The Town of Rochester Town Board held a public hearing on April 28, 2022 at 7:08pm at the Harold Lipton Community Center 15 Tobacco Road, Accord NY 12404 on proposed local law # 3-2022: Creation of Recreation Commission.
PRESENT:
Councilwoman Erin Enouen Councilman Adam Paddock
Councilwoman Smiseth Supervisor Michael Baden
Town Clerk Kathleen Gundberg

ABSENT:

Councilman Michael Coleman

Supervisor Baden opened the public hearing on proposed Local Law 3-2022, Establishing Chapter 40, Recreation Commission, of the Code of the Town of Rochester.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Manuela Michaelscu: My comment refers to the name of the Recreation Commission. I’d like to stress from the very beginning that:
a) I agree with the new name (Recreation) which is obviously more inclusive and more appropriate for the many activities related to youth, adults and seniors the Commission is involved with, and
b) that my comment refers to also keeping the old, previously used name, “Youth,” when establishing by Local Law the “Recreation Commission”
So this is about adding the word “Youth” and having the “Recreation Commission” named “Recreation/Youth Commission.” I believe that keeping the “Youth” word can help and not hurt and I’ll try to explain why.
I’m making this comment based only on my personal marketing experience and on my 14-yr involvement with the (previously-named) Youth Commission in town, NOT on behalf of the present Recreation Commission (of which I’m a member and secretary).
In my opinion, this is a matter of:
1. Good marketing/positioning:
— positioning is what gets to people’s minds first; as Paris would always be positioned as represented by the Eiffel Tower, I believe that this Commission is and will always be “positioned” in our town-people’s minds as the “Youth Commission”
— in a world with too many changes, people want some stability; that’s why decades ago the “New Coke” was rejected by consumers as a new product and we still have only “Coke”; “Youth Commission” should remain present somehow…

2. Continuity
— to maintain the continuity with our tradition, it’s better to have the “youth” word added in the new name
— keeping the word “youth” is about keeping the tradition, staying connected with a very successful past
— reviewing quarterly newsletters from the last 10 years (these used to be printed and distributed to different locations in town before the pandemic) I discovered that they ALL indicated “Community Center,” Recreation Department but also… Youth Commission, Youth awards, etc.
— many different events, paint classes, Summer program need the “youth” word added in order to make sense (the Town Board Agenda for 4/7/22 had a Resolution re “Youth Recreation Summer Program”)

3. Consistency
— the Town’s website indicates: “Recreation/Youth Office”; “Youth/Recreation Staff Contacts”; “Recreation/Youth Department” (under Information)
— as per the existing Resolution of the Recreation Commission, the Recreation Department has to report to the “UC Youth Bureau”!
— The yearly awards presented by our Commission are Youth Awards: “Mary Lee Friend of Youth Award” and “Sue Matson Distinguished Youth Award” — and we have tens of recipients…
All of these prove that the word “Youth” is needed!

During the April 2022 meeting, Recreation Commission members indicated that if the Board decides to name it only “Recreation Commission,” then this change should be reflected on the Town’s website and in the signage, with everything matching and being consistent.
— at the present time, the sign towards the Community Center indicates “Youth Commission”!
— the name on the town’s Facebook page was promptly changed by Director Ashley Sweeney from “Town of Rochester Youth & Community Center” to “Town of Rochester Recreation Department” — this being a great example of consistency (and she deserves our thanks!)

4. Avoiding confusion with the Department
— as not many towns have both a Department and a Commission… having the same identical name, with just the word “Recreation,” there is usually confusion between the Recreation Department (with paid employees) and the Recreation Commission (with volunteer members); right now we have a Commission member who wrote she wants to resign from the Recreation Department…
It may be less confusing to have the REC Department and the Recreation/Youth Commission.
To summarize — for reasons related to: good marketing and positioning, continuity in keeping our town’s tradition, consistency, and to avoid confusion with the Recreation Department, my personal opinion is that the Commission should be named “Recreation/Youth Commission.”

Tina Bergen-Russell:
I was the one who wanted to resign, I’ve become quite busy with volunteering at the Town of Rochester Exchange and I don’t have the time that I thought I would to do this commission but the points Manuela made are valid.

CLOSURE OF PUBLIC HEARING:

A Motion was made by Councilman Paddock to close the public hearing at 7:15pm.
Second: Councilwoman Smiseth
Aye: 4 nay: 0 abstain: 0 motion carried
Coleman-absent

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

KATHLEEN A. GUNDBERG
TOWN CLERK