12 Van Tassel Drive

Gales Ferry, Connecticut 06339

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Parks, Recreation & Senior Citizens

Commission

Meeting Minutes - Final

Regular Meeting

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

7:00 PM

Parks & Recreation/Senior Citizens

Center

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Kenneth DiRico called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. at the Ledyard Senior Center.

ROLL CALL

Commissioner Lucrezia Finegan

Commissioner Jessica Cobb

Commissioner Loretta Kent

Present

Chairman Kenneth J. DiRico

Commissioner Jessica Buhle

Commissioner Thomas Olsen

Commissioner Shaileen C. English

Commissioner Charles Gallagher

Commissioner Deondre Bransford

Excused

In addition, the following were present:

Betsy Graham

Jean Pillo

III.

IV.

RESIDENTS & PROPERTY OWNERS COMMENTS

None

PRESENTATIONS / INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

None

MEMBER COMMENTS

None

VI.

REPORTS

Directors Report

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

Director’s Report May 2023

Please note this update for your review.

1. Commission Meeting:

The regular meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, May

15th, 2023, at 7:00 PM, in the Ledyard Senior Center. Please contact the

office immediately if you will not be able to attend.

2. Youth Leagues:

Little League and Soccer have started their spring seasons. The leagues

have seen an increase in participation and soccer requested more fields

this spring than they typically do in the fall.

3. Summer Camp:

We have interviewed and hired staff for camp this summer. The

coordinators have started planning trips and in-house activities.

4. Bathrooms:

The bathrooms and mobile restroom have been opened for the season and

porta potties delivered to the parks.

5. Parks & Rec Truck:

The new Parks & Rec truck had now been fully outfitted with liftgate,

toolbox, seat covers, floormats, and logo. We are in the process of getting

ready to sell the old truck.

6. GFCC Playscape:

The new playscape behind the Gales Ferry Community Center has been

installed and the safety surface has been poured.

7. Middle School Field Lights:

The middle school field light project has begun. There was an issue with

the lift that caused a one-day delay, but the contractor was able to get a

new lift delivered the next day and resume work.

8. Judge Crandall Flagpole:

Ordered a new flagpole halyard rope for Judge Crandall Field. Talked to

the contractor installing the middle school lights and they agreed to install

the new rope while we have the lift on site.

9. Bridges at Sawmill Park:

Received a call from a resident regarding the very steep step up to the

bridges at Sawmill Park. There are some stone slabs at the Nathan Lester

house from an old foundation. I talked to Vin at the Historical Society

about repurposing some of those stone slabs as steps for the bridges at

Sawmill.

10. Clarks Water Main Repairs:

There was a water main break on Clarks field that required Groton

Utilities to dig up a portion of the field. In addition to the hole there were

also ruts caused by the machine used to dig the hole that had to be

repaired. Everything has been filled, top dressed, rolled, and hydroseeded.

GU covered the cost of the repairs.

11. Regatta Day:

We will be holding the second annual Regatta Day festival at sweet hill

Farms in Gales Ferry. We have set up an account under Parks & Rec to

house the funds for this event.

12. Lantern Hill Valley Park:

Demolition work that was done on the property spread around some

Japanese knot weed and mugwort. The invasives were spot sprayed to

prevent them from taking the property over before the land can be

developed into a park. We are also looking into laying down some black

plastic in some areas to suffocate the invasives.

13. Events:

· Regatta Day: June 10th

VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION to approve the Parks and Recreation regular meeting minutes of 03-21-2023.

Moved by Ms. Cobb, seconded by Ms. Buhle

VOTE: 5 - 0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Jessica Cobb

RESULT:

MOVER:

Jessica Buhle

SECONDER:

Finegan Cobb Kent DiRico Buhle

Olsen English Gallagher Bransford

AYE

EXCUSED

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

Boy Scout Skate Park Project Proposal

No representatives present.

NO ACTION

RESULT:

Pollinator Garden Discussion

MOTION to approve the installation of four rain gardens and one riparian buffer in named parks

as follows:

· Sawmill Park - Iron Street

· Lantern Hill Valley - Long Cove Road

· Highlands Park -Shewville Road

· Erickson Park - Miliary Highway.

Moved by Ms. Buhle, seconded by Ms. Cobb

Discussion - Jean Pillo and Betsy Graham - presented the benefits of planting pollinator gardens

and the impact on the native food supply. Proposed project includes rain water gardens, which

purifies storm water. First step is approval by the Commission, then ECCD would need to be

contacted, and Call Before You Dig to check for utilities. Gardens would be installed by

volunteers, including digging. Project would need to be completed by August and would be

covered by grant funding. After installation, the maintenance and upkeep of the gardens would

be the responsibility of the town, no estimate of cost is available, but should be limited to the

first year and will be supported by multiple town organizations.

VOTE: 5 - 0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Jessica Buhle

RESULT:

MOVER:

Jessica Cobb

SECONDER:

Finegan Cobb Kent DiRico Buhle

Olsen English Gallagher Bransford

AYE

EXCUSED

Discussion regarding recreation space within subdivisions

The town departments will be reviewing properties to understand needs and practicality.

Director Johnson will be reviewing properties under Parks & Recreation jurisdiction and trying

to calculate maintenance costs per acreage.

CONTINUE

RESULT:

Parks & Rec / Senior Center Merger

Chairman DiRico would ask which Commissioners were interested in continuing to serve on the

new combined Commission; and the Senior Commission would need to do the same. The

timeline still needed to be finalized, but could be effective within the next month or two.

CONTINUE

RESULT:

Any Old Business proper to come before the Commission

None

XI.

NEW BUSINESS

MOTION to plant a tree at Highlands Lake for Jane Perry’s husband next to Jane’s tree.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Lucrezia Finegan

RESULT:

MOVER:

Jessica Buhle

SECONDER:

Finegan Cobb Kent DiRico Buhle

Olsen English Gallagher Bransford

AYE

EXCUSED

Discussion and possible motion to schedule a park tour

The Commission agreed to defer the Park Tour until the new combined Commission was seated.

CONTINUE

RESULT:

MOTION to name the parklet at the Town Green in honor of Mary McGrattan.

Moved by Ms. Finegan, seconded by Ms. Cobb

Discussion: It was noted that Ms. McGrattan was a public servant for many years and it was

fitting that the parklet be named in her honor.

VOTE: 5-0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Lucrezia Finegan

RESULT:

MOVER:

Jessica Cobb

SECONDER:

Finegan Cobb Kent DiRico Buhle

Olsen English Gallagher Bransford

AYE

EXCUSED

Any New Business proper to come before the Commission

This was Approved and so declared.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

RESULT:

Ribbon Cuttings

Ribbon cutting planned for the new playground at Gales Ferry Community Center.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Walkway proposal at Clark & Purdy Field.

The Commission discussed the possibility of adding a walking path around Clark and Purdy

Field, and remove the old baseball backstop. These will be considered for future Capital

Improvement Projects (CIP).

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

ADJOURNMENT

Ms. Cobb moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Ms. Buhle.

VOTE: 5 - 0 Approved and so declared, the meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth DiRico

Chairman

DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the

Town.