by vote before the third book goes Asa Foster: no. I'm happy. I'm happy to meet before the period. but I'm also happy to authorize Katherine. Mark Norton: The review agreed on both events Unknown: as we're first Can we go back for Fridays? By any chance? I remember sure did that before the summer time. Asa Foster: Yeah. yeah. Fridays at 1030 Leslie Stewart: Yeah. September. Jeff Bergeron: Work for me. Okay. Usually. ever Asa Foster: Okay. okay. then we won't do that Jeff Bergeron: after one on Fridays are doable. but in the mornings are there's no okay.
Asa Foster: For me. I pretty much can make any so 1030 whatever morning it might be. as long as I know it's scheduled. I can do Katherine Brenna: Friday afterwards. Can we? Can we do Friday 12 on the 19th September? Yeah. okay. I can't do that. but you can't do that.
The template closes at 1230 Leslie Stewart: in September. Oh. it does year round. Katherine Brenna: Yeah. it closes completely in the summer. but it closes at 12 because we're here until seven o'clock on Mondays. So we wouldn't have. like IT support or. Oh. I mean. it's not impossible to Leslie Stewart: meet up to Monday night.
Asa Foster: Well. Select Board nights. right? Select Board Finance Committee Katherine Brenna: spoke for me to usually meet on Monday night. So sometimes you run into problems finding space or resources for rooms. but usually those it's we can work around those things. So I don't know if Monday night
Leslie Stewart: show Tuesday 1610. 30. Asa Foster: Tuesday. 30. Tuesday. Tuesday. Katherine Brenna: What's that? Asa Foster: Tuesday? September 16. at 1030
a network. Kevin. Okay. so next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. September 16. at 10:30am would somebody like to make a motion to adjourn Katherine Brenna: in your report? Asa Foster: Oh. yeah. we can do it on the 16th. or we could. we could? We could make a motion to have Catherine review and submit Katherine Brenna: it the right way. It gives me another month. I'll shut up. Okay. no. Asa Foster: I'm gonna say. you can. you can have time you need. whatever time you need anyway. So would someone make a motion that to adjourn? Mark Norton: Do we want to do goals first? I'm not familiar Leslie Stewart: here. Can we? Can we finalize the goals Mark Norton: next week or next month? Well. I'm fine with me. Asa Foster: if you want to find if you want to. Katherine Brenna: it's been a lead dinner for every year. So we could do Mark Norton: it. We you've got them right? Katherine Brenna: That did some notes on what we're doing. So Leslie Stewart: Right? Striking. five through nine. I Katherine Brenna: think three. two which has been completed. Mark Norton: yeah. unless Mike hasn't. if you want to. if you want to go another we can go another month. I just. I know we've talked about it. so sorry.
Michael Grant: Three is done. Striking. Five through nine. Yeah. Leslie Stewart: are you able to see them and you've been able to review them. that you would feel comfortable making the choice to move on? Or do you want to bring this up for next time? Mark Norton: Either side
Asa Foster: and Mike. if you would speak with your wife in terms of if she would like to come in and others would like to come and speak with us. let us know we can put her and they on the agenda. Michael Grant: I sure will Katherine Brenna: with her and them.
Michael Grant: What are we doing? Uh. 14 through 18.
Katherine Brenna: yeah. we're keeping those Mark Norton: Correct. Those are getting those out popped up under. yeah. yeah. We 14 through 1714. through 1714. Michael Grant: Through 17. Keith. yeah.
Asa Foster: yeah. Well. and this town is prone to. if there's an open meeting law violation. someone will find it and bring it up. Unknown: We are the leading town in terms of violence. Exactly.
Asa Foster: Okay. Would someone make a motion to adjourn? I'll make a motion to adjourn Second. Second time. All in favor. aye. unanimous Congress adjourned. Awesome.