OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting - November 10, 2025

City Council — Monday, November 10, 2025
BodyProvidence, Rhode Island
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, November 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:59

Transcript — Verbatim
0:21

Good evening, everybody.

0:22

Today is uh Monday, November 10th.

0:25

This is the regular meeting of the recreation advisory board.

0:28

Not first included 12 call role.

0:31

Chairman Simon.

0:32

Present.

0:32

Vice Chair Sanchez.

0:34

Councilman Vargas.

0:36

Dana Lafayette present.

0:37

Kenneth Phillips is absent.

0:39

We have four present and one absent.

0:40

We have a forum.

0:42

Thank you.

0:42

I also want to acknowledge obviously our colleagues who we do all of our work with in the recreation department.

0:49

We have Director Holly, um, assisting director on the mem.

0:53

Always get this last name wrong, but on your on your mum.

0:57

On your map, yeah, you're right on right there.

0:59

I did.

1:03

And um, and Jackie Polyus, who is uh the senior member of the department, also uh director of the uh Zoo Low Reparation Center.

1:12

So we are always uh excited to have you guys with us and look forward to a great conversation.

1:18

Um so we wanted to talk about today the agenda items that we have and talked spend some time talking about uh winter basketball leagues.

1:27

I know they weren't kind of mixed right now of uh registration, so want to get an update on that.

1:32

Obviously, you know, we as a board, I think have talked about it for a long time about uh you know things that are put in place at online registration and whatnot.

1:40

So sorry to get an update on where things are at right now for uh winter basketball leagues.

1:45

Um, and then uh one time for the discussion.

1:47

This is a topic that we said that we would come back to at least once a year or so to talk about the department's communication goals and what we're doing as a department um to get the word out there about the work that's going on in our recreation centers.

2:00

Um so uh without further ado, I think this can be a uh one of our uh more on time meetings.

2:08

Um, but uh but uh further ado, I will turn it over to Director Holly, and I believe we have a presentation on um these items.

2:19

Yes, as we do there, we'll do it on ahead.

2:24

We can start now okay, all right.

2:26

No worries before we get here on others wanna uh again welcome director Holly.

2:30

This is his second evening with us first in a formal capacity, I believe, right?

2:35

The council had second of the form, second formal, yeah.

2:42

Right, or really the fifth we since you've had some uh a little more time on the ground, but it's like going to do last myself.

2:50

Um well director, thank you for hitting the ground running for the main thing.

2:53

We appreciate that.

2:54

Um I'll just say for my uh communications, you know, director Holly, I'm not rejected.

3:01

Uh pretty regularly, same sort of communication I have with director Grace and uh Ben Press about how you hit the ground running and forward to hearing more about uh about some of these items that we're talking about today.

3:13

Absolutely.

3:15

I'll uh just to give some the fact before we get into uh an update on the on the weather basketball registration.

3:22

I will say we are a little bit behind given the fact that I just have come on board.

3:28

Um it was kind of a way for me to get on board and get uh into our role before we started the registration and so forth.

3:36

However, registration is open and um definitely very robust already, but um I'll let Jackie uh share some updates all over the chat everything there was I think at this point we are doing pretty well.

4:02

Um still early um considering registration and final rosters have to be in um in the last week of December.

4:12

So as far as uh teens and uh participation, uh I can just read also in the statute of the Legally in the boys tenant under division.

4:24

We have commitments from uh hand right centers, boys 12 of you, 10 right centers, boys 14 you late rank centers, girls tenure, which is instructional, seven recent girls 12 year five, girls 145.

4:38

So right now we have a total of 46 teams committed to the league, which is a pretty good number, especially at this point in November, and considering we opened it up on October 13th.

4:51

So I think we're doing we're doing pretty well in a short period of time.

4:55

This director Holly became the direct on 22nd, ready.

5:00

Ready?

5:05

So uh a little bit of further breakdown.

5:07

I know you have it in front of you.

5:08

There are 29 boys' teams and 17 girls' teams overall.

5:14

Um, which I think is is really a good number, especially at this point.

5:19

Um, just to reiterate that.

5:21

We also have a good number of allows.

5:23

Uh when you say teams, Jackie, are you so these are folks who are actually currently signed up right now?

5:31

Signed up, and each director made the commitment to put a team in that division.

5:35

So the director made a commitment to do it.

5:37

We don't necessarily have the sign-ups in place to do it yet.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation███████████████████████████████████████39%
Community Engagement████████████████████████████28%
Youth Programs███████████████15%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Education██████6%
Procedural███3%
Public Health Initiatives██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting - November 10, 2025

The Recreation Advisory Board convened on Monday, November 10, 2025, with Chair Simon presiding. Present were Vice Chair Sanchez, Councilman Vargas, and member Dana Lafayette; Kenneth Phillips was absent. Director Holly (second formal meeting), Assistant Director Onum (last name clarified as "Onum"), and Senior Director Jackie Polyus attended. The main agenda items included an update on winter basketball leagues and a discussion of the department's communication goals. The board also amended the agenda to receive a brief update on expanded meal services.

Winter Basketball League Update

  • Registration opened October 13, 2025, and remains open through late December; games start the first week of January 2026 and culminate in championship games the first week of March 2026 at Providence College.
  • As of the meeting, 46 teams are committed: 29 boys' teams (across divisions: Boys 12U – 10, Boys 14U – 10) and 17 girls' teams (Girls 10U instructional – 7, Girls 12U – 5, Girls 14U – 5).
  • 22 volunteers and 10 team sponsorships have been secured.
  • Rollins Rec Center has zero committed teams; the director is actively recruiting coaches. Jocelyn and Kennedy Centers have zero girls' teams due to relocation challenges; both directors are recruiting. The department aims for 100% participation, especially for girls.
  • Skills assessment/tryout policy: No child is cut; options include placement at another rec center, practice squads, or splitting into two teams. Maximum roster is 15 per team. The board stressed accommodating all youth who want to play in a competitive, team environment.
  • Travel teams: The department is exploring creating or partnering with a travel team; tryouts would be held for such a team.
  • Online registration is active on RecDesk. The board recommended establishing a uniform sponsorship package with tiers (e.g., $250–$2,500) and improving online registration and website user experience.
  • School report card requirement: Participants must pass all but one class; this promotes academic performance. No children have been turned away due to grades; they improved to stay eligible.

Communication Goals

  • The department launched a monthly newsletter (over 650 subscribers, started from zero this year) and seasonal program previews.
  • Social media presence (Instagram, Facebook) is growing; posts are shared on the mayor's pages. Board encouraged leveraging city council members and neighborhood groups for wider outreach.
  • Website homepage now features a program highlight (e.g., basketball flyer with QR code) and a program page that links to RecDesk. However, the program calendar is clunky and not user-friendly; the board recommended improvements modeled after other city recreation sites (e.g., Johnston).
  • Reach TVs at rec centers display rotating program information. One center (supra?) has a digital billboard.
  • School district communication via ParentSquare is inconsistent; the department is working to strengthen that channel, including with charter schools.
  • Recommendation: Merge RecDesk email database (estimated thousands) with newsletter subscriber list to expand reach.

Meal Services Update (added by motion)

  • The board unanimously voted to amend the agenda to include an update on meal services.
  • Meal services at all rec centers have been doubled in response to increased community need, attributed to the Washington DC shutdown. Funds come from CDBG, school department, and parks. Meals (from Sodexo) are provided daily, including Saturday, and include shelf-stable options for take-home when centers are closed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public were present; no comments were made.

Key Outcomes

  • The board directed the department to develop a uniform sponsorship package for basketball and other programs, to be presented at the next meeting.
  • The department was encouraged to improve communication with neighborhood groups, charter schools, and city council members to increase registration and awareness.
  • The website's program calendar should be redesigned for better user experience.
  • The board will continue to monitor skills assessment/tryout policies to ensure no child is turned away while maintaining league competitiveness.
  • The department will explore travel team options.
  • The next meeting is expected to be held in the field (at a rec center).
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. Today is uh Monday, November 10th. This is the regular meeting of the recreation advisory board. Not first included 12 call role. Chairman Simon. Present. Vice Chair Sanchez. Councilman Vargas. Dana Lafayette present. Kenneth Phillips is absent. We have four present and one absent. We have a forum. Thank you. I also want to acknowledge obviously our colleagues who we do all of our work with in the recreation department. We have Director Holly, um, assisting director on the mem. Always get this last name wrong, but on your on your mum. On your map, yeah, you're right on right there. I did. And um, and Jackie Polyus, who is uh the senior member of the department, also uh director of the uh Zoo Low Reparation Center. So we are always uh excited to have you guys with us and look forward to a great conversation. Um so we wanted to talk about today the agenda items that we have and talked spend some time talking about uh winter basketball leagues. I know they weren't kind of mixed right now of uh registration, so want to get an update on that. Obviously, you know, we as a board, I think have talked about it for a long time about uh you know things that are put in place at online registration and whatnot. So sorry to get an update on where things are at right now for uh winter basketball leagues. Um, and then uh one time for the discussion. This is a topic that we said that we would come back to at least once a year or so to talk about the department's communication goals and what we're doing as a department um to get the word out there about the work that's going on in our recreation centers. Um so uh without further ado, I think this can be a uh one of our uh more on time meetings. Um, but uh but uh further ado, I will turn it over to Director Holly, and I believe we have a presentation on um these items. Yes, as we do there, we'll do it on ahead. We can start now okay, all right. No worries before we get here on others wanna uh again welcome director Holly. This is his second evening with us first in a formal capacity, I believe, right? The council had second of the form, second formal, yeah. Right, or really the fifth we since you've had some uh a little more time on the ground, but it's like going to do last myself. Um well director, thank you for hitting the ground running for the main thing. We appreciate that. Um I'll just say for my uh communications, you know, director Holly, I'm not rejected. Uh pretty regularly, same sort of communication I have with director Grace and uh Ben Press about how you hit the ground running and forward to hearing more about uh about some of these items that we're talking about today. Absolutely. I'll uh just to give some the fact before we get into uh an update on the on the weather basketball registration. I will say we are a little bit behind given the fact that I just have come on board. Um it was kind of a way for me to get on board and get uh into our role before we started the registration and so forth. However, registration is open and um definitely very robust already, but um I'll let Jackie uh share some updates all over the chat everything there was I think at this point we are doing pretty well. Um still early um considering registration and final rosters have to be in um in the last week of December. So as far as uh teens and uh participation, uh I can just read also in the statute of the Legally in the boys tenant under division. We have commitments from uh hand right centers, boys 12 of you, 10 right centers, boys 14 you late rank centers, girls tenure, which is instructional, seven recent girls 12 year five, girls 145. So right now we have a total of 46 teams committed to the league, which is a pretty good number, especially at this point in November, and considering we opened it up on October 13th. So I think we're doing we're doing pretty well in a short period of time. This director Holly became the direct on 22nd, ready. Ready?

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