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Recreation Commission Meeting October 6, 2003 Mr. Gareau asked Mr. DiSalvo for his thoughts on the allocation of the fields for the soccer use. Mr. DiSalvo said to touch base with NOSO, NOSA and Hot Stove, he is still totally confused on any arrangements the City has to manage the fields. It should not be that the organizations are telling the City what to do; the City should be telling the organizations what to do. It’s almost a complete turnaround right now. The presentation is excellent. However, the Commissioner is concerned about proper field usage and permits. He did not know what the Rec Center is getting in return for all of the arrangements, but he’s not singling out NOSO. All the groups use gentlemen agreements. There is no documentation on what the Rec should be doing or what the organizations should be doing. Mr. DiSalvo is not comfortable with these arrangements. Again, across the board, what is being presented tonight is a great idea, but it must be solidified. Chris (Wetmore) is mostly involved with this matter, and he’s more confused than the Commissioner. Some time within the next few days Mr. DiSalvo will be meeting with representatives of all the organizations to find out what the situation is. Nothing explains what is going on between the Rec and the organizations. Mr. Jesse said that when Mr. Esher brought this matter to the City’s attention, Mr. Jesse thought it a good opportunity and to move forward with it. It must be carefully executed because four fields will be tied up for a period of time and people are being brought in from England. It could all work; Mr. Jesse saw it work at another country club, which brought in a whole crew from Augusta and completely rebuilt its course in two months. The City must have full confidence in this project. The City must also maintain full management of the project, with the Blackburn people being the subcontractor that is doing the work. Mr. Jesse’s concern is that the project goes sour and the City is left with a mud puddle for fields. Also, the timing of the year being what it is, when it’s time to work, it’s time to work. In April and May the fields could be very easily washed out so there has to be some real tight scheduling done. There will be 16 hour days when it’s dry and sitting around when it’s wet. These concerns go hand in hand with Mr. DiSalvo’s management of the fields. Another concern, as Mr. Baxter has noted, is for whom the parks are intended. By default, over the years, North Olmsted Park has been given to the baseball and softball and Barton/Bradley to soccer. If the City wants to continue this precedent, the City can, but usage issues are a concern. This idea will make Barton/Bradley a world-class facility, and the concerns Mr. Jesse voiced are all very resolvable. Mr. Gareau asked if the project would be a total tear-down. Mr. Esher responded that there would be a scrape down, some minor grading and sodding. All the answers are not available for today’s meeting. Mr. Gareau would like to see more detail on what’s in mind. It’s nice to see someone come to North Olmsted and make soccer something this big. Mr. Friedl knows the fields; he’s played on them all his life. Mr. Esher said one thing he forgot to mention is that the girls and boys would switch back and forth as to who would use the fields. This year the boys would use the fields for practice; next year the girls would. Mr. Esher reiterated after Mr. Gareau's question as to where supplies would be coming from that everything will be at Mr. Friedl's expense. Ms. Hayes said that Brad Friedl is bringing in his own crew to do the work. Mr. Jesse moved that the Commission place confidence in Mr. Esher's proposal and asked Mr. Esher to prepare a detailed report for November's meeting, which report would include the amounts of participation of both the City and Mr. Friedl. Mr. Gareau seconded the Motion. Ms. Page 6