 Okay welcome everybody to our Thursday community chat for June 11th. Thank you all for joining us. So as a reminder this webinar is being recorded so please refrain from asking any personal health questions. If you want to ask a question raise your hand by pressing star 9 from your phone or raising your hand in the Zoom application. So I want to welcome today Amherst Leisure Services Director Barb Bills as well as your Amherstown manager Paul Baucheman. Nice to see you both. Okay. Nice to be here. So before we launch into questions that have been asked do you have any general updates for our viewers? Let's see I think you know we have been really focused on number of things in town. One is the budget and there's so many different different pieces of the budget that are moving forward. We're looking at a lot of reappointments that we're going through because this is a time of year for reappointments and then moving forward we've had a lot of conversations and one of the reasons why I wanted Barb on the show today was there's so many conversations going on about what's happening during the summer and that ranges from the opening of restaurants downtown to a lot of our recreational things and that's where we've received a lot of our questions. So that's that's where we're going to focus our conversation today. Nope you're muted. I'm muted. Any general statements or kind of information before we launch into questions that you that you want to catch folks up on? As for me no I think Paul's pretty much covered it. We'll go ahead with questions and if there's more we can add to it. How's that? Sounds great. So I'll preface some of our questions by you know what a lot of people have been searching and emailing at least me about and we'll touch on some of these with some questions that we have but you know puffers playgrounds pools all things summer so I guess that this question is for both of you. Can you tell us exactly what is open and what's not open as we look into the summer? I can start Paul and then fill in the blanks if I miss something but basically at this point what's open is Cherry Hill Golf Course, the Mill River tennis courts, all of our playgrounds are open and all of our public restrooms at the parks are going to be open if they are not open already. The outdoor pools are scheduled to open on June 27th both outdoor pools Mill River Recreation Center and War Memorial Pool will be open with a limited scheduled this year which we'll get into later but in addition the waiting pool at Mill River will also be open. So Puffers Pond is scheduled to open next week and we'll have some restrictive activities with sports programs at the various fields but those will be quite limited to only 10 participants and then we'll need to be prior approval for anything that's organized. The pavilions we're looking to open around July 4th so those are that's sort of the updates in terms of what's coming. What's closed is basically our day camps our 4th of July celebration unfortunately has been canceled and anything that took place takes place or was scheduled to take place I should say in their indoor facilities so that's just something to keep in mind if you were looking for activities in those areas. On a positive note although the basketball courts at Mill River are closed right now the reason they are closed is because they're going to be renovated so we're gonna have really nice basketball courts hopefully ready by the fall and we'll also have they'll be expanded to include section for kids to play basketball on not just the the two courts for the adult regulation basketball courts so that's going to be a great addition so we're looking forward to that. Paul do you have anything else dad did I miss anything? No I think that you nailed it I think one of the things that we want to emphasize is that we have been aligning our decision-making with the state's decision-making because we want to be as best as we can aligned with the governor's directives that come out from the the state I think Barb you know and there's an enormous number of them that have come out and they're so detailed and it's it's sector by sector and so Barb has done a really terrific job of trying to align ourselves and sometimes we can't you know the the directives are so specific and we can't really carry out our programs but I think all the other things we've been walking in lockstep with the with the rest of the state and that's a that's a good point Paul because a couple of times I've been asked since we announced that the LSE wouldn't have camps some people have questioned well we thought the governor said that summer camps were okay so why can't we run ours yeah Paul's right the the in relationship to the day camps what we found out and other recreation departments throughout the state is that the the restrictions are are such that it just would really inhibit our ability to run quality programming for the kids the kids would wouldn't be able to allow be allowed to go swimming at the swimming pool for instance there wouldn't be any field trips there wouldn't be any group play and they'd have to there would be no shared toys or shared sports equipment so you're somewhat limited the other issue was space where the state was requiring 144 square feet per child which would mean we could serve a very very very few amount of children in the program so we are very sorry it's one of our strongest programs a great program but we'll be back next year better than ever we do by the way we are planning alternative programs to sort of fill that void so maybe I can just speak a little bit about that we will be offering a program called camp in a bag and so it's going to be cool with activities for kids that they can do at home and then they can link on to our our website and our other social media sites to you know get feedback instruction what have you and then we're going to try to do some on-site programming once we get hopefully into phase three at gruff park when that opens when the place structures are open there and and the spray park so we'll have a presence there and we're looking forward to that and be to be able to serve the communities in South Amherst that desperately need things for kids to do as they do all over Amherst that's great that sounds exciting my my little one it was sad about not getting to do her LSE camps with all our friends this year but she'll be excited to hear that there is something coming so thank you for sharing that the staff sends their regards that they or they miss the kids so so much and and they're gonna miss this summer but we'll we'll try to reinvent ourselves and evolve and and provide activities this summer and some other type of form so I think you mentioned Barb it's your staff and so you've been a tremendous job of reallocating your staff to you know if they're not able to do the job as they normally are hired to do say for summer camps they are still doing the camp in a bag stuff but they we are also having them work at Cherry Hill at Puffer's pond and different locations to help offset some of the staff that we normally bring on in the summer so I really appreciate it that you've allocated staff to where we've needed it and that that's an ongoing project as we keep repush positioning people and other departments have done this too the the senior center has dedicated one of their employees up to Puffer's pond because we know that's going to require staffing you know I know I you know we're I know we're working on having an actual presence at at Groff Park for the spray park to help manage it and educate people about what's what's to expect what what they should expect it's not a place that's monitored so you just don't go and drop your kids and then it's not daycare but it is somebody who's going to help if people have concerns about social distancing and things like that that we someone there to be in a position of authority in essence right exactly so we'll be when that over hoping to have that open in mid-July so that's going to be very very exciting a very exciting addition to the recreational facilities that we have in town so yeah we'll have one or two attendance up there or people up there one may be providing programming and other moderate monitoring the social distancing requirements and so forth boy I was up there over the weekend and it's big and it's exciting looking and I'm not sure if you swung by there Brianna but you should it's you go like a wow this is gonna be a real attraction for folks that the spray park in particular but the entire facility looks really top-notch so kudos to your team for helping to make that happen I think we need to get over there and do a little virtual tour to let people know what's coming great idea yeah maybe you'll see that coming soon I just want to remind our attendees feel free to hop in by raising your hand in zoom star 9 from the phone or use the Q&A function if you're in zoom we'd love to hear from you live another thing to and always I'm always looking at what people are searching for on our website so that we can make it easier to find and every year leading up to summer pools is our number pools and fireworks are our number one in two searches so we know that pools are gonna be reopening could you talk a little bit more again specifically on the day and then what that process will look like what's gonna be different for people this year we're looking to open on our regularly scheduled opening day which was June 27th we seem to have all our staff in place I have been meeting regularly with the managers and the coordinator for that program so we're ready to get it rolling we've also worked with DPW the and the health department because there are of course many many regulations that are new this year that will be implementing so our schedule tentatively will be a 10 o'clock to 7 30 p.m. so 10 to 10 a.m. to 7 30 p.m. on weekdays and 11 to 6 on weekends we'll devote three hours of lap swim from 11 to I'm from 10 to 1 on weekend a week weekdays and 11 to 1 on weekends so that's sort of the lap swim time that will be available and you know it will be a very different experience than I swimmers in the public are used have been used to in past years you'll need to arrive in your swimsuit you'll shower you won't have access to any of the changing rooms those will be blocked off you will have access to the restrooms but you'll be required to arrive and leave in your swimsuit and there won't be a lot of sunbathing time that kind of thing and people will be socially distanced on the deck and so and we'll have actually dedicate one of the requirements is that we have a dedicated staff member that's their their role is basically to oversee social distancing while we're open so a lot we'll have a lot of that posted like I say we're working with the health inspector Susan and some other and and Julie Fetterman the health director and EPW to implement all the changes not only that we're making structurally but just in terms of regulations and so forth so it will look different but it will be open that's a good news news yeah yeah people were very concerned about that leading up to to that announcement and if all of those details are not there yet I'm sure they will be soon but amherstma.gov slash pools is usually where you can find the pool schedule and requirements and information so as that gets added you can use that site to to find out some of that important information I would imagine yeah I'm anticipating we'll have something completely firmed up by Monday good great so one of the other things that we've gotten a lot of question on is and you mentioned it briefly about Puffer's pond reopening people have been asking or hearing that there's going to be staff there can you talk a little bit about what that staff will be doing are they lifeguarding are they charging or what is it going to look like they will not and you can jump in Paul they won't be lifeguarding at Puffer's pond but what it will look again very different we're going to have parking attendants this year who will basically be at the base of of State Street on that one-way entrance and they'll ask people are you there to fish are you there to hike are you there to swim if you're there to fish or hike go ahead find a parking place keep going if you're there to swim it's going to be looking a little different so that individual have a walkie-talkie they'll they'll walk they'll communicate with someone on the beach who will be a staff member and there will be basically designated 25 to 30 spots on the beach which will be marked by numbers we're still working on what that's going to look like and that person and that person in the car will say they'll the attendant will say okay uh 25 is spot number 25 is open go ahead and head down and someone will greet you at the entrance so that's sort of the plan and they'll go to their designated spot maintain their social distancing and enjoy Puffer's pond so that's the plan we're hoping next week to be able to pull all that off and that'll be as Paul alluded to earlier that'll be staffed by town staff that are serving in different functions than they normally would but we're gonna we'll be there to help you out so that's I know you had a meeting up there in the rain this morning right before you came here Barb but that's interesting so you're going to have have a sign spot so you have sites at 25 like a campground and so I assume that this will be something that you'll keep monitoring and adjusting as the you know terms of feedback from the public and and how it works and sometimes these things work the way you have it on paper and sometimes I think our our byword has been uh change adjust change you know and just keep tweaking it so we get better it's too hard to figure it all out right up front um and get it right you just don't count on it getting it right the right first time so that's been our experience at least for this whole crisis definitely this is an evolving uh you know a year for everybody yeah yeah yeah we'll we'll evolve as necessary and but we'll we'll we'll set it up initially so that hopefully it's it's a functioning um system that works well for everyone good and just to clarify um this also came up when people heard that there might be staff additional staff there um is there an admission fee for the use of the the pond because of this um extra staff or no no no admission fee it's just a way to monitor the um COVID-19 social distancing that were required to put in place and again aligned with the governor's guidance on this as well so so one thing I've gotten and I don't have a very specific questions on this but I've gotten a lot of um hits people searching for this and I have a very fond place in my heart for this event which is the Amherst Fourth of July and fireworks that was uh how I came to working in local government that was one of the first things I worked on so um and that was oh gosh I won't say say how many years ago because I don't want to date us but um so it's a beloved Amherst event um anything you can walk us through about the decision or you know how you um how you came to decide that that wasn't going to happen um or just anything about that process I can speak I guess a little bit to this um obviously you uh everywhere across the United States these large events are being discouraged because of the inability to keep people from you know properly so socially distancing and we wouldn't it's a you know it's a public health issue we would never want to bring that many people together and um have them pot potentially exposed to the virus in a way that might might get them sick and and so forth so it was a decision reached not only by us but by UMass and consultation with them and the um health and safety uh folks that were are involved in the event as well but we're very sorry again we'll be back bigger than better and better than ever next year hopefully yeah we hope so and and I'd love to put it out there to to folks I mean obviously it's an important holiday if there's any suggestions from the community about how we could still do something virtually or to honor to honor the day then we'd be please send me your suggestions at info at amherst.me.gov I also heard this morning that the South Amherst um celebration has been postponed by the organizers that's a privately organized celebration which is so iconic and it's just sort of sad to see that go by the wayside this year as well yeah that event's been going on for I think over a hundred years it's yeah and run by private you know volunteers yeah volunteers right I do have one suggestion and I'm doing this live so that you guys can't say no um I think the department heads in the town of amherst we should still do the akins blueberry pie eating contest just on zoom get everybody in the room take bets so I'm putting that out there if you'd like to see that happen folks who are listening let me know I'm glad to assign that to different people yes so I'm going to put it to the room again if you have any questions we're coming up to our 12 30 time shortly so if you had anything you wanted to say even just hello doesn't have to be a question now's your chance to raise your hand star nine if you're on the phone otherwise are there things that we didn't ask you barb that you wanted to get out there that people have been asking your staff or things that you wanted to just share with our community sure uh I think I would like to share that we've just completed for our department a strategic planning process so we're really we've worked with the new mass donahue institute who was our consultant for this project and facilitators and they just did a marvelous job we have probably about seven different priorities that we've identified for the next three years that we'll be addressing so look for some changes in our department any and I won't go into detail because we'll be we'll be unveiling them once the plan is complete which will probably be sometime in mid-july so it's it was a great process and it will certainly provide us with direction going forward for at least the next three years and we did take into account these last three months as well so and what what kind of impact that had on our department and what we might be doing going forward as well so that was good it was a good uh good exercise good experience just uh just a supergroup I got to give my my props to the the staff and the commission members who really came together and the public who came to all the sessions and gave some really really valuable input and through surveys as well so just great lots lots of responses on those surveys which really help to guide our decision-making through the process so thank you and I think you mentioned your commission and I think there's maybe at least one if not several vacancies on the lssc commission so for those folks who are interested in um all the things that leisure services does um through their programming and you want to volunteer to serve we there are vacancies um on that commission and we would encourage you to go online and express your interest if that's for you and you can do that at amherstma.gov slash caf which stands for community activity form there's other vacancies on different boards and committees as well yeah lssc is a fun one though yeah they get to talk about the fun stuff but and there is one vacancy on that that we're looking for someone who you know who's who who uses the lssc services or have kids who use it that's that's that's where you bring high value um because you have that direct experience and you talk to your friends and that you can bring that to the commission meetings and really inform staff and how we do our jobs better absolutely you might be hearing from me then barb um okay so i don't see any um any questions or hands in the room at this point um paul do you have any um we've got a few minutes left you have any kind of parting words you want to leave everybody with um let's see so um we are you know a department everybody's been working throughout this uh pandemic but uh we are beginning to bring more and more people back into town hall um looking to fully staff up um with social distancing and as best we can there's some limitations on what you know due to the oddball shape of our building in the cramped spaces and stuff but we're trying to social distance people so we'll have more and more people in the building working uh still not ready to open the building to the public um there we have a strict guideline for anybody i.e staff who walk into the building they have to they'll be given a card that we record it in because if someone does get tested positive for COVID-19 then we want to do strict contract tracing within our building uh and there's one door you can enter all the there's lots of details to this that a team has been working on which is really good um so but not quite ready to do that because we would have to do the same thing for anybody coming into the building we've been incredibly successful at meeting the needs um of the public this way the other big thing that's happening is just the um the opening of restaurants downtown which is really exciting and we're looking to establish some open areas where you can have picnic tables you can go get takeout if you don't want to sit down and be served which we you will be able to do downtown you can also just get takeout from any establishment and then sit down at a picnic table that we're putting up in various locations downtown over the next couple days so that's you know it'll start to have some visible life downtown so that's that's i'm really excited about seeing that boy sometimes in you know march it was so desolate because there were just no cars and now it's really picked up a lot so it's kind of it's good to see in our restaurants really need your business absolutely in fact i think i'm going to go to one after we're done here um sounds good do do you know do we know or can we talk about yet where those locations of the the picnic tables are going to be yeah so we're looking at carving out some space on the bullwood garage and uh some areas on sweets or park and we're looking at kushman common as well great people and maybe once they're up we'll release that information about exactly where they are and where you can find those well yeah so it's just we're redeploying existing picnic tables that we have that we can't have as many picnic tables say at mill river pavilion so we're taking some of those out it just depends how many we actually have it's uh we've got some additional things on order for us to help do this and sometimes we need to create fencing so if that's not in place we can't really do it so there's lots of pieces to this puzzle but really dpw's moving very quickly on this some more details to come on the on those okay well i want to thank you both i want to thank barb especially for joining us people are asking lots of questions and a lot of those programs have a lot to do with your team and so we thank you for all your hard work and joining us today and i want to thank everyone who is watching so we will be back next thursday at noon same link same phone number new special guest which we probably don't know who that is yet but we will let you know well thank you brianna and unpaul really appreciate being here yep it's fun all right thanks everyone have a great day thanks here bye bye