Recreation & Parks Commission - Minutes - 01/27/2026

Waterford Recreation and Parks
Commission Meeting Minutes
January 27th, 2026 @ 4:30 pm
The Recreation and Parks Commission held a regular scheduled meeting on January 27th, 2026. The 
meeting was called to order at 4:32 p.m. by Chairman Ed Murphy and a quorum was established.
Members in attendance:  E. Murphy, N. Scheiber, T. Stino, T. Santos, T. Burrows, B. Kyne
Members Absent:  M. Sheehan, R. Erricson, M. Chiappone
Staff:
R. McNamara, T. Cieplik, N. Clack, E. Sullivan
Approval of Meeting Minutes:
Motion by N. Scheiber and seconded by B. Kyne to approve the December 9, 2025 meeting minutes.
Vote:  4-0-2
Motion:  Approved
Public Comment:
L. Wolfey, Waterford Rise, would like to take out an ad in our program booklet – willing to pay for a spot.  
Have big programs coming out and want to get their information out.  Tim will reach out to L. Wolfey to 
schedule and discuss.
Correspondence:
The Recreation and Parks Department received a thank you letter from S. Colquohoun, Regional Lions,
for use of the Community Center during their annual craft show.
Nancy and Peter Olssen sent a thank
you card for the Pearl Harbor road race event. Thank you emails from the Waterford Chief of Police and
Director of the Waterford Library were sent thanking our maintainers for clearing their lots during the recent
snow storm. David Campo sent a letter to the Commission Chair, Ed Murphy to consider donating a non-
resident beach sticker for CT Town Clerks Association Spring Conference. Discussion continued with a
new agenda item for a future meeting reviewing all town info on beach stickers and guidelines that need to
be put in place for future requests.
Motion by T. Stino and seconded by B. Kyne to donate an out of town beach sticker to the CT Town Clerks
Association.  
Vote:  4-2
Motion:  Approved
Staff Reports:  
R. McNamara, Director  –
Active time of year with operations and snow storms. Pavilion at the playground is looking to be installed
in the spring. Little League South working well with Dominion on a few projects removing old roofing on a
shed has been approved for disposal and work will be scheduled as weather allows. Leary courts will be
reviewed and repaired due to the cold weather making the surface paint look blotchy. Field Turf assured
we are under warranty. Alternative Heating program – State of CT partnership will allow us to maintain an
inventory of wood for our community. Wood processor will be rented in order to stack and prep the area.
This is a huge benefit to both Town of Waterford and State of CT. AEDs installed at two of our parks (Leary
and Vets). Lafayette trail sign will be located on the JPH Green on Avery Lane. Maintainer II position was
posted and we are awaiting for the 1303 response. An additional Maintainer II position will be posted as
our current Maintainer II position will have their last day on February 6th.
T. Cieplik , Assistant Director –
February 7th there will be a Unified Night at New London Rec Center which will have the pool and fitness
room open and pre K – adults are welcome.
Annual Neil Hoelck Basketball Tournament on March 6-8th
and 13th-15th will be at the Waterford High School.
Co-sponsored and local organizations have large

numbers for use of our gyms. Summer Concert Series are looking good and we have five bands already
signed up. We will have volunteer firefighters and two police officers at no cost to us. Inquiry if there is
insurance for teams or organizations – 
R. McNamara will check with attorney to add Dominion for use of the fields. Field use at the middle school
has extreme over use. T. Ceiplik will reach out to make possible relationship for field use at the Williams
School which is in Quaker Hill.
Discussion around middle school basketball and if you can play rec
basketball if you are on the middle school basketball team. T. Cieplik to look into the Waterford Legion
percentages of where they are from .
N. Clack, Program Coordinator  –
Social Media has exploded over the last few months and especially with our special events with over 20k
views with 6k followers. Granted access for Adobe In Design which will allow us to have better control
over how our posts and booklets look and timing. A new sports management intern from Mitchell will help
us run youth programs. Emails have gone out to summer staff to see who is interested in returning –
updating the staff manual.
Committee Reports:
Personnel – Maintainer II positions (2) have posted and one maintainer II is leaving on Feb. 6th
Youth Sports Council –
Long Range Planning – R. McNamara was able to discuss with Finance director and review for the next
five years.
R. McNamara will bring information to the next meeting.
Policies and Procedures – Ongoing
Representative Reports:
Board of Education – No update
Board of Finance – Getting ready for the upcoming meeting on March 4th
Historical Society – French drain has been installed and Lafayette sign will be installed in the JPH area.
O’Neill Theater – No update
Senior Services – No update
New Business:
FY2027 proposed budget submittal was tentatively approved contingent upon looking at more supporting
documents and materials. R. McNamara will email the information to the Commission to review and a
special meeting will be held on February 4, 2026 via zoom to vote on the approval.
Adjournment:
Motion by B. Kyne and seconded by T. Burrows to adjourn the meeting at 5:35 pm.
Vote:  6-0-0
Motion:  Approved
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen Sullivan
Office Coordinator