Call to order 7:40

Attendance: Mark Matera, Scott Dinnis, Eric Peterson, Dan Flynn, Bordonaro, Tracy Krazniewski, Andy Fitzsimmons, Diane Corley, April Desso, Andre Paradis, Michael Olayos, Bruce Thivierge Minutes from May approved. Note is made that there will be 13 players on the All-Star Teams 

January 2011 minutes reviewed and approved.

Presentations by Bishop Photo and Sportography took place.

Gym requests have been made and are pending. The insurance certificate has been handed in. Valley View – Monday nights starting 2/14 from 5:30 – 6:45 with a rotating schedule for minors and instructional is pending, waiting to double check on availability of janitor. The High School will be open in March for Majors practice.

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Attendance: Scott Dinnis, Andre Paradis, Joe Bordonaro, Steve Gibelli, Eric Peterson April Desso, Gregg Therrien, Bruce Thivierge, Diane Corley, Andy Fitzsimmons, Michael Olayos

Meeting was called to order 7:00pm

December 2010 Minutes

Reviewed, Corrections made; May 21, 2011 date for BBQ. Corrections also noted for November minutes; Eric Peterson was present at meeting. December minutes passed with corrections made.

Presentation

Rich Mardirosian from Team Smiles presented his photography packet to the Board. Emphasis is made on the following points; great care is taken and staff provided in order to keep things on time and running efficiently, 2 Teams/20minutes. An indoor site is preferred in order to guarantee visual consistency and date of occurrence, he will however be there rain/shine, indoors/outdoors. He recommends getting T-Ball and League done on the same day. Once photos are taken, he is the contact person for parents regarding corrections, add- ons etc.

Treasurer’s Report

April Desso reported minimal changes since the last meeting. Gym deposit was made and monies are being received from Active from registrations.

It is noted that the Little League Charter fees are due in order to receive our certificate and insurance for the League.

Old Business

Space at the Valley View gym had been secured for Thursdays; however, this has been changed secondary to Park & Rec needs. It is decided that we would take Mondays at Valley View for clinics. Time will be 5:30 – 6:45 and the start date will be announced.

The in-person registration date for 1/12/11 has been moved secondary to Storm Benedict. Emails and flyers went out with the new date 1/19/11 @ Senior Center 6-8pm

Evaluation dates confirmed:

Base Ball City Saturday 2/5/11 @ 10am & 2pm / Sunday 2/13/11 @ 2pm

Evaluations:

Minors 2/6/11 with 2/12/11 as backup date

New Business

Coach Deck cards which can be used by coaches to help guide them with planning drills/practice will be made available. The League will cover ½ of the $20 cost/deck. Coaches who are interested will have to pay $10. 12 Decks will be ordered and available.

The Rose Hill area will have mound changes and the infield resodded. This will include a drainage system. This is expected to be completed, depending on weather for late March, early April. Practices can still take place in the outfield.

List of T-Ball Coaches is in.

Dennis met with Sean from Park & Rec. to discuss numerous items. A recreational site is being proposed and worked up for the corner of Cox road and Strickland. The proposed site will be a combination of Park & Rec, Little League and Soccer. The initial details are being worked up regarding grading, long term needs and support. Support from the Little League will be present at Board of Selectman meetings. Although the final project is years off, the Board hopes to help promote and encourage the much needed site for the better of the community.

Little League International has issued a statement that no composite bats will be allowed at any level of Little League. All member of Portland Little League to include managers, umpires will be expected to be aware of the rule and make their teams adhere to it. Umpires and coaches will be expected to check the bats throughout the season. First and foremost it is a safety issue, but also a liability to the League. It is noted that some bats have composite handles and an alloy barrel; this is a legal bat to have.

Registration

65 players have registered as of this date. Last year at this time 179 players had registered. Concern is noted regarding the volume which will come in late and getting prepared for upcoming clinics. Future discussion as to managing and encouraging earlier registration will be noted. Last year the dates for clinics were already underway; this year’s later dates may be responsible for reminding people to get registered.

On-line registration will end January 31^st. After this time a $20 late fee will be charged and they application must be made by hand.

Request was made to allow a League age 5 year old to participate in the Instructional League. The Board unanimously denied the request on the basis of keeping with League rules and age requirements.

Baseball City

Dates confirmed, slots being given out as players register. The 3 evaluations periods will be for Majors players and 10 year olds whom request to be considered for Majors. Emails will go out with the players date and time.

Ten year olds should also plan to be at the gym evaluation – February 6^th, which is for the Minors League. If they are requesting to go onto Majors, they need to attend both evaluations.

The Majors Managers list is being put together. Those being considered for coaching positions will need to attend the Baseball City evaluations and help cover the stations. Each session will be 2 hours and the potential Managers will need to communicate which one(s) they can attend. The Baseball City evaluations will consist of 4 stations with Managers staying at 1 station for the duration of the event. A format for the evaluations is being put together. This will include guidelines for scoring and maintaining consistency for the evaluation process.

Uniforms/Sponsors

A cost for uniforms was broken down and presented by Eric Peterson. The fee breakdown is as follows (per player and approx.):

Instructional – $18.33

Instructional SBall - $ 16.60

Major/Minor - $19.29

It is being looked into as to the best way to handle uniforms for the present time and over the long run. These considerations include, going to all black mesh hats, black/white socks with individual T-shirts/jerseys with sponsors printed on the shirts. This will encourage and enable bulk ordering, bringing down the costs and allowing players to keep their shirts. These yearly costs will need to be compared to the cost of replacing the uniform jerseys that we already own as needed.

Tickets for a Red Sox vs. Yankees game @ Fenway August 30^th will be raffled

Misc. New Business

Concern is noted in order to keep balance for the Juniors/Seniors League. Apparently as the season goes along, some players are leaving for the RCP League, which leaves some teams very short. Rebalancing ½ way through may be necessary.

Carl Miller, a prior supporter of the Portland Little League passed away over the holidays. It was requested by his family that donations be made to the Portland Little League in his honor. We have received such donations and it has been unanimously voted that such donations will be set aside to aide families that have financial hardship and still wish to have their child participate in Little League. One such request had been made this week with the Board voting to approve the application. The Board will notify the player as such.

Fall Ball player evaluations need to be collected.

Concern is noted by the Board regarding Little League positions. Not all positions are filled/covered and we hope that support will come through. Attendance to Board Meetings is encouraged in order for the League to smoothly perform the needs of the season. We would like to encourage new membership especially in people becoming involved at the Instructional level. This will help ensure support and knowledge as these members move through the different levels of League play.

District Meeting 1/19/11 7pm @ Madison

Important Dates:

In-person registration 1/19/11 @ Senior Ctr 6-8pm

On-line registration ends 1/31/11

Majors Evals

Baseball City 2/5/11 @ 10am & 2pm

2/13/11 @ 2pm

Minors Evals 2/6/11 @ High School Gym 9am

Next meeting: Tuesday, February 8^th, 2011 @ SC 7pm

Meeting adjourned 9:05

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Attendance: Scott Dinnis, Andre Paradis,  April Desso, Gregg Therrien, Bruce Thivierge, Keith Vincenzo, Diane Corley, Dan Flynn, Steve Gibelli, Andy Fitzsimmons, Joe Bordonaro, Eric Peterson 

Meeting was called to order: 7:00pm 

November minutes:Reviewed, no changes submitted. November minutes were approved.

Officer/Committee Reports: 

Treasurer’s Report:To be handled at the end of the meeting with Budget discussion. 

District 9:Kyle Muncy – District 9 PresidentTournament locations will be handled as follows: Committee will come to sites and evaluate based on their worthiness to hold a tournament. Are there proper facilities, field conditions etc.  Registration fees were discussed and compared to the surrounding towns. Portland is slightly above the average. Discussion is presented as to whether in future years, should fees be broken down depending on the level of play and adjusted as such.  

Old Business:Concern is brought up over keeping the pitching frames outside. Attempt should be made to bring them into one of the sheds.Need for organization at the Rose Hill shed is noted. 

New Business:Picture Vendors are asking for the opportunity to bid on the Little League Account. It is voted upon and approved to allow other businesses to bid on the upcoming season. It is agreed that we should use the Sportography Company and what they offer as the criteria for which to compare other companies. 

2011 Registration Update:25 registered thus far.Next walk-in registration will be: Wed, January 12^th 6-8pm. Volunteers: Dan, Bruce, Keith, Scott. It will be important to reach out to the community via flyers at school and the town paper.  Discussion is also presented as to capping the cost for large families. Those with 4 or more children.  

2011 Winter Clinics/Evals:BB City – Majors:       February 5^th  - Saturday: 10am/2pm                                    February 13^th – Sunday: 2pm

There will be approx 25-30 players per session. Each session will consist of 4 stations. Any league representative/Manager that is planning to evaluate players will be assigned a station. They must stay with the station and not “travel” with a player; this will eliminate gaps in the evaluation of other players. It is noted that anyone planning to or that would like to be considered for a Managers position attend the clinics so that they are able to see the players. Bruce will assign players as they register to a time. Those with conflicts can request a change.  10 year olds will be given the opportunity to be considered for evaluation to the Majors and essentially given the Sunday, February 13^th slot. Request for Valley View gym has been confirmed. January – March, Thursday nights 6:30 – 9:00pm. It is also discussed that Managers/Evaluators need to all understand and stay consistent as to how the evaluation scoring process goes.  

Minors Draft – League age 9 & 10 – February 27^th

Majors Draft – February 20^thIt is noted that the draft went very well last year, no expected changes as of yet. We will try to get Feb 6 or Feb 12 for the Minors evaluations Gregg will be going through the equipment bags soon. 

2010 Sponsorship – Eric PetersonTeam Sponsorship fees are presently $275. We had 19 sponsors last year. We had many teams with no sponsors. New options for 2011:Plan A:Hold sponsorship feesOffer 3 year plan $275/250/225 – with free banner. Hoping to encourage long term sponsorship. Plan B:$300 one yearOffer 3 year plan $300/275/250 Discussion is brought to the take as to whether we should identify teams by their sponsorships. Also, should we have T-Shirts with the sponsor’s names, alleviating many of the concerns for the aging jerseys? Also a $20 fee should be charged for players making tournament teams. This would cover their shirt/hat/socks.  The cost of the above will be evaluated and looked into.  The Sponsorship, 3 year tiered plan is approved. 

Fund Raiser:BBQ chicken/ribs - $7/$10 up front charge respectively. Up charge will need to be added. Presell tickets, raffle, and get team players involved to encourage sales.  Dates discussed: May 13, 14 or May 20, 21.   May 21st (amended per Jan 2011 mtg) is the date preferred. Raffle of baseball tickets and items will be worked out to go along with the BBQ and with Opening Day. 

Rock Cats:  June 10^th, fireworks. Also the last day of school. 

Budget: Balance Sheet shows no changes in November 2010. New budget is discussed and areas of change explained. This new budget is much more itemized and will help the League keep monies more accountable and the areas of expenditures more detailed. It is felt that the area concerning Umpire fees is not accurate for the upcoming year and that more will be necessary to maintain appropriate supervision of games. It is discussed and approved to move $1,000 to the Umpire fee category.  Discussion concerning the Umpiring and need for support and training is noted.  The amended 2011 proposed budget is approved. 

Misc:Joe Bordonaro has asked that the med boxes be rounded up so that he has more time to clean out and fill. Eric Peterson will help to do so.  

Next meeting: January 11, 2011 – Tuesday 7pm 

Meeting is adjourned: 9:14pm 

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Attendance: Scott Dinnis, Andre Paradis, April Desso., Gregg Therrien, Bruce
Thivierge, Dave Wallengren, Keith Vincenzo, Diane Corley, Dan Flynn, Eric Peterson (amended per Jan 2011 mtg).

Meeting was called to order: 7:05

October minutes:
Reviewed, no changes submitted. October 2010 minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report
April, Aimee, and Eric have organized the budget for 2009 – 2010 year. They will meet
11/16/10 to itemize and finalize the final budget numbers. Discussion included the areas
that there were noted losses in the 2009 – 2010 year. Noticeable losses were in the areas
of equipment secondary to bigger, large ticket purchases made such as fences, mound
covers, uniforms as well as the essentials. Loses are also noted secondary to Opening Day
expenses and the purchase of Rock Cats tickets for all enrolled Little Leaguers.

Note is made that the storage unit needs to be organized and reviewed so that new
equipment purchases such as Helmets can be identified.

Soft Ball Training Committee Report
Keith V. is now the lead on this committee. They will be working with Cromwell on
a pitching clinic. Emphasis needs to be on building skills for pitchers and catchers.
Discussion includes getting help from Wesleyan Staff and the need for gym time.

Fall Ball Report
Andre noted that the fall ball season was very successful. Excellent weather, working
with East Hampton all contributed to an enjoyable, seamless season. Recommendation is
made for next year to keep the number of players per team to 12. It was difficult for the
coaches and too much bench time when there are teams of 14.

Keeping the 12 players/team also needs to be considered for future events such as
tournaments and All-Stars. Note is made that the Little League Rules have changed
regarding the number of coaches per team. It is now allowable to have 1 Manager and 2
Coaches helping on the bench, regardless of the number of players.

It is recommended however to keep 12-14 players/team on the Juniors Fall Ball teams
secondary to the fact that many participate in other sports/interests and they can’t count
on a full roster each game. Players are able to get plenty of play time.

Old Business
Andre reported on the Big League. He is still in contact with Middletown, who has
uniforms and can support enough players for ½ of a team. Portland would need to supply
the fields. Andre feels that he can arrange the fields to accommodate this.

Discussion is regarding the concern that 12-13 year old players often join other leagues,
Legion, RCP looking to improve their skills. However, this posses a conflict since players
are lost in our league and we are left short during the season. It is proposed to have a
question on the Registration Form for Juniors as to whether or not they intend to try out
for other leagues such as RCP, this way such players can be evenly distributed among the
teams to avoid large gaps in players per team.

New Business:
Fall field prep is discussed. The need to take down the batting cage nets is of concern,
parts are being found in the surrounding fields. Help from the town can’t come until
mid-late December. Greg T. will recruit help and get them down. It is concluded that the
mound covers are not necessary over the winter months.

2011 Registration
Note is made of the changes from the previously noted fee schedule:

No tier discounts after January 31st 2011 and a $20 late fee will be added. Students
enrolled before January 31st 2011 will be able to participate in the clinics offered.

Gym time is being worked on.

Discussion is opened as to when to open registration. The clinic schedule is relevant as
well as all noted holidays. It is concluded that the registration will begin as soon as it can
be made available on-line. Voted and approved.

Majors Baseball City Clinic evaluation dates are temporarily set for:

February 5th, Saturday with morning & afternoon times
February 13th, Sunday afternoon only

Majors Draft will be for late February

Minors will have gym time in February, possibly the 12th to evaluate before Majors draft
date of the 13th in case players need to be brought up to Majors.

Walk – in Registration dates are noted:
November 18th Thurs – not necessary, too early, let people apply on-line
December 8th Wed – 6-8pm, Andre, Dave, Keith, Scott
January 12th Wed – 6-8pm, ? Volunteers

Fall Ball Player evaluations are due in.

Minors and Instructional
Warm ups will depend on gym time, Valley View for January/February, High School for
March

Baseball City
Dates to be confirmed as above. Major evaluations will take place at this time. Players
will be assigned a date, if they have a conflict it can be addressed on an individual basis.
Time will be opened up for the 10 years old also. 25 kids per clinic session. Discussion is
on how to organize and group the players, whether it should be by age, random, returning
players etc. This will be organized as we approach the dates.

Gym time is discussed and the need to stay on top of requesting as much as available,
when available. Gym time is valuable and will always be used. The policy for requesting
gym time has been changed; Dr. Doyen will provide a copy of the policy for us to review.

Request for Hitting Leagues for the Majors will be explored.

Sponsorship
Eric Peterson is exploring ways to handle Sponsorship for 2011. As of right now we have
20 Team Sponsors which is down from last year (and the prior year). With our increase
in expenses, effort will be made to look into a possible fund raiser. One option is working
with Big Dog BBQ to have a dinner fund raiser. People can pick up or the possibility of
planning it at a location that can include a wiffle ball game and some activities/raffle as
well.

It is noted that an increase in the Sponsorship fee from $275 to $300 is possible.

Website – www.portlandctlittleleague.org
Content is needed. Anyone with suggestions for things to post on the website will only
help to make it more attractive to people to explore. Email Bruce T. with any suggestions.
The registration form will not be on this site, but other items such as the volunteer form,
directions, area for coaches to manage their teams is. We would like to encourage the
managers to get involved in the site, there are many options available for them to use.

There was discussion on how to incorporate Managers into the umpiring schedule in
order to bring down costs. Recruit students looking for community service as well.
Concern is raised with regards for the need to better equip umpires so that they are
more knowledgeable, prepared, consistent etc. This also included the frustration and
tension felt with the Majors Division and the need to maintain proper conduct among the
coaching staff.

Announcements
Next Little League meeting Tuesday 12/14/10 7:00pm Senior Center
Next District 9 meeting Thursday 11/11/10 – Eric Peterson has taken the position of Asst.
District Administrator

Meeting adjourned 8:34pm

Submitted:
Diane Corley, Secretary

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