2025 4 17 Minutes

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MINUTES 
Recreation Advisory Board/Tree Board/Little League Board 
Department of Parks and Recreation 
 
The Recreation Advisory Board/ Tree City USA Board /Little League Board  met in a scheduled  
meeting on Thursday, April 17th, 2025, at 12:00 pm.  
 
Upon a call the following members were present: 
Bob Miller, Linda Long, Johnny Coffman, Ron Starr, Moises Contreras, and Larry Rhodes 
 
Upon a roll call the following members were absent: Mary Scudder 
 
The following guests and staff members were present:  
Matt Siniard, Derek Phillips, Reya Joseph, and Shellie Stephens 
 
The following decisions were made and ordered as part of the records of the Recreation Advisory 
Board/Tree City USA Board/ Little League Board. 
 
-1- 
MINUTES 
 
12:03pm- Minutes for meetings held on March 6th, 2025, were handed out and reviewed with no 
changes suggested. 
Motion made by Bob Miller, seconded by Larry Rhodes to approve the minutes. 
Motion Carried. 
 
-2- 
NEW BUSINESS 
 
Little League Opening Day & Impact- 12:05pm 
Matt Siniard gave an update on Little League Opening Day. Athens Regional Park, which has 550 parking 
spaces, was completely full due to overlapping events, including AYSO soccer and an Autism Walk. As 
a result, many attendees had to park along roadsides and in overflow areas. This season, the league has 
430 players, slightly fewer than in 2024, but still the second-highest registration on record. Every team 
participated on Opening Day, from T-Ball up to the 10/11/12-year-old division, with 25% of players 
registered in the 4/5/6 age group. Concession stand revenue for Opening Day totaled $3,000, and it is 
averaging between $600 and $800 on weeknight games. Recent price increases at the concession stand 
were reviewed and deemed necessary to improve profit margins. Ron Starr raised questions about umpire 
staffing for the season and suggested exploring an additional entrance or exit to improve traffic flow at 
the park. 
 
Turf Infields at Regional Park- 12:23pm 
Derek Phillips addressed the challenges wet fields pose for Little League games, noting that dirt infields 
combined with unpredictable spring showers make it difficult to dry fields in time for play. While 
products like Sure Dry are used to help with drying, they are expensive. Many parents assume the fields 
will be playable after some sunshine, but turfing the infields would allow for quicker turnaround with 
just a bit of sun and wind. There was also discussion about losing tournaments to Bicentennial Fields, 
which have turf and are more playable in wet conditions. Quotes for turfing full fields and just the 
infields were shared, along with comparisons between different companies. The possibility of using