Volunteers Green and Browns Court Project Committee 7/10/25

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VGBC Minutes 07-10-25v2 499 KB

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RAFT Volunteers Green, Browns Court, Round Church Green

3 Parks Improvement Committee (ARPA Funds)

VIEW PICKLEBALL SIGN MINUTES AT THE END OF 
https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Volunteers_Green_and_Browns_Ct_Project_Committee/Meetings/2025/07/VGBC_Minutes_07-10-25v2.pdf?67c8b7f0e55b67c507597b969612069c2999fc72

Minutes from meeting held on July 10, 2025

Next scheduled meeting: Thursday, August 20, 2025 at 7 pm

Members Attending: Kendra Ziskie, Denise Barnard, Fran Thomas, Tess Storrs, Megan Andrews, Jeanne Agner

Members Absent: Mary Lefebvre

Guests in person: Alan Oliver, Maya Bhave, Rose Bergeron, Kathy Gruber, Jayne Sheridan, Mark Schiewetz

Guests attending virtually: Martha Nye, Velma Ploof, Doug Wysockey- Johnson

Public comment: None

Agenda

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. Review agenda - changes, additions, appoint timekeeper

Move the review of minutes to the end of the meeting

3. Public comment on non-agenda items - none

Browns Court Park Updates

Welcome Richmond Pickleball players and neighbors to join in our discussions re:

All Things Pickleball.

7:04

Fran explained to our guests about the history of the 3 Parks, our role and the overall plans for improvements to Browns Court Park. She then got into more details about the pickleball court itself. We had been expecting the work to begin in mid to late August, but last Monday,Denise got a call from VT Recreation, the installer, who said they had finished a job in Maine early and could be here at 8 am the next day. Denise and Fran met at 8:00 am, and were soon joined by town staff - Josh Arneson, Keith Oborne, Steve Cote, and Jerry Levesque, to stake out the court out as per the DRB approved Plans and answer any questions that the General Contractor had. It was impressive to see who was able to show up with such short notice. They started digging that morning to prepare the site. They brought in several different layers of material that were compacted and rolled smooth. That base has to sit for a while. The next step is to apply several layers of the hard surface. Each layer has to be compacted and there is a week or so time frame between each layer. The final layer will have the court layout painted on. Then the fence will be installed around the court. There will be arborvitae trees on three sides which will provide a sound barrier and a visual barrier. Once the fence is installed, the trees can be planted, which will probably be at the end of August. The

trees will have to be watered regularly. There will soon be a source of water installed which will have some type of lock. Hopefully by the end of August, we will have playable pickleball courts. Denise has been communicating with VYCC to see if they would help with planting. We also hope to recruit pickleball players and other community members to help with planting and regular watering of the trees.

Fran explained how our committee is not a Recreation Committee and that we aren't really the committee to be managing the court play, but since there is no rec committee, we would like to be able to present the town with some guidelines for how

the town can manage the court to serve players and protect the neighbors.

7:13

We had a robust and valuable discussion with our guest neighbors and pickleball players regarding rules, hours, signage, managing court time and materials, as well as storage of these materials. We were asking for their opinions and advice. We learned about how different groups and places manage court time, many players using an app to communicate with each other around scheduling play. Again, as we don’t have a recreation director to do this, it was suggested that a volunteer might initially be the administrator. We learned about the various tools needed for court maintenance and how various courts store these materials. We even heard that we should plan for a lost and found basket. It was noted that we cannot restrict play to just Richmond residents (not that we were planning to do that) as the ARPA funds are federal funds and must apply to all.

19:41

We are planning to apply for a Play It Forward grant from Pickleball USA which would provide 24 paddles, 100 balls and a practice net. If we are awarded this grant, the Richmond Library has agreed to lend out the material as they currently do with snowshoes. There were suggestions as to how we might gather extra materials and where to ask for donations.

28.31

Fran further explained that the upgrades to the parking lot that are in the plans will not be built this fall. The town has borrowed the ARPA/ designated funds for park improvements to pay for the flood damage repairs. Until the town gets reimbursed from FEMA, the funds to upgrade the parking lot are not available at this time. We are hoping that by spring, the money will be reimbursed by FEMA and the funds will then be available for the 30-spot gravel parking lot and other approved park amenities. We are aware that with an evening softball game and pickleball games, there will probably be a need for overflow parking. Our committee had previously discussed having signage that overflow parking would be available at the elementary school. One of us needs to check with the parking committee and will ask about that type of signage. Fran will find out if the town might want to install a temporary rope fence designating the parking lot, if the lot is not installed early next spring.

We reviewed the signs that will be posted on the pickleball fence regarding the hours the court will be open (8 am to 8pm), the court numbers, and determined the specific wording for the pickleball rules.

1:08:40

A motion was made and we approved the wording for those signs. We have guidelines from the DRB as to the size of the signs. Jeanne will have these signs printed on heavy cardstock and laminated so that they are ready to attach to the fence when the work is completed. See samples of the approved signs in the related files of this meeting - when I get to that :)

The question was raised as to who would be the person or organization to contact if a conflict did arise with regards to pickleball and the court. At this time, it would have to be the Town Manager. Ideally, it would be a Recreation Director or a Recreation Committee, however currently our town has neither. Again, our committee was appointed to develop plans for the three parks and present those plans to the Selectboard. It would be up to the Selectboard to execute the plans. We planned to work with the Recreation Committee, but that committee has since disbanded. We are not a Recreation Committee. It was suggested to the Selectboard in the past that they hire a part time Recreation Director to manage activities and events at the town parks.

1:15.24

Jeanne and Fran worked on a draft application to the Conservation Reserve Fund for money for the arborvitae trees, hoses to water the trees as well as two benches and a picnic table to be installed near the pickleball court, as the ARPA/designated funds are not currently available. Fran presented the draft of our application to the Conservation Commission for review earlier in the week. The CC did not see any concerns with the draft of the application and voted to recommend the allocation to the Selectboard at their next meeting as long as we made no changes to the application at our meeting

1:15:57

We voted to accept the draft as the official application to the Conservation Reserve fund with no changes.

Additional funding for shed. Our fund has recently had $3,111 repaid from the sale of a town lawn mower. We discussed a storage shed and lock, but we did hear some other options for storage to consider. It also sounds like we should purchase a broom, a squeegee ($75) and the roller that was described for court maintenance and a lock to fix them to the fence and a lock for the gate to the courts. We can look into the other storage options as we consider a shed and storage at a future meeting.

1:24.36

Alan Oliver stated that earlier in the process, the neighbors were assured that the arborvitae trees would be five to six feet tall. Now he understands they’re going to be four to five feet tall. That means it’s going to be a couple of years before the noise mitigation really begins to take effect. He also heard tonight that there is a possibility

that the pickleball courts could be open before the arborvitae are put in place. He would like to go on record as saying he wants to see the trees in place before the pickleball courts open, and if there’s any way of getting the larger trees, he’d like that.

Denise shared that Josh Arneson has asked for two more quotes for trees, per Town policy, so Fran will look into the sizes of trees as she gets more quotes. Our current quote is from Gardener’s Supply. Denise also stated that a strong fence will be installed for the pickleball court in case future sound barriers need to be installed on the fence.

Denise asked Alan if he had received any updates from the town on his boundary line with Browns Court. He has not. Fran is going to follow up.

1:30.02

Volunteers Green updates

Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for both plan #2 and #4 from Hillview design.

Denise will talk with John Johnston, from Breadloaf , who is going to provide us with an ROM. We understand that a ROM is a preliminary cost estimate that could be within a wide range of the actual cost. This type of estimate is used during the early stages of a project when detailed information is limited.

Denise was planning to ask John to come to a meeting to explain what an ROM involves. It was questioned if it might be best for him to develop the ROM and then explain that to us. Denise will talk with him for his suggestions. Denise will make sure he has the site plans from Hillview Design and check with him to see if there is anything else he needs now. We discussed having 2 or 3 of our members meet with him before our next meeting to see what he needs from the town. Fran is working on getting quotes for the demolition work that would need to be done on the bandstand, bathroom and playground.

Round Church Green Update

The Front Porch Forum post looking for volunteers to periodically clean the benches received two responses. It was suggested that Jeanne post again to see if we might get another volunteer or two to clean.

1:39.20

Review finances / budget

Fran met with Connie, the finance director, to try to get actual numbers of what had been spent from our account. We assumed there was an ARPA funds category, but it doesn't appear to be that simple. Kendra has the estimated budget using the quotes we received. That budget was presented to the Selectboard, but we do not know the actual amount that has been spent to date. We are not clear on what expenses came out of the town budget versus the ARPA funds. We are hoping to clarify which expenditures for tree trimming and for Mow and Maintain came out of our budget. We know that the pickleball contract ended up being more than what was estimated. The

Round Church estimates for benches and the table were most likely the same as the quotes or very close, depending on the shipping. The cement pads would also be very close to the estimate. About $100 was spent on materials for the bench cleaning. The money for Bob Neeld and Hillview design came out of the $9,000 that was allocated before the money was borrowed for flood repairs. The money for Chris Haggerty’s boundary line survey work came out of the town budget. Fran will continue to pursue this. Jeanne offered to join her in a future meeting with Connie and Josh Arneson

1:47.52

Open Meeting video - Duncan sent out a memo to the committee members that still have to complete the video training.

Planning for Future Selectboard Meeting

Denise attended the last Selectboard meeting to inform them of the pickleball court installation and to let them know how impressed the contractor was with so many town staff showing up with such a short notice. She also informed the Selectboard that we want to apply for a grant from Pickleball USA and that we were also submitting an application to the Conservation Reserve Fund for amenities for the pickleball court, since the ARPA/Designated fun money is not currently available to us. Denise gave them a quick update on the overall status of park improvements.

Front Porch Forum post

We had planned to review the FPF draft tonight, but with the rapid developments of the pickleball court, it was decided to send out a post before this meeting.. Individual emails were also sent to the Browns Court neighbors. There was only one response which was from a neighbor saying he would attend our meeting.

Other

Jeanne will send a thank you note to Virginia Clarke and Judy Rosovsky from our committee thanking them for attending our meetings and for all of the help they gave this committee.

Planning commission - updating the town plan. There were tables set up in the library on Thursday and they will be there again on Saturday for residents to give input on the town plan currently being rewritten. Denise and Fran setup some material about the 3 parks on a table. We thought it was important to show all four drafts of the proposed band shell. They shared drawings of the pickleball court with the trees and more. Fran will set up the table for Saturday.

Minutes Approved from last meeting of May 27, 2025

Next scheduled meeting: Thursday, August 20, 2025 at 7 pm

2:07

Meeting adjourned.

Possible Agenda items for next meeting

Brown’s Court Update

Pickleball Court progress

Materials needed to be purchased for maintenance

Storage shed or other options

Plan for a Grand opening of the pickleball court this fall

Parking lot update - follow up with Parking Committee info

Volunteers Green update

Budget numbers update