Waterford Little League

Board of DirectorsMeeting Minutes

Wednesday,October 5, 2016 7:00pm

1)Call meeting to order – meeting called to order at 7:00pm

2)Roll call of Board Members – the following board members were present or absent as indicated below:

  1. Board Members in Attendance:

President: Jim Turner - Present

Vice President: Bill Linski - Present

Secretary: Jaime Sheehan- Present

Treasurer: Jon Peck - Present

Commissioner of Softball: Becky Hall - Absent

Commissioner of Major League Baseball: Pat Sheehan - Present

Commissioner of Minors: Brian Majeski - Present

Field and Grounds Chairman: Jon Sestrom - Present

Concession Stand Manager: Myra Amsden - Present

Player Agent–Baseball: Kristina Gordy - Present

Player Agent–Softball: Sharon Dziecinny - Present

Purchasing Agent: Chris Gonet - Present

Safety Officer: Todd O’Connell - Absent

  1. Others in Attendance:Keith Boluch

3)Approval of previous meeting minutes – Sharon Dziecinnymotioned to accept the minutes. Kristina Gordy seconded. Motion carried.

4)Communications

  1. Sutera Committee Report – Email from Dave Sutera attached below with full debrief. Overall result was positive, and net profit met goal of covering amount of scholarships ($2K). Plans for next year include soliciting more sponsors in order to up profit. Will also look to up the number of participating teams in the tournament. This started a discussion about whether or not to enter the Waterford All-Stars into the Sutera Tournament if they are defeated early on, in addition to entering a pre-selected Sutera team. If we did that, the All-Star team would be charged the Sutera Tournament entry fee, but thisfee cost could be off-setby charging @ $10-15 more per player in their All-Star registration fee. We would also need to edit the All-Star commitment letter, indicating to parents that in the event of early elimination, the team will be committed to participating in the Sutera tournament. This should not cause issue, as All-Star commitment could potentially be through August anyway. Motion made to enter two teams in the Sutera Tournament in the event the All-Star team is eliminated early by Jon Peck. Chris Gonet seconded. Motion carried.

5)Treasurer’s Report

  1. End of Year Financial Report – Keith Boluch presented the 2015-16 Final Report. Fundraising and concession over their goal, less was paid out for umpires, no deficits, overall the account is in good standing. Report is attached. Pat Sheehan motioned to accept the report. Bill Linski seconded. Motion carried.

6)Committees

  1. Winter Clinic Options (Jim Turner and Jon Peck) – Discussion initiated on options for winter clinics. Out of 5 options, there are two places Jim and Jon have to propose to the board (there is no space for WLL from the town).

The Pit in East Lyme: 2 instructors for 90 min; $150 per session for 6 weeks; every player gets a free Pit tee-shirt; 25 kids max per session.

DBI in Mystic: $140 for 90 min; up to 30 players at a time.

Both offer built-in instructor to run the clinics, with coaches welcome to participate & learn different techniques, for both baseball and softball. The thought is to have clinic run for 6 weeks (Jan thru mid Feb perhaps). Discussion included break down of three groups for clinics as: 1) Softball (8-12 years),2) Baseball (8-10 years), 3) Baseball (10-12 years). Motion made for DBI if time/days of week conducive to scheduling made by Jon Sestrom. Motion carried.

7)New Business

  1. New Board member support – As they learn their new roles, and as both the Concession Stand Manager and Field and Grounds Chairman positions were condensed, board member need to do their best to support and assist Myra Amsden and Jon Sestrom.
  2. Concessions–Myra advised that she met with Kim Rouisse briefly, and received an email from Kim with many attachments that she is currently going through. If you know of anyone willing to assist with the concession stand in any capacity, please forward their contact information to Myra Amsden.
  3. Field & Grounds–Jon is looking to compile a list of who can mow so that he can train them, create a schedule, etc., so that he can focus on weedwacking and other important field maintenance issues. If you know of anyone willing to assist with field and grounds in any capacity, please forward their contact information to Jon Sestrom.
  4. Treasurer – Keith Boluch advised that he is willing to assist Jon Peck with treasurer duties. Motion made for Keith to keep permissions on bank account made by Sharon Dziecinny. Pat Sheehan seconded. Motion carried.
  5. Changing the locks – Jim Turner advised the quote from Rapid Locksmith is $800 to re-key everything at both complexes, including 50 key copies with “Do Not Copy” stamped on them. Discussion by board included what areas should be encompassed by the same lock/key. Breakdown of how many different locks is noted below. Motion made to re-key locks made by Bill Linski. Jon Peck seconded. Motion carried.
  6. General access– 1 lock/key for bathrooms, press boxes.
  7. Secure storage areas – 1 lock/key for Rolf garage, garage under North concession stand, other maintenance areas, extra room in Meehan press box.
  8. Concessions - 1 lock/key for both concession stands.
  9. Setting Schedules
  10. Registration, Evaluations, Clinics, Opening Day – Registration will be open January 1 – February 25, 2017. Evaluation dates TBD. Discussion was for one opening day for all on Sat, April 22, 2017. Jaime Sheehan to look into photographer options for opening day pictures.
  11. Board Meetings – Meetings will be scheduled every 3 weeks - rotating Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Jaime Sheehan to schedule dates with Park & Rec for the remainder of the school year (as cannot schedule when school out of session).
  12. Fall Cleanup (Jon Sestrom)
  13. South – Scheduled for Sat, October 15 from 8:00am-12:00pm. No work party required as 100 cadets from USCGA volunteering. Pizza to be provided, along with extra sunflower seeds and ice cream still remaining in the concession stand.
  14. North–Scheduled for Sun, October 30 from 8:00am-12:00pm. Jon Sestrom to provide Jaime Sheehan a list to send out mass email for volunteers.
  15. Improvements
  16. Gates on Sutera – For safety precautions, will need to close off opening to dugouts for games. Board agrees, so Jim Turner and Jon Sestrom to discuss options and present to board for voting.
  17. Pitching Area at South by Garage/Cages – Idea is to close off an area for pitching (3 separate lanes). Jim thinking @ $400-500 for the project (fencing, plates, pitching rubbers). Discussion for doing the same thing at Sutera, so total could go to about $700 for both South and Sutera.
  18. Osprey Nest Platform – Jim has talked to Musco, the nest will not cause a warranty issue unless the osprey cause damage to the wiring, which then would not be covered. Musco will make a bird nest structure that mounts 3 feet above lights, with a plywood platform for the nest to set upon. Musco will move the nest for when the osprey come back. Quote from Musco is $1700, which does not include installation, only covers the structure. We would then need to enlist a crane company to come and install at additional cost. Decision to not do anything at this time.
  19. Vision for the League
  20. Issues facing our league – Conversation initiated on whether Waterford is losing any type of competitive edge – whether due to loss of players (20% decline in registration last spring season), or other factors. Further discussion needed on if we want to re-structure how the league is set up, on teaching the kids more about the game/building on skill in earlier divisions, etc. Further discussion would need to take place in next meetings as would need to be voted on at December board meeting. Discussion tabled, no formal motion made or voted on.
  21. Softball 9/10 Umpires–Discussion entailed that losing umpires for 9-10 softball would be a disservice to our players. Without umpires during the season, the players are not receiving what they have paid for in registration costs, as well not receiving the crucial benefit of acclimating to the authority/zone of having umpire vs coach umping. It is also key that the players are used to having umpires during the season so that they are adapted come All-Stars.
  22. Baseball Divisions–See notes above. Option mentioned was to make Coach Pitch mandatory for two years, eliminate AAA division, create 8-10 years, and create 10-12 years (always carrying 8 teams/96 players in the 10-12 years).
  23. Fees
  24. Sponsorship Fees–There was no increase in Sponsorship/Advertising fees in 2016. Jim Turner made the suggestion to leave all fees the same with the exception of: Team Sponsor: increase to $450 from $400 in 2016 (other towns charge $500); New Field Sign: increase to $325 from $300 in 2016; Field Sign Renewal: increase to $225 from $200 in 2016;Website Sponsor: decrease to $25 per month from $100 per month in 2016. Motion to accept suggested sponsorship fee changes made by Jon Peck. Pat Sheehan seconded. Motion carried.
  25. Registration Fees – There was no increase in registration fees in 2016. Discussion was to raise registration fee to $125 for majors with umpires, $80-85 for AAA, $65 for Tee Ball. Would need to increase family maximum paid. Discussion tabled, no formal motion made or voted on.
  26. Equipment
  27. Update on tractors at Advanced Power Equipment – Jim Turner advised that 2 tractors were taken to Advanced for maintenance by Brian Rouisse during the summer. The Craftsman tractor is not worth fixing, and the board agreed to have Advanced scrap it. The other mower is one that belongs to the Rouisse family and had been letting the league use. This particular mower had work done to it by Advanced, and then a crack in the gas tank was discovered. Board discussed what further action should be taken in regards to labor/parts already done, including charges, if we would utilize this mower in the future since does not belong to the league, etc. Motion to leave the parts already put in by Advancedwith the league paying this portion of the bill, then contact Brian Rouisse to advise about crack in gas tank & quoted price to repair from Advanced. Vote was 6-3. Motion carried.

POSTMEETING UPDATE: Jim will have Advanced return the mower to Brian Rouisse as per his request. Email attached.

  1. New Mower/Bagging System South Complex – Quick discussion brought up on options. Switch mower from North to South, think about doing nothing, etc. Quote is approximately $1500 for bagging system versus $5 to $6000 for new mower with bagging system. Discussion tabled.
  2. Light Pole Banners – FASTSIGNS suggested not utilizing what came with the poles, as the banners hanging on the light pole banners with current hardware could be a safety hazard. Options are to 1) do nothing 2) have FASTSIGNS or Critical Signs make mesh signs 3) discuss topic further at future meeting. Discussion was tabled.
  1. Website – We currently pay $575 for the current website with League Athletics. A Blue Sombrero website through Dick’s Sporting Goods is free, and offers many more features. Only drawback is that content/member accounts will not carry over, parents will need to create new accounts. Jaime Sheehan to build new website and present to board at a future meeting for feedback prior to launching for registration on January 1, 2017.

8)Open Forum

  1. Inquiry made on whether or not X-Grain items could be made available soon to be purchased as holiday gifts. Chris Gonet to get options to share with board.
  2. Manager applications due by end of November to be voted on in December.

9)Meeting Adjournment – Motion to adjourn meeting by Jon Peck. Sharon Dziecinny seconded. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:24pm.