Minutes: FNH Advisory Board Meeting 04/30/2018

Meeting date and time: April 30thth, 2018 – 7 PM

Location: Blessed Sacrament Phelen Center                                 

Attendance: Rob Antonelli, Phil Bolduc, Stacey Hill, Brittany Legasey, Charlie Markonian, Conor McCormack, Kevin McCormack, Rick Miller, Paul Popinchalk, Nicolas Ouellette, Andy Serrato, City Councilor Matt Wally

  1. Welcome
  2. April Volunteer efforts recarp
    1. ~600 volunteer man hours
    2. Stacey Hill’s efforts resulted in 50 attendees at the Earth Day clean up
    3. Working for Worcester clean up had over 100 volunteers, Conor McCormack did a great job coordinating.
  3. Updates and Upcoming Events
    1. State Rep. John Mahoney included an amendment in the budget for $100,000 for improvements for Elm Park.
    2. May 12th 9AM-12 Blessed Sacrament Cares Day, volunteers will plant flowers in Newton Square and at the summit
    3. Summer Concerts
      1. Steve Hopkins will not work the table this year, other volunteers will have to help staff
      2. Rick Miller will put together a list of dates and volunteer roles for member and volunteer sign up
      3. FNH will need a coordinated plan volunteer schedule for cleaning/maintaining the new bathrooms.
  4. Doherty Rebuild
    1. Meeting in March was largely procedural
    2. Brittany Legasey presented a draft of the FNH position about Doherty & the park. Amendments were made and Rick Miller will update the position and format it for advisory board member signature for the next meeting.
    3. Issue discussed about lack of parking during school hours and parking that blocked access to the trailhead – to be brought to the attention of Assistant Commissioner of Public Works and Parks Rob Antonelli.
    4. A number of parties have been held at the summit of the Hill that damaged park amenities and created litter.
  5. Disc Golf Course Expansion
    1. Kevin McCormack presented his plan to add an additional 18-baskets to the existing course in anticipation and preparation of the PGDG World Championship which will be held in central Massachusetts in September 2019
    2. Paul Popinchalk advocated for a landscaping and management plan for the Hill, as a follow up to a discussion about how the proposed new amenities will be decided upon and installed
  6. Special guest: Rob Antonelli
    1. Storage building is nearing completion, will be given access date soon – end of May – Mid June
    2. Bathrooms in the building will only be open for park use, not left permanently accessible. DHS and Tenacity will also have access.
    3. Rob Antonelli will check with the city about funding for the disc golf course expansion
    4. Date/time set for presentation of disc golf expansion to the Parks Commission
    5. Discussion about parking situation at DHS – a ‘no parking’ sign will be installed to maintain access to trailhead.

Next meeting: Monday, June 4th, 2018