Minutes
Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission - Minutes - Jan 22, 2026
Jan 22, 2026
A public record published by the Town of Simsbury (simsbury-ct.gov). mySimsbury indexes it and makes it readable; it is not the official copy. View the original file.
Page 1 of 4 Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Regular Meeting January 22, 2026 – 6:00PM Town Hall Main Meeting Room 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070 MINUTES TOWN OF SIMSBURY – CULTURE, PARKS, AND RECREATION COMMISSION Subject to Vote of Approval – Regular Meeting Minutes – Thursday, January 22, 2026 – 4 pages Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Dave Bush, Chairman, in the main meeting room at Town Hall. Other commission members who were present included Lori Coppinger, Erik Petersen, Liz Keppel, Andrew Droney, Chris Boswell, and Kelly Kearney. The C. P. & R. Director Tom Tyburski and Board of Selectmen Liaison, Curtis Looney were also in attendance. Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Member Comments None. Presentation – Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center Mr. Dornenburg, Chairman of the Simsbury Meadows Performing Art Center Board shared that the referendum is Saturday, Jan. 24 for an appropriation related to the renovation/addition at Simsbury Meadows. He shared that they raised their money of a million dollars and the State of CT is still out there with 900k. He shared that a good portion of the money they are voting on Saturday is contingency. The Performing Arts Center should be ready to be open by 7/4. Mr. Bush asked how much of the $388k appropriation is contingent. Mr. Dornenburg responded about 1/3. He also shared that the 502s are coming in May, he is unsure what the Juneteenth concert is going to be, June is also marathon month. July is Talcott Mountain Music Festival. There is a Warp Tour Tribute Band and the Indigo Girls in August. For September they are hoping Jason Blaine will come in. Mr. Dornenburg shared that they are now trying to focus on naming their own schedule instead of just being a rental facility. In 2027, they are hoping to offer a subscription concert series. They have 24 positions on their Board and currently have 18 filled, they are actively recruiting board members. He thinks they are at about 18% capacity of what they could be for next summer. He shared they are a non-profit so they want people to Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Board/Commission Name Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 2 of 4 be able to afford to come in and enjoy one of their shows. He shared the more partnerships they can figure out the better. Agenda Items Minutes – Approval of September 2025 and December 2025 meeting minutes Mr. Bush declared the September 2025 and December 2025 minutes approved with the amendment of correcting the spelling to Mr. Looney’s name in the December 2025 minutes and requested that they be put on record. Election of Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Chair and Vice Chair- Mr. Tyburski shared that the Board of Selectmen has a turnover every two years and the suggestion is to elect a Chair and Vice Chair to C.P.R. every two years as well. Ms. Keppel nominated Mr. Bush as Chair and Mr. Kearney as Vice Chair. Ms. Coppinger seconded the motion. Mr. Bush accepted the nomination and Mr. Kearney accepted the nomination. There were no additional nominations. The motion passed with Mr. Kearney and Mr. Bush abstaining. FY2027 Culture, Parks and Recreation Dept. Requested Operating Budget – Mr. Tyburski shared that the FY27 budget was turned in late December, Mr. Tyburski had his meeting with budget team this week. He shared what he turned in. He believes they came up with a pretty lean budget. The General Fund budget is paid from tax dollars, the budget stands at 4.97% change. The Revenue Fund budget is special programs, swim programs, the rink, Simsbury Farms complex and golf course. They have had some cost increases with agricultural supplies with the golf course, they found savings in other ways such as trying to fix the #15 pond’s aerator, it is currently at a 2.7% increase. The machinery and equipment $95k cost is money already in hand, it is coming from the Golf Course Maintenance Equipment Surcharge Fund. Summer hiring goes live tomorrow. Mr. Tyburski stated that he believes that approximately $450k in salaries, benefits and facility overhead expenses should be removed from the Parks and Recreation Revenue Fund and included in the Town’s General Fund operating budget as they are “like” expenses for similar town serves that are already in the General Fund operating budget. He. Shared that they are raising camp fees, and Memorial Pool is tentatively going to be open this summer. Mr. Tyburski shared that you will no longer see Memorial Pool expenses “live” in the General Fund, they are now going to “live” in the Simsbury Farms fund. It will be paid by all user fees and not tax dollars. He shared that the next step in the budget is tentatively February 9 when the Town Manager is hoping to present his budget to the Board of Selectmen. FY2027 Culture, Parks and Recreation Dept. CIP and CNR Requests -Mr. Tyburski shared CNR requests for FY 27, however, they don’t expect to get everything approved. The top part is Parks Maintenance General Fund requests including pool plaster refurbishments (if approved could do this Fall 2026 after pool is closed), greenway improvements, Parks Kubota tractor, Bobcat Skid Steer Loader, pickup truck replacement, paddle courts refurbishment, irrigation replacement and various playscapes. The bottom part is the golf maintenance surcharge account and Simsbury Farms fund balance including golf course Ventrac, utility vehicle, rebuild tee #9, golf course drainage projects and golf course clubhouse and restaurant improvements and renovations. Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Board/Commission Name Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Tyburski shared that the Simsbury Farms Pool family pass is going to go up $10. He stated that they have revamped the individual price and lowered that cost. They made a child pass the same price as a senior price. The family pass is for four and then you can add individual passes for each additional child. Mr. Tyburski shared CIP which are items over $250k such as the Memorial Pool redesign. He believes this request will be delayed a year. He hopes they will approve a concept so they can start going out and getting grant money. Other items included are paving of neighborhood paths and connecting trails, Simsbury Farms Apple Barn renovation( last year it got a new roof and flooring, however, there are still rotting windows, bathrooms not up to code, siding that needs to be replaced, and a new boiler), Simsbury Golf Course Clubhouse and Restaurant Improvements and Renovations (from the fund balance and there is the possibility of private fundraising from FOSF, they could also ask the town for a revenue anticipation bond), repaving and parking improvements for recreation facilities, Rotary Park Playground Replacement (hopefully off set by funds from Rotary Club), golf course bunker renovations and storage barn renovations, ice rink replacement of concrete floor and refrig. tubing, ice rink roof insulation and painting, Simsbury Farms Lighting, Phase II, Simsbury Farms main building renovations, Simsbury Farms pool mechanicals replacement, Simsbury Farms Tennis Court reconstruction. Update on Simsbury Farms Golf Course Restaurant and Golf Professional Contracts- Mr. Tyburski shared all the contracts are in Town Manager’s office, since it is a new contract, the Board of Selectmen will review the restaurant vendor contract and the golf professional contract will be discussed at the meeting on Monday. Capital Projects Update – Mr. Tyburski shared that the cart path and drainage project will hopefully still take place this year, however, they are behind on getting the RFP out. Discussion on Simsbury Farms Golf Course Beautification Initiatives- This item was skipped until the next meeting. New Culture, Parks and Recreation Logo- Mr. Tyburski shared that they thought the Department’s logo needed to be refreshed. He shared two logos one including summer activities and one featuring winter activities. They will start rolling the new logos out this spring. Summer Program Registration Schedule- Mr. Tyburski shared that day camp registration opens on Monday, Jan. 26, aquatic program registration opens Tuesday, Jan. 27 and Sports and Enrichment Camp registration opens Wednesday, Jan. 28. Adjourn Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission Board/Commission Name Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 4 of 4 Ms. Coppinger made a motion to adjourn. Ms. Boswell seconded the motion. All were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Next Meeting The next scheduled meeting of the Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 6:00pm at the Town Hall Main Meeting Room. Respectfully submitted, Heather Taylor, Commission Clerk