In addition to meeting minutes, interested residents should be aware that video tapes of athletic field committee meetings are available. Tapes may be obtained at the CATV office at the south end of the High School for about two weeks after the date of the meeting. After two weeks, tapes are sent to the Howe Library where they can be checked out. The phone number for CATV is 643-2288.

Dresden Fields Committee

Minutes for 3/21/05 Meeting

Present: Larry Pilchman, Geoffrey Vitt, John Chamberlin, Kathy.Parsonnet, Buff Mclaughry, Peter Krass, Paul Campagna, John Aubin, Cam Brown, Bob White, Wayne Gersen, Robert Sokol, Hilary Pridgen, Mary Danko, Mike Jackson

Minutes of last meeting: Approved

Presentation of Athletic Fields Survey Results by Bob Sokol, Sociology Dept, Dartmouth College

In addition to summarizing the points made in his written summary, Bob made the following comments, with discussion following: To have 902 surveys returned is a reasonable amount; he is satisfied that he was able to control for potential bias; comments made by respondents (which reflected very strong feelings) echoed the data; and the comments should be read to capture the true flavor of the results.

According to Bob, the “messages” are:

Involve the community in the planning process and come up with a plan that benefits the community;

The Norwich site is viable site for building fields; however, the Board needs to consider the specific options to make the plan compatible with the community’s financial and philosophical concerns:

Attitude of vast majority of respondents is that athletics is healthy, and we should encourage a lifestyle that includes fitness, but not necessarily competitive sports;

A budget that does not exceed $3 million should pass, “all things being equal” - meaning if nothing changes between now and the bond vote (attitudes, economic realities);

Respondents are divided on emphasis on interscholastic competition and the committee will have to deal with that;

Public confidence will come around if we share this information openly.

Discussion and questions followed his presentation to clarify certain aspects of the results. For example, Bob Sokol characterized “No” voters of the last bond vote to be those who think athletics are too competitive, there are poor extracurricular alternatives, and lifelong fitness options are very important. In addition, a member of the public suggested adding background information about the previous bond vote to the report so the reader has a frame of reference. Also, it was clear to the committee that private fundraising/sponsorship needs to be addressed.

Norwich Interim Plan

Peter Krass said that he had expressed several issues concerning the interim plans raised by committee members to Margaret Cheney. Namely, the committee wanted assurances that any interim plans would in no way restrict the committee’s work. Margaret assured Peter that would not be the case and that the committee would have ample time to have input into the plans.

Wayne Gersen provided a Norwich interim update. On March 22 the Dresden Board would be voting on whether to use the Merriman funds. Wayne’s opinion was that the use of the funds and subsequent construction would be a demonstration of how formal and informal alliances with towns and local businesses and Dartmouth can be leveraged. He believed that the district was already saving over $100,000 on fill alone by allowing Dartmouth to provide it. The Board will be looking into private sector donations, and other alternative means of fundraising.

Wayne suggested that if a baseball field was built in Norwich, there was the possibility of Varsity and JV practicing there and at Thompson Terr. until 5PM and then both fields being made available to Hanover Rec. programs.

Other community groups may be able to take advantage of the 57 acres of land, too, Wayne said. Partnerships with others would lead to saving money and getting people committed to particular projects.

For the Norwich site, permitting may not be finished until end of June, which gives everyone time to think about the interim plans there. While this is the Board’s project, the consensus was that the AFC should have a strong voice in it.

Discussion turned to Lebanon Street. Wayne said renovation/development at the Lebanon Street site may have to wait for a couple of summers because of need for space for staging the high school renovation. How the job is staged would affect the costs – more would be known in a few weeks

Critical Tasks and Assignments Moving Forward

Given the results of the questionnaire, the committee discussed next steps. Bob White thought it best to take time to digest the results and articulate them to the community and get further input. Geoffrey Vitt believed the results such as the message on sharing need to be acknowledged and resolved, but there are other considerations. Geoffrey felt the committee should be looking into specifics immediately such as lights.

Moving forward on a number of fronts appeared to be the most prudent approach; however, it was agreed that any sharing opportunities had to be looked at first.

Instead of members tackling very specific tasks, John Aubin suggested the committee break the plans development down into five major aspects: the Norwich site, the Lebanon Street site, Sharing, Communication, and the Budget. Discussion turned to whether Lebanon Street ideas and costs should be developed first and see how much money was involved, then look at what might be done at Norwich based on Bob Sokol saying the total budget should be $3 million or less. Again, the consensus was that everything would have to move forward together because of time constraints.

To assign members to one of the critical groups, Kathy Parsonnet requested that each member email their top priorities as far as plans development. Assignments would be finalized at the next meeting.

Clarification of Issues from Questionnaire Results

In addition to members voicing their plans development concerns, Kathy requested that each member also state the five most salient points they took away from the questionnaire results. This would aid the committee in understanding everyone’s position and help create guiding principles as the committee moved forward on plans development.

In considering the questionnaire results and future plans Mike Jackson requested that the committee consider accommodating not only current but future programs such as an additional boy’s soccer team.

Action Items

The communication subcommittee is to meet and work on how to best share the questionnaire results with the public.

The fields inventory/sharing subcommittee is to meet and determine if there are any potential sharing opportunities.

Each committee member is to email to Kathy and Peter their list of Critical Aspects pertaining to plans development and the Five Salient Points they took away from the questionnaire results. All of this would be circulated among the members so everyone has a feel for what their fellow members are thinking.