Community Center Facilities Committee Meeting

HARWICH COMMUNITY CENTER

FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

March 11, 2016

10:00 AM

Members present: Lee Culver, Brian Power, Ralph Smith, Sean Libby

Also present: Carolyn Carey, Community Center Director, Trisha Lyon, guest

1. Meeting was called to order at 10:00 AM.

1. Brian Power made a motion to approve the Facilities Committee meeting minutes from February 12^th. The motion was seconded by Ralph Smith. The motion passed.

1. Ralph Smith gave the report from the Council on Aging. He reported that the Men’s Breakfast program is a huge success and continues to grow. The breakfast is followed by a book group meeting which is also a popular program. Mr. Smith also discussed an upcoming wine, cheese, and chocolate tasting that is being organized by the COA and held at the First Crush Winery in Harwich on March 19. This event is a fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod. Further, the COA is organizing an energy seminar in conjunction with Cape Light Compact to inform seniors about Cape Light services. Overall, this is a very busy time for the COA.

1. Lee Culver gave the report from the Recreation Department. The Community Preservation Committee is supporting the Recreation and Youth Commission’s Phase Three renovations at Brooks Park which include work on the parking lot. Sign ups for spring programs are going well. The pool tables in the Game Room have just been resurfaced and have been acknowledged and appreciated by those who use the room.

1. There was no new business to discuss.

1. Old Business

1. The request from Josephine’s Kitchen to use the Community Center kitchen to cook meals to serve to the community was discussed. Trisha Lyon was present to provide more information. Ms. Lyon discussed several details of the request from Josephine’s Kitchen including that they would not require any on-site storage, they would use their own pots and pans, Trisha herself would do the cooking and she is ServeSafe certified, and they are flexible about the times for accessing the kitchen. The Facilities Committee asked several questions including what the cost of the program is for participating seniors and whether they serve any low income individuals. Ms. Lyon indicated that the cost for the service is $200 for three meals plus the cost of purchasing the food. Further, at this time, they do not provide services to any low income individuals. After answering these questions, the Committee thanked Ms. Lyon for her time and information and indicated that they would be in touch with her following their discussion of the information she presented. They also indicated that she was welcome to stay for the remainder of the meeting. The discussion that followed focused on a need to talk with Barbara Anne Foley, Director of the Council on Aging, to discuss the potential for having Josephine’s Kitchen provide a meal program for seniors in need. This program could provide meals to low income seniors at a rate relative to the number of full price customers the company services. An example provided suggested that Josephine’s Kitchen might provide their service to one low income senior for every one or two paying customers they service. The Committee has asked Ms. Carey to contact Barbara Anne Foley regarding this proposal. Ms. Foley can then follow up with Josephine’s Kitchen for further discussion.
2. Ms. Carey provided the Committee with an update about the Budget Meeting held on February 27, 2016. Ms. Carey presented the Community Center budget for FY 17 to the Town Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen. During this meeting, there was an error found related to Samantha Estabrook’s salary. Ms. Carey has corrected this error and submitted the correction to the Town Administrator and has asked that the correction be included in all budget considerations going forward. She is still waiting to hear back from the Town Administrator for notification that the correction has been received.

1. Director’s Update

1. The building is up and running at full capacity following the damage caused by the burst pipe on February 15, 2016. Sean Libby reported that he has made a request to have a heater placed in the corner where the sprinkler broke to prevent a similar problem from occurring in the future.
2. The annual Egg Hunt is scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2016 at 3:30 PM at the Harwich Middle School. There are over 7,000 eggs stuffed for this event. Volunteers are still needed to help with this event.
3. The Chamber of Commerce has a Sock Hop dance scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the gymnasium.
4. The MA Primary Election held at the Community Center on March 1, 2016 was a success. There was a steady flow of people using the Center throughout the day to participate in the election. There were no incidents during this event. The Community Center has been asked to close the building to all other events for the General Election to be held on November 8, 2016. A request will be submitted to the Board of Selectmen with regards to closing the building on that day. We will also work with the other groups scheduled to use the building on that day to schedule around this closing. The General Election is expected to be a busy day at the Community Center.
5. The Monomoy Regional High School After Prom event is returning to the Community Center on March 24, 2016. Ms. Carey has been working with the After Prom Committee over the last several months to help ensure the successful planning and execution of this event.

1. Other – Ms. Carey is scheduling two meetings on March 30, 2016 to meet with groups that fall under the for-profit category to discuss room use fee increases for FY 17. There will be one meeting in the morning and one meeting in the afternoon, just as there was for the non-profit groups in January.

1. The next Facilities Committee meeting was scheduled for April 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM. However, several Committee members will not be available on April 8. The Committee has asked the Director to determine if the Committee needs to meet in April or whether a meeting in May would be sufficient. If a meeting in April is required, it will be scheduled for April 22, 2016 at 10:00 AM.

1. Ralph Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 AM and the motion was seconded by Sean Libby. The motion passed.