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Minutes 08-26-02MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEL=TZNG HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, 1021 SOUTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY~ BOYNTON BEACH~ FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2002 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Elizabeth Pierce, Chairperson Jim McMahon, Vice Chair Ed Harris Margaret Murphy Bali Ramnarace Dan Winters William Orlove, Alternate Betty Thomas, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation Director .lohn Wildner, Parks Director Absent Tom Williams I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pierce called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chair Pierce called the attendance and declared that a quorum was present. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 22, 2002 Ms. Murphy asked that Boat Club Park be changed to Intracoastal Park on the last page of the minutes. Motion IVlr. Harris moved to approve the minutes as amended. carried unanimously. Mr. Orlove seconded the motion that ~V. AGENDA APPROVAL Mr. Ramnarace asked to add a discussion about the cricket pitch to the agenda. The Board agreed to this and to the agenda as amended. Mr. Wildner asked to include a presentation by Dan DeCarlo of the Neighborhood Services Department and Bob Ensler, member of the Planning & Development Board, who wished to speak on behalf of the Sister City Committee and acquaint the Board members with their activities as they relate to the establishment of a Friendship Park in Boynton Beach. The Board agreed and welcomed them to the meeting. Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 Bob Ensler, Vice Chair of the Sister City Steering Committee and Chairman for the Friendship Park Committee, related his activities pertaining to the Sister City program in general and friendship parks in particular. Ms. Jeanne Heavilin is the Chairperson of the Sister City Steering Committee. Mr. Ensler spoke of the Sister City program as an organization that fosters the establishment of friendships and cultural exchange between people of different countries. Delray Beach's Morikami Park was really a park that came into being through a sister-city relationship between a Japanese City and Delray Beach. The City of Seattle has set aside an entire City block in their downtown area for an international friendship park. Over the past few years, Dan DeCarlo has established a Sister City relationship between Boynton Beach and the City of Qufu, China. The Steering Committee is trying to establish an international friendship park in Boynton Beach similar to the Morikami Park in Delray Beach. Chair Pierce asked Mr. Ensler and Mr. DeCarlo what size property they were hoping to acquire. Mr. DeCarlo stated that they had been looking for ten acres where they would not have to purchase the land. They looked at Motorola, Optimist Park, Quantum Park, and the Congress Avenue Community Park, before settling on the County-owned Caloosa Park on Congress Avenue, on the back or passive side of the park. Mr. DeCarlo shared a design for the park and its buildings with the Board. The designer was well known for his work in the restoration of sites of antiquity. The designer's organization had built a Chinatown in Brisbane, Australia that is considered to be one of the finest examples of Chinese architecture outside of China. Mr. DeCarlo stated that the designer was coming to Boynton Beach to sit down with engineers and architects to determine the costs for construction of an international friendship park in Boynton Beach. Mr. Ensler commented that it would be built with Chinese designs, making allowances for U.S. Building Codes, and with Chinese materials. Mr. DeCarlo stated that Chinese artisans would actually come here to live while they built the park. They were hoping to create something that would attract visitors to Boynton Beach. Mr. Ensler explained that they were hoping to set up a not-for-profit corporation to raise money for the project. They expected the County to support a lot of this effort, like they did with Morikami, so that the City would not have to be significantly involved. Mr. Winters asked how they planned to raise money. Mr. DeCarlo stated that they were looking for a public/private partnership, seeking support from foundations and private funds as well as the County. The County has been favorable to staff in initial discussions. The Chinese have some money and are interested in some investments in the area and could possibly provide a little bit of help. Mr. DeCarlo believed that some of his organization's Neighborhood funds could be used also. Mr. DeCarlo also spoke of using international design themes in the City's passive parks as a way of attracting State money. They were also planning an interpretive design of African American History around Palmetto Green and the Wilson Center. Mr. Harris asked how the Golfview Harbor residents felt about the proposed park. The primary response was that property values would increase if the friendship park were to become a reality for them. The neighborhood had been transitional for some time and Mr. DeCarlo thought that a friendship park could help to stabilize and improve it. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 Mr. Ensler stated that as matters progressed, many committees would be necessary. He could see a lot of talent on the Recreation & Park Board and when the time came, would be seeking volunteers from the Board to participate more actively in the project. Mr. Orlove asked if there were any thoughts about renting out some of the pavilions for exhibitions. Mr. DeCarlo stated that the Chinese community was very involved in the design. They were thinking of doing an enclosed structure in cooperation with the Chinese Christian Church on Dixie Highway, who was very interested in the project. They would have a Chinese New Years each year, a Moon Festival, and all kinds of activities. They wanted to create a place that would add character and culture to the community. The Board thanked Mr. Ensler and Mr. DeCarlo for sharing this concept with them. V. UNFZNISHED BUSINESS A. Recreation and Open Space Element of Comprehensive Master Plan John Wildner, Parks Director, said he had distributed this item to the Board members to read previously since it would be coming up for revision. He stated that a lot of progress had been made on that Plan. They had hoped to have some money in the Capital :Improvement Program for consultant work to do this but they did have some funding for a Greenways Plan. They were getting ready to contract with a firm to do that and would extract data from it in the areas that had applicability to this element of the Master Plan. A suggestion was made that the Board tour the City's open spaces. Over the course of a few months, viewing two or three sites in a two-hour period each time, the Board could become familiar with the locations that were available for park development. This would help the Board members give input on this element of the Master Plan also. A date and time were set for the tour of September 23, 2002 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in lieu of a regular meeting. A bus will leave at 6:00 p.m. from the Civic Center. Some of the suggested sites to visit were Caloosa Park, Southeast Neighborhood Park, Jaycee Park, and the Wilson Center. Mr. Wildner expressed the hope that one day some preliminary master planning could be done on some of the sites that did not have master plans, come up with some dollar figures, and recommend to the City Commission that a bond issue be pursued. They hoped to set up a progressive plan that would actually get parks built in a reasonable period of time. Vice Chair McMahon noted that the City had appointed a gentleman from Texas as Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency and he wondered about the CPA's funding. Mr. Wildner explained that when a City has a CPA, they "cap the taxes" in the boundary of the CPA at a particular level. Tax money that comes in over that cap goes into the General Fund of the City where it is banked until sufficient money is available to start funding projects within the CPA. Mr. Orlove asked when the original study had been done on the Master Plan and Mr. Wildner responded, in the :~980s. Some minor adjustments were made a few years ago but it needs a major update. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 County Bond Zssue Mr. Wildner noted that he had sent copies of the letter that went to all the Commissioners to each Board member. The Commission was very appreciative of the letter and the Board's list of priorities and considered them when they prepared their own priorities. Three separate letters were sent out to the County Commissioners that handle districts within Boynton Beach. An informal reply was received from the Commissioners and there were a series of newspaper articles that spoke of the preliminary suggestions that the Commissioners came up with. Commissioner Addie Greene was prominent in her selection of Wilson Park and Center for $1M to be included in the bond issue. Also, there was another $1M that was available in Commissioner Greene's district for neighborhood parks and four cities that were in the district. This could mean that $250,000 would be available for each of the four cities in the district. 3aycee Park Mr. Wildner believed that the City was still in contention for other monies as well. Commissioner Newell talked about locations for boating facilities within the district, especially along the Intracoastal Waterway. That could mean that some funding possibilities might exist for Jaycee Park and the purchase of the land there. One of the issues that would have to be discussed was whether that location would be suitable for more boat ramps. There had traditionally been some opposition to putting boat ramps at that location. The Florida Tnland Navigation District (FIND), who recently put it on their surplus land list, currently owns the land. The property value would probably be $2.2M. He thought some docks or fishing piers might be a possibility, along with some passive recreation. The site could potentially be another fire station site for the City also, although it would not take up the whole site. Chair Pierce thought it should be used for a fishing pier or more of a park. Mr. Wildner remarked that there were some constraints at the Jaycee Park because of the mangroves that were there on the fringe. Woman's Club Mr. Wildner thought that some funding might be available from the County for the Woman's Club but this was probably hampered by the fact that the City and the Woman's Club had not yet come to an agreement about the public usage of it. Mr. Majors noted that the main reason the agreement had not been reached was that so many of the Woman's Club members were out of town. The Board spoke of the beauty of the Woman's Club and a desire to tour it. B. Boat Club Park Mr. Wildner reported that the building of the holding docks and landscaping were underway and that the project should be completed during September. Ms. Murphy asked what was going to take place on the land that once held Morey's Lounge. Mr. Wildner responded that it was being grassed in and would be used for overflow parking until more permanent parking could be established. Mr. Majors stated that boat decals should be ready by the end of September. Mr. Wildner remarked that there had been a change in the decal requirements and the decals were now to be put on the winch post of the trailer. This would relieve the multiple-vehicle towing problem 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 that happened the first year. Chair Pierce suggested putting an "X" through the decals so they could not be stolen and Mr. Wildner agreed. Chair Pierce suggested that people be reminded that they needed to bring their trailer registration and not their vehicle registration. Chair Pierce also thought that a surveillance camera on the boat ramp areas might be useful since the attendants were not able to leave their shed. Mr. Majors stated that they were considering having ticket dispensing machines and this would free the staff up to circulate and see if decals were affixed and/or whether a daily ticket had been purchased. Chair Pierce thought a credit card swiping system might be even better. Mr. Majors explained that this was also under consideration. Chair Pierce brought up an issue with the red/green buoy marking system at Tntracoastal Park and the fact that vessels were going between them and running aground on the sandbar. She thought that the green buoy needed to be put farther out into the Tntracoastal to avoid this. Mr. Wildner stated that the County had done the engineering on this and that he would look into it. C. Intracoastal Park Chair Pierce noted that she had seen a water park for the Wilson Center mentioned but not for the l~ntracoastal Park and asked for the status on it. Mr. Wildner reported that they were able to add the water park back in to the Intracoastal Park when the bid to build it came in at a lower figure than the $2.3M they had estimated. The plans were in a preliminary stage for the water park at Wilson and at the Intracoastal. Chair Pierce stated that it would be nice to have a building at Intracoastal Park where all the people that were parked along Federal Highway could go. The cost of it would only increase in the future. Mr. Wildner stated they needed to find the funding. Chair Pierce asked about the $:[M the CRA had and whether they could be approached to ask about this money because it had originally been set aside for a City Clubhouse at l:ntracoastal Park. Mr. Majors thought the CRA might also be able to get involved with the Woman's Club in terms of property acquisition for parking. Mr. Wildner thought that some kind of dialogue with the CRA could be appropriate. Mr. Wildner reported that the bid was ready to be awarded but the City Commission postponed it because of a controversy about the recommendation to award the job to the second Iow bidder. The City Commission has asked the Engineering Department to provide further information about the Iow bidder and their reasons for recommending that the job be passed on to the second-low bidder. D. S.E. Neighborhood Park Mr. Wildner commented on a meeting held with the neighbors adjacent to this property and said that while not many people attended, the ones that did were enthusiastically in favor of the park. They wanted a playground area, basketball courts, and a picnic area. 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 Mr. Wildner stated that Phase I development of this park would cost about $500,000. The remaining 2.7 acres of Mr. Zill's property is now for sale and the City was looking at ways to fund the purchase of that property. This item was among the projects that were forwarded to the County Commission for possible funding. Mr. Wildner mentioned the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) as a possible funding source. FRDAP has a matching grant program to develop parklands whereby cities can request a grant of $200K if they can match the other $200K. A grant application has been prepared and will be presented to the City Commission and forwarded on to FRDAP, a State organization. If funding is not obtained from Palm Beach County, it might be possible to use the $375K that was originally proposed for the development of S.E. Neighborhood Park (in the Capital ]:mprovement Plan) towards the purchase of the remaining 2.7 acres. The hope then would be to obtain a FRDAP grant for the development of the first phase of the project. E. Senior Center Mr. Majors advised that the City had received a $50,000 grant from the Lattner Foundation for the addition of a computer lab, two offices for staff, and access hallway. This will create more program space in the game room and dining room. Before anything could be done, the entire building had to have a sprinkler system installed for purposes of fire safety and on October :1, the City will go out for quotes on this system. Chair Pierce thought a camera surveillance system would be useful for purposes of liability and safety and Mr. Majors outlined the City's plans in that respect. F. Special Events Mr. Majors reported that the Carolyn Sims Family Day Picnic had been held on August :17. He explained that Ms. Sims had recently passed away after 4:1 years of service to the City and was the person who developed the Family Day program. The event was well attended and the Sims family was touched that the City had changed the name of the event to honor Ms. Sims. G. Snack Bar RFP Mr. Majors reported that the bid closing for this project was August 29. Between August 30 and September :13 a panel would review the proposals. Mr. Majors, Mr. Wildner, Mr. Livergood of Public Works and the lifeguard captain, John Bebensee, would be on the panel. Mr. Majors hoped to have the Recreation & Park Board represented as well and asked for a show of hands of the interested members. H. Items for the City Manager's Attention The Board commended the City Manager on the excellence of the report he had forwarded to the County Commission regarding the proposed Bond issue. Mr. Wildner believed that the City Manager's submission was the most comprehensive and impressive of all the packages that went to the County Commission. 6 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2002 I. Monthly Report Mr. Winters suggested that someone from the Board attend the national show on parks and recreation because it was a great opportunity to learn. Mr. Majors said he would obtain some more information about it. Cricket Park Bali Ramnarace stated that the entire field was full of weeds. Mr. Wildner responded that they were working on weed control and that the sprinklers were not operational. The School owns the property and apparently, they have not been locking the gate. Mr. Ramnarace suggested that the area be sprayed for weeds and Mr. Wildner agreed that this would be done. Mr. Ramnarace also stated that the pitch required new sod. It had been sprayed many times to kill the grass but it had not worked and needed to be dug up and replaced. Mr. Ramnarace offered to put down the sod if the City removed the old grass on the pitch. There was a team coming at Thanksgiving and Mr. Ramnarace was concerned about the condition of the pitch. It was supposed to be Bermuda grass. Mr. Wildner stated that he would personally take charge of the matter. VI. New Business - None VTT. Next Meeting The next meeting will be on September 23, 2002 and in lieu of the regular meeting, a tour will be taken of various park sites. A bus will leave the Civic Center at 6:00 p.m. VIII. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:50 Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (2 tapes) (09/06/02) 7