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Recreation Director’s Report September 12, 2005 Now that September is here and all the lifeguards have gone back to school the Swim Area is officially closed for another season. The Recreation Area stayed rather busy all summer long, Swim Area usage was up as well as group rentals. Excellent weather and a couple new programs made the Recreation Area a popular destination for many Pittsford residents, but the long, cold winter siesta will have to wait for a couple more months until the autumn leaves fall from the trees as many of our fall programs will take place at the Recreation Area. One fall program that takes place at the Recreation Area is the Pittsford Youth Soccer program, which started at 8:00 am on Saturday, September 10th. Numbers are up in each of the three age groups that we offer for a total of 90 children between 4 years old and 4th grade participating. For the fourth year in a row the Otter Valley Girls’ Soccer Team is assisting me with the actual instruction of the kids. Unlike last year when the entire team was attending, only a select number of players (who choose to be there) are assisting with the instruction. I know I’ve said it before but I feel it’s worth repeating again, there’s no doubt that the OV girls are part of the reason why this program continues to grow year after year. I am truly grateful to the OV coaching staff for encouraging their players to assist and for the individual girls who volunteer their time and patients, without them it would be difficult to run the program like we do. The Recreation Department is again offering a Hunter Safety program this fall. There are a few substantial changes to our program this year such as Bruce Babcock and Bernie McMahon are not teaching the program any longer. Both have cited personal reasons, which have nothing to do with the Recreation Department, why they didn’t want to continue to teach any longer. This is a huge hole for the Recreation Department to fill because these two gentlemen brought many years experience to the class room; they each have been instructors for over 25 years and have been avid outdoorsmen their entire lives. The Recreation Department and myself are grateful for the many years of service that they both put into educating Pittsford’s youth about what takes to be a responsible and ethical hunter. So now the Recreation Department begins a new era of hunter education with Mr. Rick Hedding taking over the program. Mr. Hedding who is a Pittsford resident is looking forward to educating the hunters of tomorrow. Another large difference in this year’s program is the actual location of the class, in the past it has been located in the conference room at the Town Offices. This room was very adequate for this course, it offered tables, chairs, wipe off boards, etc…but the only problem was that the room ran out space quickly and with 15-25 students (and parents) the conference room would be extremely tight. This was a convenient site for the instructors since Mr. Babcock’s office was located next door, but this year I was looking for a site with more room so I contacted the VT State Police Academy and I’m happy to report that the class will take place in class room that is almost twice the size of our conference room, is air-conditioned, and individuals will be able to move about the room a little bit easier. Certainly the Police Academy will be a much more comfortable place for kids to pay attention and learn. Other programs the Recreation Department is sponsoring this fall include the Pittsford Pumpkin Party, Halloween Teen Dance, Adult Yoga, and Men’s and Women’s Open Basketball. Also programs that are still pending are the Annual Holiday Craft Bizarre at Lothrop School that the Recreation Department has sponsored the last two years and the Snowmobile Safety Course. Over the next few days the Recreation Department will be busy creating a Work Plan for FY 2007, a budget for FY 2007, and completing a five year Capital Expenditures (FY 2007-FY 2011) Plan. The Recreation Department’s budget is due by September 21, and department supervisors are scheduled to present their budgets and work plans to the Selectboard on October 5. The Recreation Committee was made aware at the August meeting that this annual process was quickly approaching and that they needed to bring their program or budget ideas and suggestions to the September Recreation Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 14 at the Recreation Area @ 6:30 pm if they wanted it considered for this fiscal year.
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