WESTFIELD – On the agenda for the Parks & Recreation Commission Monday evening were two requests to use the Park Square Pavilion and Park Square. 
The first came from Brent Bean, making the request on behalf of Westfield State University where he is director of advancement and university relations. Bean could not attend the meeting on Monday as he is representing Mayor Brian P. Sullivan at the Babe Ruth World Series for a few days while the Mayor is away, according to Parks & Rec chairperson Kenneth Magarian.
The university was asking for a permit to use Park Square and the Park Square Pavilion for a scavenger hunt on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Magarian said the group will use the green as a staging area for the scavenger hunt, with WSKB radio airing live inside the pavilion. Downtown businesses will be stops, where participants will take photos with the store managers. The businesses included will post Welcome Students signs in their windows. Students will be asked to visit six businesses for the hunt.
Magarian said although Parks & Rec program coordinator Jim Blascak has the authority to approve the request, because it is new and different, it was brought before the Commission.
Commission member Kimberly Irzyk asked approximately how many students would attend, and whether a police presence would be required.
Magarian said the event would take place during Welcome Week at the university, as a part of freshman orientation. He said he thought fifty students would be a good draw. The Commission voted to give approval for the event.
A second request came from Embajadores-De-Cristo Church. Jessica Valentin had requested a permit on behalf of the church for use of Park Square and the Pavilion for drug awareness speakers and to hand out school supplies to children on Saturday, August 20 from 2 to 6 p.m. Valentin did not attend the meeting Monday.
Commission members had several questions, such as what age children would be there. Blascak said the permit application did not mention the age of the children, and several other details requested by Commission members.
“I thought she was going to be here,” Blascak said, noting that he had told Valentin of the meeting date.
Members voted to give Blascak the latitude to approve the request. He said since the event was scheduled for this upcoming weekend, he didn’t know if the church was still planning to go forward with it.
Magarian said that City Engineer Mark Cressotti would be attending the September Parks & Rec Commission meeting to talk about the Pavilion. He asked Commission members to think about “if there’s anything else we should be prepared to do” regarding future requests for the Park Square Pavilion.
Irzyk said that she had passed by an Open Mic night at Park Square, where she saw about 50 people sitting on the grass with blankets and picnics listening to the music.
“It really looked nice,” Irzyk said.
Blascak said after the MusicFest in July, which drew a big crowd for a national country act, there was some damage in the Pavilion.
“Some of the electrical boxes were broken,” Blascak said, adding that there were stains on the floor from people dropping food and beverages. He suggested putting someone in the Pavilion to keep people from congregating.
“Whoever’s putting on the event may want to use that space,” said Commission member Renee Wroth.
Blascak said the next MusicFest concert will be on August 25, but he doesn’t anticipate as large a crowd. He added the Pokeman player activity has also died down a bit in Park Square. He said the city is also considering not taking all of the doors off of the Pavilion next year.
The question of whether to charge for use of the Pavilion was also discussed. Currently, use of Park Square and the Pavilion are free.
Irzyk said if someone wants to get married in there, and uses gas and electric, there should be a charge for its use.
“That’s really the only inside structure that we have that people would be interested in renting,” she said.
Magarian added that every time the Pavilion is used, somebody has to go down there, especially when the doors are on to unlock them.
Commission member Vincent Olinski asked whether there is a policy against skateboarding on Park Square. Blascak said there is a city-wide policy. Several members said they see a lot of skateboarders there.
Blascak also said there are no gutters on the Pavilion when it rains, and said there could be snow falling off the roof in the winter.
Public Works superintendent David Billips suggested that a rain barrel and gutters could be installed.
Magarian said that Commission members should have questions in mind for Cressotti’s visit in September.
Billips reminded the Commission members that the position of a Deputy Superintendent for Parks and Recreation was approved in the city budget for six months beginning on January 1, and that they need to start the process of by putting together a job description and posting the position.
He said the new position would supervise Parks and Recreation, including maintenance. He said they also want to look at grant writing for the parks. “There are a lot of opportunities there,” Billips said.
