Dresden Fields Committee
Minutes 2/7/05
Present: John Aubin, Paul Campagna, John Chamberlin,
Mary Danko, Barry Harwick, Mike Jackson, Peter Krass, Dennis
Lally, Brian Livingston, Buff McClaughry, Kathy Parsonnet,
Larry Pilchman, Hilary Pridgen, Hank Tenney, Geoffrey Vitt,.
The following issues were discussed and actions taken:
Mission Clarification and General Discussion of Issues
The committee's mission was reviewed for the benefit of new
committee members. It was reiterated that the committee has
been charged with presenting a long term athletic fields plan
to the Dresden Board of Education. Major questions to be answered
include in part:
- How do we use the land at the High School and in Norwich?
- How do we coordinate with the Hanover and Norwich recreation
departments?
Other discussion included:
- the need to determine what’s not possible, e.g.,
use of specific Dartmouth fields;
- timing of bond vote, with most members concurring a Fall
05 vote would be best to line up contractors for Spring
06 work;
Once the Dresden aboard approves the plan, the committee
is expected to promote the plan to the public via public information
sessions and web site, among other avenues.
Communication with the Public
How and when to communicate with the public was discussed.
Committee members will be investigating the best methods for
communicating with the public throughout the entire process.
Transparency and efficiency are primary goals.
Review of Current Fields Status
Handouts were shared by John Aubin, Mike Jackson, and Peter
Krass that detailed a history of the attempts to develop athletic
fields, current field usage, and the status of those fields.
How the tri-party land deal, Dartmouth, and the impending
high school renovation would affect the fields was discussed.
Athletic Director Mike Jackson’s primary concerns were
the situation with Dartmouth-owned Fullington field, the use
of which is tenuous, he said; the loss of Thompson Terrace
to the town of Hanover; and the track which has not been used
for competition due to its dilapidated state.
From the discussion it was clear that Dartmouth and Hanover
Recreation are also stretched and in need of space, and scheduling
of programs is problematic. There was also the concern that
more needs to be done to share fields and this issue should
be discussed more in depth.
Questionnaire Update
About 900 questionnaires had been received. It was reported
that results should be available within 2-3 weeks. When
to make the results available to the public was discussed
and it was stated that this should not happen until the final
report from Bob Sokol was presented. The committee was asked
to submit their own questions as to what they would like to
know from the questionnaire results.
Interim Norwich Plans Update
School board member Geoffrey Vitt reviewed the status of
building fields on the Norwich parcel using the Merriman Fund.
Because free fill from Dartmouth is already being dumped on
the site for use there or at the high school, it was suggested
by a member of the public to advise the public on why there
is activity at the site. It was agreed that the Dresden board
or superintendent’s office should do so.
As for the permit process if the Norwich interim fields proceed,
Buff McLaughry stated that it is a lengthy process that must
be taken into consideration in scheduling the actual work.
Dresden board member John Chamberlin noted that the questionnaire
results are critical to the school board’s decision
on whether to proceed with the interim project.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 1, 7:00 pm Hanover High Library
Action Steps Before Next Meeting
- The committee will invite a Dartmouth athletic department
representative and Jill Kearney of the Norwich Recreation
Department to speak at the March 1 meeting.
- Mary Danko and John Chamberlin will begin to look into
best methods for disseminating information to the public.
- The approved February 7 minutes will be posted on the
web site.
- The questionnaire results and analysis will be managed
in a timely manner so that results will be available by
the March 1 meeting.
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