2026-10-08 - Parks Recreation and Harbor Advisory Committee

01:12Well, take your way through.

01:18>> Uh, this is a regularly scheduled

01:19meeting of the park recreation cover

01:22advisory committee. Uh, my name is Ryan

01:26Robin. chair and a committee member and

01:28we're going to introduce ourselves going

01:31right to left.

01:33Joan Nelson, uh, Cameron Stadium

01:35athletic field supervisor and Sawyer ice

01:39arena general manager.

01:41>> Brianna Fry, community member.

01:43[clears throat] Susette Furrow,

01:44community member.

01:45>> Debbie Jeanro, assistant director.

01:48>> Ben Klette, community member.

01:49>> Michaela, community member.

01:52>> Okay, first item is approving the

01:55September minute. So, everyone could

02:04Um the uh under manhood stadium.

02:07>> Yeah.

02:08>> John is misspelled. It should be s h a

02:11wast.

02:27Thank you.

02:53Oh

03:20got a chance to read it. See anything

03:22specific?

03:48first actual

03:53go.

03:54>> Uh, thanks for having me here today. So,

03:57my name is Joe Nelson and I've actually

03:59been in this position since sometime in

04:02the early 90s when my first parks and

04:04wreck job high school senior year 1989

04:08parks maintenance. So, I've basically

04:11gone away five years college, but I've

04:14been with parks and wreck ever since.

04:16So, that's a little in this whole time

04:18is 10713th Street Sawyer Ice Arena. Um,

04:22it's basically the same building that I

04:24had 30 years ago. So, It's that time of

04:27the year where we're getting ready to

04:29open. Um it's seasonal rank usually

04:32operates from mid to late October. I

04:36always try to open later. Uh youth

04:39hockey and the organizations always want

04:41us to open early. So we actually

04:43probably opening a week earlier than

04:45normal October 19th. Um, so I'll shift

04:48gears slightly to just tell you

04:51take care of the athletic facilities and

04:54with Cameron Stadium a turf fields

04:56basically being used seven days a week

04:57now year round almost basically when

05:00there's not snow on it. They try to

05:01schedule things. So I just came from an

05:03event there. Now

05:06um the high school our parks and recck

05:09employees take care of all the athletic

05:11facilities for the Bangor school

05:13department. So basically Cameron

05:15Stadium, Gallant Street between Fruit

05:17Street and Garland Street has middle

05:20school sports, high school sports, and

05:23then Bangor High School has high school

05:25sports. And then um Dowy, James F. Dowy

05:30Middle School has athletic fields out

05:32behind them. So we're lining, mowing,

05:35training them kind of year round and

05:37then trying to do that all around gym

05:40classes, school uses, and the athletic

05:42field. So, we're pretty blessed with the

05:44uh staff. A lot of some full-time

05:49employees are all technically in the

05:50full-time now. Try to get them to work

05:52as much as possible to do that upkeep.

05:56The last month or so, we started the

05:59process of the ice arena. We have a sand

06:02floor there. So, it takes us

06:05uh weeks to build up ice on a cement

06:08floor like Alon and across the river's

06:11ice rink. can do it in a weekend.

06:14Basically, we need to smooth out. It has

06:17many tubes underneath the sand. So, you

06:20have to make sure that's smooth, wet it,

06:23turn it on, freeze it, then gradually

06:25build up ice. And when you're building

06:27up the ice, if you lay water, you have

06:29to wait for it to freeze. And if we have

06:3170° days outside, that sometimes isn't

06:35real conducive. So, we'll only be able

06:36to hit it a couple times a year. We've

06:39actually had dedicated staff. um because

06:42of the problems we had last year with

06:44the damage to the chiller and the under

06:47the gun basically brought in a night

06:49shift last year that worked so good that

06:52we kind of tweaked some of the hours of

06:54the guys. So we actually stayed later to

06:57build up the ice. So we were ready this

07:00past Tuesday to paint the ice which

07:03people don't even realize a lot of times

07:05with an ice rink you actually have to

07:07paint it. So, I remember doing it for

07:10many, many years when we'd start at 7:00

07:12a.m. and we'd finish at like noon the

07:15next day, literally working through the

07:17night. Um, this year we did an alltime

07:20best where 7:00 and we finished about

07:245:30 p.m. that night. Now, that's

07:28finished painting and putting five logos

07:30out. One is a 30 foot by 30 foot Twin

07:33City, the home one of the home high

07:35school, the Bangor area team that

07:37combined with Brewer and other schools.

07:41That's 30 foot by 30 foot out in the

07:44center of the ice and then all our other

07:46high schools, our packs rack. So we

07:49finished that. Now we have to build an

07:51inch and a half of ice above that. So,

07:53it's very light coats, then it's

07:57heavier coats, and then hopefully around

08:00midweek next week or maybe even the

08:03beginning of the week, we'll get the

08:04Zamboni out because it's got spiked

08:06tires and we don't want to go through to

08:08the paint. So, we have to build up at

08:09least closer to a quarter of an inch.

08:12So, we'll be doing that right through

08:15the weekend. We plan on opening uh

08:17Monday. So, Soy Arena, we host three

08:21high schools and main junior Black Bears

08:23is our basic tenants and home people. We

08:27uh there isn't enough ice time in the

08:30day to be blunt. Um especially week

08:33nights for the practices and the amount

08:35of time. My job is trying to tweak

08:37everything. One of our area high schools

08:39to get time has to practice before

08:41school. So, we basically have somebody

08:43there before school during the high

08:45school season and then they played their

08:48home games there. Um, Hampton Academy,

08:51John Baps, and then the Twin City

08:53Titans. Now, I will tell you, I don't

08:56think any of those high schools are

08:57stand alone. Now, there are many less

09:00high school teams around the state

09:02because people have combined. Um, but

09:05youth hockey is pretty strong. um the

09:08main junag bears with their amount of

09:10people playing our learn to skate

09:13program. We run parks and wreck is a

09:15successful program that's on Sundays.

09:18Elizabeth Hton is our director. I'm the

09:21president of it. Um we basically try to

09:25get as many people in the program as we

09:27can. We have to turn some people down

09:29because it's basically staffing. We have

09:32to find instructors. They have to be

09:34qualified. We're part of that learn to

09:36skate. Elizabeth does a great job. We've

09:38got good news. We're ready to put that

09:41on the website. So, she was getting a

09:44hold of the rec programmer today. I

09:46wanted to meet in person because we got

09:49good news that we added

09:52a couple instructors. So, we'll actually

09:54be able to add a program or two to make

09:57it even better. But that's a very

09:58successful program we're proud of. When

10:01we open, we're open seven days a week.

10:03We uh October 19th we're actually going

10:06to be closed that first weekend because

10:09we're hosting many events at Cameron

10:11Stadium and again staffing basically the

10:13guys at the rank and girls at the rink

10:16are also out doing work. Some of them

10:19work on the pools during the summer and

10:21the parks. Some of them work with me on

10:23the athletic fields but a lot of the

10:25same guys we're out doing athletic field

10:27work in our hockey rink. It's hard.

10:30We've got some great dedicated

10:32employees. Nick Fiori, as I mentioned,

10:35is a

10:37a city employee. We're happy, lucky to

10:39have him. He's my most exper our most

10:41experienced Zamboni driver. Great at

10:44training.

10:46To be a successful Zamboni driver, you

10:48can't just come teach you and jump on it

10:50the next day. I will tell you, I've been

10:53there 30 years.

10:55I'm our worst Zamboni driver because I

10:57don't do it quite as much. I'm kind of

10:59the fill-in guy. If if we have a Zamboni

11:02driver scheduled and they call out that

11:04day, we need to cover it somehow. So, we

11:06have dedicated people that'll come in

11:09and do that stuff. Um,

11:12every Avery Gagden's another employee

11:14that we're lucky to have. So, they're

11:17the most experienced, but it's only

11:19Avery's second year driving a Zamboni.

11:22So, um, we lost a

11:26experienced Embony driver from last

11:28year, but we'll train them. We watch

11:30videos. We spend hours on the ice

11:32preparing and driving that, and then

11:34we'll kind of go forward with that. But

11:37it is an aging building.

11:40Uh, it has some issues that we try to

11:42stay on top of. Always try to have great

11:44customer service with the people that

11:46come over and treat them as nice as we

11:47can. Try to clean the place as best we

11:49can. But the chiller that had some

11:53problems last year, we had to spend a

11:54little bit of money to get it up and

11:56starting this year. It's 30 years old.

11:59They don't even make some of the

12:00replacement parts anymore. So, we've got

12:02a talented

12:04kind of mechanical engineer that's been

12:06working with us. He can fabricate and

12:09kind of do some things. Um, we have a

12:11sand floor as I'd mentioned with boards.

12:15um just it's showing its age a little

12:18bit and perfect world and Joe Nelson we

12:20have a new facility I think it's much

12:22needed but we do the best we can so

12:26if there are any questions or comments

12:29to have you our public skating times

12:30well

12:32again if we had

12:35another arena even two ranks we might

12:38have public skating in the evening right

12:40now we have no time because high school

12:42because hockey goes from basically 2:00,

12:462:30 to 10:00 p.m. every day. So, we

12:50have public skating on the weekends and

12:52then during the day. So, 12:30 to 1:30

12:56and then a figure skating time. So, if

12:58if we did, we'd be able to grow our

13:00figure skating programs with a second

13:02rank or with more of an opportunity.

13:05But, um even if high school hockey were

13:08to leave tomorrow, which there are some

13:09people, it's just harder that schools

13:11don't own their own ranks. So scheduling

13:13is an issue. Uh there are a lot of

13:16issues that if it ever went because I

13:18hear that out there are less high school

13:21hockey teams. Why do we need a new rank

13:24or why do we need those things? And in

13:26my opinion, youth hockey

13:29would grow and expand even more. We have

13:31to turn away. There aren't enough

13:33practice hours for the youth hockey

13:35groups right now.

13:37It just isn't. If we have a high school

13:39game and a lot of those teams travel,

13:41it's hard to make them play at 9:00 at

13:43night on a school night. So, if they're

13:45at 6:30, that takes away the uh youth

13:49practice times. But again, we open

13:51October 19th. We'll stay open to towards

13:54mid to late March. One of the things I

13:57should remind Debbie

13:59and Tracy when we get closer, learn to

14:03skate and we've hosted a couple skating

14:05shows. So, we get judges to come in,

14:08give them medals, and we've actually

14:09had, which I don't think a lot of ranks

14:11do, and that's through our learn to

14:12skate program. And uh it's kind of a

14:15neat thing that's open to anybody. We've

14:18had a number of people travel to do

14:20that. So, it'd be probably a nice thing

14:23to let the advisory board know when it

14:26is going forward. So,

14:30looking forward to the season. Very

14:31happy we did the first part of building

14:34and painting the ice

14:37and everything's going to go well. So,

14:39we can open Mondays to plan.

14:43If something happened happens to the

14:46chiller,

14:48how quickly

14:50I know it would probably depend on what

14:52happens. How quickly like a major

14:57fault could how quickly could it be

15:00fixed in some way?

15:01>> You never know. We've had some the issue

15:04we had at the beginning of the year

15:07has the good thing is this chiller has

15:09got an A and a B. So, it's literally two

15:12parts to it. Usually, if something goes

15:15major wrong on one part, you're at least

15:17running the second. It's hard to make

15:20ice

15:22because you need it really cold. We're

15:24setting it right now. We're running the

15:26the chilled ice at 12°. So, it's leaving

15:30the chiller at 12°. It's coming back at

15:33like 24.

15:35Um, so it's hard to answer that

15:36question. Last year, we had to rent one

15:38for a while. that took weeks to get. And

15:41if if the great thing about an ice rink,

15:44and I say this great not being the right

15:46word, but if we lose

15:48power for 3 days and it was 70° out,

15:52we'd probably lose the ice, have to do

15:55that whole process again. So, I mean,

15:58even with a cement floor and stuff, if

16:00you So, if we lose the chiller, I don't

16:03know. We're at the point where it's it's

16:05their age that some fabrication has to

16:08go on a lot of parts of it. So if it was

16:11something they said

16:13I said we can't fix or

16:16>> then it would be a probably an ice

16:18rental or shut down but

16:21>> so yeah are there like portable

16:25>> that's what we had last year.

16:26>> Okay. So when they did the major damage

16:28last year and we were unable to use the

16:30chiller

16:32because it had to get substantial things

16:34fixed. They

16:37have it on a trailer and drove it up but

16:39it came from like Tennessee and they

16:42have to redo them but before they set

16:46them up each one. So it was a week or

16:48two. And

16:48>> how much does that cost? Like

16:51>> Well, I don't want to get on my Tracy. I

16:53think it was like $15,000 a month.

16:59And Tracy could answer those questions

17:01better than me.

17:04>> Do they still flood um Fairmont Park at

17:06all? I know that wouldn't really help

17:08public.

17:09>> Okay. So, is there any other

17:11>> Debbie can answer that a little better

17:13than me, but I I will tell you driving

17:15around I know Still Water basically the

17:18>> whatever the better parks that they can

17:19do and do, but weather is an issue cuz

17:22you need

17:23>> it's been the weather for how many

17:25winters have been um pretty interesting.

17:28But last winter there was a cold spell

17:30and we got I think three parks going. Um

17:33Fairmont was one of them.

17:35>> Still Water.

17:35>> Still Water and Broadway. Those were the

17:38three that we did get going. Um, if the

17:40weather cooperates, we will always do

17:43what we can. Uh, back in the, you know,

17:4890s and early 2000s, we had 10. We don't

17:50have that anymore. We don't have the

17:52staffing to be out there at 2:00 in the

17:54morning to be, you know, making that.

17:56But, um, but if but we are trying to get

18:00some,

18:01>> um, together just like we do for the

18:03golf course for crosscountry ski trails.

18:05If the weather permits, we will make

18:07cross country ski trails as well.

18:09>> So, is that uh public works that does

18:12the flooding?

18:13>> No, that's our staff.

18:15>> Okay.

18:15>> That's our staff.

18:17>> To add another tidbit here about where

18:19Panko Pool is is where I played youth

18:22hockey back when [clears throat] I was

18:24growing up here in Bangor. So, that was

18:26an outdoor arena. Top of the hill was

18:29the pool. So I think Debbie remembers

18:31that probably at her time at the

18:33beginning, but at one time Panko Pools

18:36parking lot that was a outdoor ice rink.

18:40>> So Joe, how about the boards? You've had

18:42trouble with the boards in the past.

18:44>> Yeah. So that's touching on those that

18:46um

18:49are [clears throat]

18:51I'm going to explain this in a way our

18:53ice is based inside the boards. There's

18:57cement around the outside. That cement

19:01has deteriorated in some places. So that

19:04the footer should be 12 inches and it's

19:06like three inches in some areas. So we

19:09did a great thing and replaced the

19:11boards like six or seven years ago.

19:14Guess what? They're twice as heavy as

19:17the boards that were in there. So it's

19:19caused some issues going forward

19:23with the ice freezing pushing against

19:25the boards. the contraction, the

19:28cement's weakness in some areas. We've

19:30tried putting insulation in underground.

19:33We've tried bracing some on the

19:36backside, but basically over time, it's

19:40a little bit embarrassing and not great.

19:42the boards will start to push out

19:46um throughout the season. And that's an

19:49issue that

19:51I worry when it gets to big playoff

19:53hockey at the end of the year, they're

19:55going to be in a shape that they're not

19:57unsafe, but that they really don't want

19:59to host

20:01big hockey games there. I mean, that's

20:03how bad. And we do the best we can. I

20:05told you we've we've tried to bring up

20:07some of the smartest people in the ice

20:09rink business to say, "How do we fix

20:11this?" And to fix it 100% would be to

20:15get rid of the boards for a while, get

20:16rid of the cement, redo all the cement,

20:18put the boards back, which

20:21I no idea what the cost that is, but so

20:25basically, and those are just those

20:27things showing their age. If if you the

20:30history of that facility is it was a

20:32bubble.

20:35They then put a roof and the sides so

20:38the ends were open.

20:41Then they closed in one other end. Then

20:43they closed the other end. Then they

20:45pieced together locker rooms. So I say

20:48like the new locker rooms and the new

20:50concession stand, but it's closed 25

20:53years old. That's so I remember when it

20:56was built. So, it's kind of been pieced

20:58together, but basically a lot of

21:01well-meaning, great people

21:04came up with that and built it

21:06themselves. The city's taken over. We've

21:08tried to do upgrades. We have a

21:11dehumidifier that's two or three years

21:12old. We have an electric Zamboni

21:15um that we've replaced batteries once.

21:19Um, but

21:22Ice Edger again, we put money into the

21:26the edger. So,

21:29it's just it's an aging facility that we

21:32do the best we can. And I think people

21:34are thankful and lucky that we have it.

21:36So there are so many new facilities and

21:41ice ranks that when a lot of our people

21:43who use our rank are able to go other

21:45places,

21:47they come back and

21:50it's it doesn't quite match up with some

21:52of the other facilities.

21:57>> I don't want to take up too much time,

21:59but from what I've heard, there's the

22:01the facil that Brewer has one, right?

22:03And then

22:04>> is there one on Indian Island still? No,

22:07but that was

22:09>> Fox. Yeah, that's that was like a $6

22:13million brand new facility. So that's

22:15why yes, people are going there and then

22:18coming to our place. And like I said,

22:20it's

22:22>> Yeah,

22:24it's very nice.

22:28say anything else about Sawyer

22:36>> recreation program discussion.

22:38>> Sure. Uh last month I saw that you guys

22:40met our recreation co No, she met her

22:43before but she came in last month. So

22:45that's great. Um we have quite a few

22:49fall programs that I want to update you

22:51guys on. Uh right now youth soccer is

22:53going on. We're about midway through

22:55three weeks in. Um we a little bit our

22:59numbers are a little bit higher than

23:00last year. Uh we're at 28 teams this

23:03year. Um we utilize Union Street

23:06Complex. This year the lights are up. Um

23:09so we can have practices under lights

23:11because we just not enough time um where

23:14all our coaches work and by the time we

23:16start practices 5 5:30 and then there's

23:18a later practice at night 6:30 6:45.

23:22So the lights have been phenomenal this

23:24year. So, um, Mighty Might Soccer is

23:28another program that we've been running

23:30for years with the University of Maine

23:33women's soccer team. They come in, all

23:35the girls, and um, they run this program

23:38for us. We maximize it with 100

23:40participants and we have a waiting list.

23:42Um, this fills up within a day that we

23:45post this.

23:47Um, our kids cave before and after

23:50school program were up a little bit from

23:52last year's numbers. Last year right now

23:54we had 100 kids in our before and after

23:56school program. Right now we're at 111.

23:59Um there we're still taking

24:01registrations. We can take up to 125. So

24:04um

24:06so and we h we have about 20 to 25 staff

24:11that work on that program. Mostly

24:13college kids from Hassan and Humane. Um,

24:16but we do have a lot of high school uh

24:19counselors as well

24:22upcoming this fall. So, we're bringing

24:25back um our Halloween touch a truck and

24:28treat. So, the last time we ran this was

24:31probably four years ago. Um we the last

24:34time we did it, it was a a big downpour.

24:37We had to go in the Cross Insurance

24:38Center. And so, after that, we decided,

24:40let's do something different inside. So,

24:42we've run a Halloween dance for the last

24:43three years. Um the dance is great but

24:47it just we feel that doing this touch a

24:50truck a free local event just brings so

24:53many more people to this wonderful

24:55place. Um at the moment we have about 30

24:59vendors uh vendors which means vehicles

25:02that are going to be there. We're trying

25:04to get 40 to 50. So spread the word. I'm

25:07going to pass out some things here. Um

25:10this is the flyer that just says free

25:13event. tell your neighbors, your

25:15families, anybody. It doesn't even need

25:17to be a Bangor resident. Um it's free

25:19for anybody on the night before

25:21Halloween. But I'm also going to pass

25:23out this flyer, which is um to get

25:27people to come and put a vehicle in. So

25:29if somebody out there, they don't need

25:30to be a business or an organization. If

25:32they have an interesting vehicle that

25:34they would want to dress up and show off

25:36and, you know, give out some Halloween

25:39candy, um we're looking for that as

25:42well. So, I'm going to just pass these

25:43around. You can take one if you'd like.

25:45And uh you if you you know somebody that

25:48has interesting vehicles that would be

25:50interested that has a an email to send

25:53to us and uh we'll look into it and

25:55hopefully get them in. So, if you want

25:57to take that and pass that around.

25:58>> I know they've always come after me and

26:00love to have the Zambone in that. But

26:03>> we do drive it down the street sometimes

26:06when we store it at the golf course. So,

26:08in the summer and then people see that.

26:10But um it's a little hard at this time

26:13of the year to do that.

26:14>> And we're very lucky. We have very

26:16supportive other departments in the

26:18city. So we have uh public works in

26:21there, police department, fire

26:23department, we have the trolley. Um

26:26we're bringing our own garbage truck.

26:29Kids love garbage trucks for some

26:31reason. Um so those are just some of the

26:34city vehicles that we're bringing.

26:38Uh we've just started uh registrations

26:40for travel basketball and youth

26:42basketball. Yes, it's a soccer season,

26:44but it is open. Travel basketball um is

26:48run. We u enter into Easter main

26:51basketball league and we have triyouts

26:53on the 18th. That's coming up. So if

26:55anybody's interested in travel

26:56basketball, they need to go on our

26:57website and register.

26:59Our preschool open gym, very popular

27:01program. We just started it in October.

27:04Day one, the gym was full with about 45

27:07people. Um, it's it's an event. It's a

27:10program that we don't really advertise

27:12and if we did, we'd have probably a

27:15couple hundred people in our gym and and

27:16we just couldn't. But it is um free for

27:19kids, toddlers, and preschoolers to come

27:22in with their families and for moms and

27:24dads and grandparents to meet other

27:26people and kids alike. So, it's free

27:29Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays from

27:3011:30 to 9:30 to 11:30.

27:35So, a new program um that we're bringing

27:39back. So, maybe Joe's probably the only

27:43one that would maybe remember this, but

27:4618 years ago when I started, uh we ran

27:48this program and it was called Little

27:50Wrecky's. Um we're doing it again. So,

27:54what is this program and why haven't we

27:56done it in the past? Um first of all,

27:59why we haven't is we don't have enough

28:00gym space. we don't have the space to

28:02run a program like this. Uh we have

28:04recently partnered with Eastern Main

28:07Community College, so we're using their

28:09gymnasium a lot and due to that we are

28:14able to run this program over there

28:16while our house basketball on Saturdays

28:18is going to be at Parks and Wreck. We're

28:20going to have Little Wrecks at Easter

28:22Main Community College. Um and then

28:24travel basketball games at the high

28:26school on Sundays. Uh what Little Wrecks

28:29is, it's it's a program for the littleer

28:31kids, you know, the ones that are too

28:34young to play house basketball. It's for

28:36kids ages three to five. It's a six-week

28:39program and they do a bunch of different

28:41sports. One one week is field hockey,

28:44another week's lacrosse and baseball,

28:46indoor soccer, floor hockey, and

28:47baseball. So these kids get to test, you

28:50know, just to play, get a a little taste

28:52of all these different sports. And a lot

28:55of the varsity coaches um are coming in

28:58to uh work with these kids for some of

29:01these things. The lacrosse, the field

29:03hockey, Leah, who's not here tonight on

29:05our board, she's going to come and run

29:07our field hockey day. Um so it's it's

29:10great because getting the coaches

29:12involved with these kids gets the kids

29:14excited about the program.

29:17Um,

29:18>> we've spelled

29:20>> rys. Ries.

29:22>> Wreckies. Like racky like um, how did we

29:26spell re e c k i e s. Oh, little

29:30wreckies. Parks and rack wreckies.

29:34>> I got it.

29:36[laughter]

29:37Sure. I would have put the K there.

29:41Um

29:43so and like our basketball again we have

29:45to split up our younger kids our second

29:48and third graders have to do the first

29:49six weeks of the winter and then our

29:51middle school and fourth fifth graders

29:52have to do later just because of lack of

29:54gym space. Uh Fairmont we do not have

29:57their gym this year as you guys know so

29:59we are down a gym for every night of the

30:02week having practices there. So, we are

30:05um still in talks with some schools and

30:08um and we got down east. Um they're

30:12going to let us use their their

30:13facility. We have EMCC, we have parks

30:16and wreck. Uh still not enough gym space

30:18to host our our basketball practices

30:20even though we've split it up. So, um

30:24that's we still have a few more weeks

30:25for that.

30:27Um our basket weaving and crafts, you

30:31saw that uh I think Chelsea in the

30:34flyer. It's in there. She talked to you

30:36guys about the basket weaving. Um a very

30:39popular program we brought in about

30:41three years ago and it's it's amazing to

30:43see these people just make their own

30:45baskets. This one is um I think there's

30:48a fiddle head basket and a bike basket.

30:50If you you know ride a bike, you want to

30:52put a basket in the front. It's really

30:54interesting. So um you can go and sign

30:57up for those. Before I go on to the

31:00next, I do want to just say a little bit

31:02about our our Dell programs. Um, we are

31:06expanding our Dell programs a lot and

31:09we've gotten so much feedback, positive

31:11feedback on what we're doing that we

31:13want to just continue doing these

31:14things. And so, um, let me tell you a

31:17few of the things that we've done.

31:19Again, the fall men's and women's draft

31:21softball. It just ended this past week.

31:24two um championship teams. Uh an

31:27underdog in the men's won the champions.

31:30It was really nice to see. Absolute

31:32beginner line dancing. We did again and

31:35filled up immediately and we have a

31:37waiting list for line dancing. It's so

31:40neat to see.

31:42We put together an adultg guided hiking

31:45trips um two of them. Last weekend was

31:48Cranberry Peak. this weekend um

31:52somewhere's else but we had to cancel.

31:54We didn't have enough. Last week there

31:56was seven adults and we rented a van and

31:59we uh hired a guide and drove out to

32:02Cranberry Peak and they hiked to the top

32:04and came back down and positive

32:06feedback. They loved it. And so we're

32:08going to do more of those type of things

32:09for adults um in the future.

32:13We had our first absolute beginner

32:15pickle ball clinic. Um again filled up

32:19immediately waiting list. We are going

32:21to work with um coach Lisa who was a

32:25phys teacher at the high school retired.

32:27We work with her and uh she teaches this

32:30class for us and people like pickle

32:33ball. That is true.

32:36And our fall tennis league is almost

32:39over. It's a practice and play for

32:40adults. Our adult pickle ball and

32:44basketball open gym dropins at Eastern

32:46Main Community College starts this week.

32:48So, Friday night starts our basketball

32:50open gym. Um, just walk in. It's for

32:53adults only, though. And then on

32:55Tuesdays is adult pickle ball open gym.

32:58So, that's what we have for programs.

33:02Questions?

33:03>> Um, just regarding your youth soccer,

33:05you said 28 teams. Yes. And is that all

33:08at Union Street or are you using any of

33:10the park facilities for practices or

33:12anything like that?

33:12>> No, that's all Union. Great. We use the

33:15um the two soccer fields out there. We

33:16split those in half for the older kids

33:18and then the K1's and the second and

33:21third grades. We make fields in the

33:24three softball fields. So they have

33:26three fields each

33:29for sure.

33:29>> Yes. Very much maximizing it.

33:38questions.

33:42>> You covered it so well. We don't

33:45>> There's a good variety of programs.

33:50>> Uh Denny, next uh waterfront event

33:53season discussion.

33:55>> Yeah. So, unfortunately Tracy couldn't

33:57be here, so he's sorry. He'll be here

33:59next month. Um he did give me some

34:01tidbits on the waterfront and event. Um

34:06we are done for the season with the

34:08docks. So they're starting to come out.

34:10October 19th is where do five is going

34:12to be taken out first and it's going to

34:15every couple weeks they're going to take

34:17out another dock until it's all all

34:19done. Um

34:22and that is public works who does that.

34:25the American Cruise Line. This year,

34:27they are all done, but the schedule for

34:29next year is already set in stone. So,

34:31for next year, the first stop is here

34:34for June 3rd for the American Cruise

34:36Line, and their final stop is October

34:3812th, which is later than this year. So,

34:41they're going a lot longer.

34:44Um, food truck season is done. Um, and

34:48they're going to have a postseason

34:50meeting coming up soon. And um there was

34:53a few issues on the waterfront with

34:55electrical and and water supply. Um we

34:58are working on getting those updated and

35:00fixed um this year. As for events,

35:05we process parks and recreation process

35:07all the city events. anything that goes

35:09on. If you guys want to do, you know, a

35:12wedding at Cascade Park or a parade or

35:14an event in a park, um, a family event,

35:19um, those are all events that need to

35:22come through parks and rack. So, we have

35:23a process with that. Anybody interested,

35:26um, start the process. Last year, we did

35:29over 350 events that we processed just

35:32in one year. Um, I remember starting

35:34here 18 years ago and

35:39there were no events. Um, you know,

35:41maybe the parade and that was about it.

35:44So, going from hardly anything to that

35:47this many, Bangor has definitely stepped

35:49it up and they're doing a lot. So,

35:53and that's it on the waterfront um that

35:56I have. [clears throat] Um

36:00any

36:02any anything else about the waterfront?

36:08>> There any plans for like updates down

36:10there?

36:11>> Um we've done some on like um you know

36:15the trails when we can. Uh we have a lot

36:19of groups that like to volunteer and we

36:22put them there either with you know some

36:24planters or beautifying it it up. So um

36:28at the moment um there's nothing right

36:32now but every year there's always

36:34something that comes in and I can't tell

36:35you what the next one is.

36:39>> Yes. Um so the P pickering square

36:43>> that that is is that covered under the

36:46downtown um or is that part of

36:49>> Okay. So the the whole bus terminal and

36:52all that or that

36:53>> Well, Pickering Square is ours but the

36:54bus is the bus terminal. So the bus barn

36:58owns that which is still a city entity.

37:01>> Okay.

37:01>> Yes.

37:03>> Who that fell under?

37:05>> Yeah.

37:06You know what's going to be in those

37:08signs like square?

37:10>> I haven't seen them. I haven't seen

37:12what's in them yet. I looked and there

37:13was nothing there yet.

37:15>> Um

37:17I think they're like way signs saying um

37:20what what there is to do in the city.

37:23What are some of the places to go look

37:25at? And so when people come in on the

37:27bus, they can see, okay, I can go here,

37:29go look at this. Um there's a group

37:32putting that together.

37:37Um, going back to

37:40some parts is still water.

37:44>> Yes,

37:51that's all I have for the waterfront and

37:54events.

37:58All

38:00right.

38:03>> Yeah, there's always a lot of projects

38:06that go on. Uh I'm just gonna do a

38:08little synopsis of stuff that's

38:10happening like right now. Um Little

38:12City, we're doing a little bit of

38:14upgrades at Little City Park. So, we

38:16have just purchased um a couple swing

38:19sets for Little City. They are ordered

38:22now and but we're not installing them

38:25until the spring. uh we have not uh

38:29received them yet. Uh but also little

38:31little city is getting a half court

38:33basketball court and that is also

38:35happening in the spring. So that is on

38:38on the books. Um parks and rack we are

38:43at the same time as little city we

38:45purchased a couple swings at parks and

38:47rack itself. We have a lot of kids there

38:49every day over a hundred. We have a

38:51playground. Swing sets would be really

38:53nice. So we did it in conjunction with

38:55little city. we had money for it to save

38:58on shipping. Shipping is is crazy. So,

39:01um it was amazing the difference on

39:04having two sets of swing sets on two

39:06different locations come at the same

39:07time. So, those two Little City and

39:10Parks Rec are going to get some swing

39:11sets next year.

39:13>> Were the swings at Little City removed?

39:16>> If not, they will be.

39:18>> Okay. I thought I

39:20questioning

39:21>> Yeah, we purchased the whole set, you

39:23know. Yes. Not just the

39:25>> two sets there, but one set doesn't have

39:27any

39:28>> seat

39:29>> seats and stuff. Yeah.

39:31>> No, we purchased uh enough for four

39:34swings.

39:36>> So, last meeting Tracy mentioned putting

39:39the new basketball hoop like right in

39:43front of like the tennis courts. Um, is

39:46that going to affect I noticed I was

39:48there last week. Uh, the tether ball.

39:50Was a tether ball.

39:53Oh my god, the tether ball's still

39:55there, huh? It's been a long time. I

39:57don't know. Something that [snorts]

40:00I can mention [clears throat] to him,

40:01see if that would affect it.

40:02>> You know, he said they're gonna You're

40:04also going to touch up the tennis

40:05courts. I thought they, you know,

40:07obviously need a touchup, but they're in

40:08pretty good shape.

40:09>> They are. There's just cracks on a few

40:11of the tennis courts and at Williams at

40:13the pickle ball courts and we are

40:15filling those cracks. And how long ago

40:17was little city once done last time

40:21>> in courts itself?

40:23>> Yeah.

40:25>> I can't answer that.

40:26>> I just want to know how long it's

40:28>> Yeah.

40:28>> lasted because it looks good.

40:30>> Yeah.

40:32I don't I don't recall.

40:35>> Oh,

40:35>> time flies. I'm telling you. Um, I don't

40:38know if you could talk about it, but I

40:40noticed that there was a I don't play

40:41tennis, but I noticed there was a a sign

40:44where someone could scan a QR code and

40:47find out where they can play.

40:50How does that work? So that's not we got

40:53it's not us, but there's an app out

40:55there that has it's there's one for

40:58pickle ball, there's one for tennis

41:00where um and I know

41:03>> for our pickle ball open gym, the people

41:05that go there, it's on this app. If you

41:08go on this and it says Bangalore parks

41:10and rack at EMCC Johnson gym, Tuesday

41:13nights is a place and it says it's, you

41:16know, $5 drop in. Um, so people that are

41:19interested in pickle ball, they know

41:20that this night's here, this night's

41:22there, this. So that's what those QR

41:24codes, it says where local areas where

41:27people go and play.

41:29>> So I think that's across the county,

41:31too. And even beyond they're registering

41:33courts or registering locations,

41:35recreational activities, and it goes,

41:38there's several several activities that

41:40they're tracking just so you know where

41:42people are in any given time.

41:44>> That's pretty cool.

41:45>> Yeah. I can't remember the name of the

41:46app though.

41:47>> Yeah. No, me neither. There's there's a

41:48couple different ones, too. Okay. Yeah.

41:51>> And I would presume that

41:54there will never be lights there because

41:55of the neighborhood

41:58>> or just Hayford

42:00>> right now. Just Hayford. Yes. Yes.

42:05>> How's the skate park doing?

42:07>> Skate park's doing really well. Um, we

42:10just, um, we had a little issue with the

42:13lights for the tennis courts at Hayford.

42:16Um, a fuse box busted. So, today,

42:19supposed to be today, maybe tomorrow,

42:21we're getting that fixed. So, the lights

42:22are going to go on now at 5:00 at night,

42:24so people can play tennis later. So,

42:26it's going to be 5 to 10. I know that it

42:28didn't go on till later and people had

42:30to go home. Um, but if not today,

42:33tomorrow that will be fixed for the

42:35tennis courts over there. And um and

42:38then the lighting at Mansfield that's

42:40going to be in the future.

42:41>> Next question. Do you guys have a date

42:43for that?

42:44>> No, we got to go uh bring it back out

42:47there.

42:49So, we're going to do an RFP again.

42:55>> Questions, comments?

42:58>> What is the um I can't remember the name

43:00of it. The structure hay for this. The

43:02wooden I think the

43:04>> Oh, the gag ball pit.

43:05>> What's it called? Gaga ball.

43:07>> Gaga ball. Okay. I was like I couldn't.

43:09>> So it's it's we actually have a portable

43:12one at Parks and Wreck and the kids love

43:15it. I don't

43:17>> understand, but they just absolutely

43:20love it. And so it was a group um I

43:22don't know if you were here last couple

43:24years ago when it was a uh fraternity

43:27out of UI. Um these guys wanted to do uh

43:31you know volunteer their time to do

43:33something for the community, this city.

43:35And so we came up together with the

43:37gungle ball pit at Hayford Park. So

43:41>> would you just explain again? I remember

43:43when you explained how was the game

43:45played.

43:46>> Okay.

43:48[laughter]

43:48>> It sounds like someone else knows more

43:51than I do. But there's there's a you

43:53know like a kickball, bouncy ball. You

43:55put it in there and adults, kids are

43:58just in there and it has the bones and

44:00you hit it and you have to hit a person

44:04>> a person's leg.

44:05>> Kind of like double tag. Yeah.

44:07>> Yeah. Kind of in a small little area

44:09with 20 30 people and you get hit,

44:11you're out. Um but if it bounces first,

44:13you're not out.

44:14>> So it can't bounce in the air.

44:16>> It has to be in the air and it has to be

44:17like waist down

44:20>> or knees down. I don't know.

44:21>> Is there rule rules posted on the

44:23boards? Well, I did post some. I don't

44:25know how long it's lasted.

44:27>> Is that stamp year round? Um the the

44:30structure is

44:31>> Yeah, it's permanent there.

44:32>> Yeah.

44:35>> Could be a nice little ice rink for

44:37two-year-olds.

44:38>> We should all go play. [laughter]

44:44>> The boards will will stay up.

44:46>> Yeah. [laughter]

44:49>> Any other questions, comments?

44:53Anybody have anything they want to put

44:54on next month's agenda?

44:58>> You can always put a seat.

45:00>> Yes, absolutely. Our next month's agenda

45:03um meeting is not going to be held here.

45:06It's going to be in uh the Paul Bunion

45:08room down the hall. Uh there's a holiday

45:10on November 11th. So the school

45:12committee meeting on the 11th is

45:14canceled. So they're going to be in here

45:15on the 12th. So we're going to be just

45:16down the hall. So November 12th.

45:19Is that the second Thursday?

45:22>> Second Thursday of November.

45:25>> Is everyone fine with that?

45:34>> Let's do that on the 12th same time.

45:47>> Thank you, Joe. How are you?

45:48>> Yes. All

45:51right. Um,

45:56an object.

46:00>> Thank you all for coming.

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