Athletic Fields Group: Meeting Notes

Date: Thursday, August 25th 2011 4:30 pm @ Town Hall

Attendees: Tom Cunningham, Dr. Villanti, & Dave Merandy- Haldane

Amber Stickle- Town Rec Dept

Jon Champlin- Community groups

Fred Kohut- Blue Devil Booster Club

John Van Tassel- Town Board

Curt Coronato- Ward Associates

Ed Crowe- Haldane Admin Intern

The following is a summary of the meeting:

I. Curt Coronato spoke of his visit to all fields and gave a summary of his first impressions

  • Curt mentioned how there is great space in the area and need to decide how improvements can be made in the most cost effective manner
  • All fields seem to have the same issues: accessibility, parking, lack of bathroom facilities, storage and drainage
  • Spoke how Graymoor has a great opportunity to expand
  • Notices all fences have gates that open up in to the field of play

II.Conversation was opened up to the representatives at the table to discuss their ideas/thoughts regarding the fields in Philipstown

  • Jon Champlin discussed Pop Warner’s field usage history
  • John Van Tassell discussed the idea of a highlight field for games and have teams practice at other locations
  • Dave Merandy discussed the importance of a this project being done in phases and the importance of a long term maintenance plan
  • Dr. Villanti talked about how he would like to see a cost analysis of natural grass vs synthetic turf. Is it realistic for us to maintain a natural grass field? Dr. Villanti also mentioned the walking an area behind the high school for possibility of tennis courts.
  • Fred Kohut discussed how the booster club would like to generate and sustain public interest in the project

III.Community Kick-Off meeting

  • Dr. Villanti and Tom are going to look at dates for a kick off meeting. Will make an effort to make sure it does not conflict with other board meetings in the area
  • Need to decide on a location for the kick-off meeting
  • Curt said he would help with publicity for the event
  • Need to make sure the community knows the topic of the meeting and we need to decide how we will manage questions from the public

Notes by Tom Cunningham

Adjourn 5:40

Next Meeting TBA