The meeting was called to order at 7:06PM with Commissioner Dooley presiding.

ROLL CALL: Dooley (Present), Iszler (Absent - Excused), Jewell (Present), Policicchio (Present), Staab (Present), Tecklenburg (Absent - Excused), Wingfield (Absent - Excused), Kerbrat (Absent - Excused), Raina (Absent - Excused).

A. Introduction of Matthew Ostermeyer, Recreation Supervisor – Sports Programs

Commissioner Dooley introduced Matthew Ostermeyer and asked him to tell about himself.

Matt Ostermeyer stated that he is the new Recreation Supervisor and is excited to be here working with the sports programs.

Superintendent Cowan added that Matt did his undergraduate work at Indiana University and is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He did his graduate work at Central Michigan University. He has spent a lot of time in recreational sports at the collegiate level both at CMU and IU. He has also worked for Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation for a number of years teaching tennis programs and doing a variety of things for them. He is an avid tennis and volleyball player. He has been on our staff for a few weeks and is already making good changes and impacts.

It was moved by Commissioner Staab and seconded by Commissioner Jewell to approve the Agenda as written.

CITIZEN COMMENTS: None

Approval of September 9, 2010 meeting minutes

A motion was made by Commissioner Jewell and seconded by Commissioner Policicchio to approve the Minutes as written.

Voice Vote Unanimous

A. Walkable Novi – Commissioners Iszler & Policicchio

Commissioner Policicchio stated that there had not been a Walkable Novi Committee meeting and that it was to be rescheduled.

B. Novi Park Foundation – Commissioners Dooley & Staab

Commissioner Staab stated that the last event he attended was the Golf Outing in August. He missed the September meeting. He stated that the Foundation needs more people to be involved.

Commissioner Dooley agreed and stated that there are opportunities for people to step up and be a part of a great organization. It is a non-profit organization in the City of Novi. Getting involved is a great way to give back to the community.

1. Administration Division – Acting Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services – Nancy Cowan
   
   1. Fuerst Park Gardens Update – concrete replacement of granite pathways.

      Acting Director Cowan stated that the gardens were completed a couple of months ago and the sculptures are in place. There were some granite pathways in the park which have recently been replaced with cement. It has made an impact on the park as far as usability. Not everything was replaced. There are still some places which are still granite. Engineering did a great job taking that project and following it through.

   2. Update on Appreciation Dinner & State of the City Address

      The Appreciation Dinner is held for all Boards, Commissions and volunteers who help out the City during the year. It will take place on January 7, 2011. This year instead of invitations being mailed they will be e-mailed. In an effort to be greener and save money the invitations will be sent in that manner.

      The same is true of the State of the City Address. The Address will be held at the Hotel Baronette this year so the seating capacity will be a little less than in past years. If you are interested in purchasing a ticket the information will be out shortly. Mayor Landry will be speaking at the Homeowners Associations’ Breakfast which will be the weekend after. That is open to all individuals in Novi. It takes place at the Civic Center.

   3. Collaboration between Parks and Recreation and Community Education

For the past 45 to 60 days we have been working with the Xavier Leadership Center on a study between Parks and Recreation and Community Education. The main purpose of the study is to look at both of our organizations and our offerings to do a comprehensive look at where we could partner and collaborate more.

Community Education and the Novi Schools are one of our biggest partners. The study was to look at what we do and how we can work better together. We know we overlap in some activities and programs and are looking at how we can work that out to ensure it is a "win-win" situation for everyone involved, especially the community. There will be more information in the future.

Commissioner Policicchio asked about Walled Lake and Northville being involved in the study.

Superintendent Cowan replied that our main focus for this one is Novi Community Schools. We are talking with Northville Parks and Recreation as well and have some collaborations with them for pickleball and some Senior areas. Walled Lake is focused on Community Education as well. One of our big issues is gym use and, unfortunately, they have the same issue of not having enough time. The study is more an in-depth look at Novi Community Education and Novi Parks and Recreation.

Commissioner Policicchio asked about the Metro Parks and Oakland County.

Superintendent Cowan stated that we haven’t collaborated much with the Metro Parks but that we do collaborate with Oakland County Parks and Recreation on a consistent basis. They are a big part of our Camp Out and work with us on our Summer Camps. We are working on planning an outdoor camping series with them for the winter timeframe. We do work with them in some programming aspects and do some in house trades for stages and climbing walls.

Commissioner Staab stated that this is excellent information. He asked what the next steps are in the process.

Superintendent Cowan stated that the next step is to continue to talk with Community Education and assess some of our activities and programs and look at the overlaps.

Commissioner Staab asked about more use of their facilities for our programs.

Superintendent Cowan stated that we use a lot of their gym time after school and on weekends and the schools are very cooperative with this. With all of the athletics in Novi, gym space is challenging. The schools are willing to take a look at this but they also have the concern of being able to provide for all of their sports teams. We are trying to look at how we could expand the hours a little later at night with the schools so that we could maybe offer some adult leagues.

Commissioner Dooley asked if she had any direction for them as Commissioners to follow up from these meetings. Is it something she would recommend to Clay Pearson and/or the schools?

Superintendent Cowan replied that Clay is looking for the Commission’s involvement as we move forward. When she has more information she will share that and encourage the Commission’s involvement in the process.

B. Recreation Division – Superintendent of Recreation – Nancy Cowan

Superintendent Cowan stated that September has been a very busy month. We had a very successful run of our Senior Show. We sold more tickets than we did last year. Congratulations to Lauren Sorrentino and her staff for a great production.

We had the FireUp Fest which was our fourth annual. Over eight hundred and fifty teenagers came out for a night of fun and enjoyed the inflatables, pictures, food and battle of the bands. It was a great night and safe evening.

Fall for Novi took place the day after FireUp Fest.

In October, we had our Health Fair today. Rachel Zagaroli and Sandy Fisher did a great job of planning it. There were over fifty vendors, heath demonstrations, seminars and flu shots.

We have the wrap up of fall soccer which has had much better weather than spring soccer. We are also wrapping up flag football. She would like to recognize Theresa McClure and Tori Heglin for all of their work on youth and adult sports throughout the summer. With the Sports Supervisor position vacant there were a lot of details that needed to be attended to and they did things that were not asked of them before and many things which they consistently do. They were great team players and did a lot of hard work which got us through that timeframe. Now we will be working under Matt’s leadership as we move forward.

We are wrapping up Adult Softball out at Ella Mae Power Park and will begin again in the spring. Those leagues have been very successful and continue to grow.

We are putting out our Winter edition of "Engage!" Our team has developed all of their programs and descriptions for that and it will be out and available to the community on December 15^th.

MATTERS FOR COMMISSION DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION:

Commissioner Staab stated that the department has activities in the fall that the Commissioners can help and participate in. He asked if e-mails can be sent on ideas for their participation. He had enjoyed dressing up as Charlie Brown a couple of years ago.

Superintendent Cowan stated that instead of our Halloween event we have a Fall Family Harvest Hoe-down in which they could participate. We also have "Light Up the Night in Novi" coming on December 3^rd. It is the redesigned "Ringing in the Holidays" event and has been moved from Main Street to here at the Civic Center.

CITIZEN COMMENTS: None

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS:

Commissioner Policicchio commended the department.

Commissioner Jewell stated that with the collaborative efforts there are a lot of great resources that both the Parks Department and Community Education could share and utilize. A great job was done on the FireUp Fest.

Commissioner Staab stated that he appreciates the excellent report this evening. He wants to reinforce that all activities are going well and continue to run smoothly. He commended Superintendent Cowan on doing not only her job but also the job of Director.

Commissioner Dooley also commended Superintendent Cowan on the job she is doing. He welcomed Matt Ostermeyer to the team. He met Matt on October 9^th at the Novi Athletic Booster hotdog cookout. He stated that Theresa McClure is a very valuable team member.

A motion was made to adjourn by Commissioner Jewell and seconded by Commissioner Policicchio.

The meeting was adjourned by Commissioner Dooley at 7:31 pm

DATE APPROVED:

Jay Dooley, Chairperson

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Paul Policicchio, Vice Chairperson