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Minutes 09-23-02MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002 AT 6:00 P.M. Present Elizabeth Pierce, Chairperson Bali Ramnarace Tom Williams Dan Winters William Orlove, Alternate Betty Thomas, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation Director John Wildner, Parks Director Absent Ed Harris Jim McMahon, Vice Chair Margaret Murphy 1. Gathering Point In place of the Regular September Meeting, a tour of various City park sites was taken. Members met at the Civic Center and the tour began at 6:10 p.m. Mr. Wildner introduced Alan Corscadden an Intern from Southwestern Texas University. Chairperson Pierce distributed forms to the members to complete for each park visited. Members were also requested to select a park that they have never visited and would like to visit at a future date. This would be discussed further at next meeting. 2. Locations to be Toured Jaycee Park Jaycee Park is comprised of approximately 5 acres and is minimally developed. The City does not own the land, but leases it from Florida Inland Navigational District (FIND) for $1.00 per year. FIND originally purchased the property as a place to deposit dredged materials. Mr. Wildner reported that the City has looked at this site for the new fire station. If a fire station were built on the site, only 1.5 acres would be required. The remainder of the land could become a more developed park. The park was only minimally developed because the agreement with FIND requires that the City Recreation and Parks Board Meeting Minutes Boynton Beach, FL September 23, 2002 could only develop along the western boundary of the property along U.S.1 in the event the site was needed for the disposal of dredged material. Mr. Wildner also noted that Hampshire Gardens and Colonial Club that abut the site have been opposed to any further expansion of a park. He remarked that the City Manager wrote to the Associations of those two communities asking for their input regarding the placement of a fire station on the park site. Both Associations are opposed to this. Mr. Wildner also pointed out that the property must be sold at market value, which is a minimum of $2 million. The State has first priority to the land, followed by the County and then Boynton Beach. If none of these entities purchased the property, it would be offered to private developers. Mr. Wildner said that if a government entity wanted to purchase the site, it might be possible to acquire the property at a discount. Mr. Winters felt it was very important that the City acquire this property. Chairperson Pierce inquired if the purchase of the property could be a joint venture with the County. Mr. Wildner said that this property was included on the City's request to the County for their bond issue. Chairperson Pierce reported that she spoke with Bill Wilshire, the Superintendent of Planning and Design for the County's Parks and Recreation Department and invited him to attend the Board's November meeting. Mr. Winters also thought it was important that the City have Park Rangers to patrol the parks. Mr. Wildner pointed out that Park Rangers could also be used to educate the public on better ways to utilize the parks. Mr. Majors noted that this Board could become advocates to have Park Rangers in the City. Chairperson Pierce requested that a discussion about Park Rangers be included on next month's agenda. Mr. Winters felt that this park was more of a destination park and he did not think it would be suitable for a fire station. Currently there are no restrooms at the park. The only amenities are a Bocci Court, two park benches, and picnic tables. The park is also a very popular fishing area. Mr. Wildner also pointed out that the possibility exists that the County may purchase the property for additional boat ramp usage. Southeast Neighborhood Park Site (Zill Property) Mr. Wildner pointed out that this property is a 5-acre site owned by Mr. Zill who has grown mangoes on the property for over 50 years. The property abutting the site was recently sold and is now being developed as Villa DelSol. The City already owns 2.3 acres of the site, which was dedicated by the developers of 2 Recreation and Parks Board Meeting Minutes Boynton Beach, FL September 23, 2002 Villa DelSol in accordance with the old recreation dedication ordinance. Mr. Wildner stated that there were funds in the CIP budget to begin some development of the site and a request for funding has been made to the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. An additional request for funding to purchase the remaining property has been made to the Florida Community Trust Program because Mr. Zill has posted this property for sale. Mr. Zill is moving out of the City and the City has to act quickly if it wants to purchase the property before someone else does. Mr. Wildner felt that $300,000 would be sufficient to purchase the remaining land. Mr. Ramnarace inquired what the property would be used for and Mr. Wildner responded that a basketball court and children's playground would be built, along with picnic areas and an open field for soccer. The residents in the area also requested that the playground area contain a shelter for parents to sit in the shade while the children play. Consideration to add some type of water feature is also being looked at. If the additional property were acquired, the possibility exists that tennis courts could be added along with other active and passive activities. This property could also be used as part of the Greenways plan. Girl Scout Park While en route to Girl Scout Park, Mr. Wildner pointed out Seacrest Scrub that is owned by Environmental Resources Management of Palm Beach County. The scrub consists of 30 acres and is retained specifically for scrub habitat purposes. Mr. Winters suggested that the City either utilize this property or put it up for sale. Mr. Wildner pointed out that when the City acquired the property from the County there was a deed restriction that stated that the land must be used for recreation purposes. To date, there has been no decision on how to use this property. This property consists of approximately 12 acres and is divided by the E-4 Canal and abuts the Chapel Hill neighborhood. Mr. Wildner stated that the property could be used as a boat ramp and for picnicking along the water. This would be an excellent site for passive recreation. It would be possible to put a gate across the property to lock the property up in the evening. This is another piece of property that could be part of the Greenways plan. Forest Hill Park Forest Hill Park consists of approximately four acres and contains a softball field that is used by the Little League occasionally. There are no restrooms at this Park. There is a children's playground and a new picnic shelter, plus two basketball courts. There are anchors in the ground for volleyball. Recreation and Parks Board Meeting Minutes Boynton Beach, FL September 23, 2002 There have been complaints from the neighbors that the Park is being utilized at night. This is another park that would benefit if there were a Park Ranger who could make certain that the park is vacated at night. This is mostly a neighborhood park utilized by the residents. There are no lights and the Park is closed at dusk, resulting in a great deal of vandalism. Chairperson Pierce requested that the next meeting be scheduled at the Hester Center in order to visit some of the parks that could not be covered tonight. She suggested that the meeting begin at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Majors will check on the availability of the Hester Center for Monday, October 28th. There was a consensus among the members to meet at that time and place, pending availability. ~> FP&L Park Site This property consists of 12 acres, and the City acquired six acres from FP&L in the mid 1990's. Most of the land is scrub with native plants and some exotics that would have to be removed. The property sits on the E-4 Canal, but currently there is no accessibility. This would be a very good site for boating and fishing. The E-4 Canal connects Lake Osborne and goes through Leisureville all the way to Lake Ida. This site is another potential site for a bike path. Mr. Wildner does not envision the site being used as an active park. He would like to keep most of the vegetation and introduce picnicking and fishing. Congress Avenue Community Park (Tennis Center) This park consists of 25 acres and there are 12 acres remaining to be developed. The property was originally 30 acres, but the City gave five acres to WXEL to keep them from moving out of the City. This is the site that had been discussed for a dog park. Ms. Thomas noted that at one time there was discussion to build a band shell on the site. Mr. Wildner felt that this property had great potential. Mr. Orlove requested that the plans for the site be brought to the next meeting. Mr. Wildner said that he would provide them. Mr. Winters felt that this spot would be perfect for a Community Center. Mr. Wildner noted that the City received this property 21 years ago from the developers of Hunters Run. However, he pointed out that the residents of 21 years ago no longer live there and the residents today would like to see the property remain open. ~' Caloosa Park The County controls this Park and they are trying to purchase additional property to add soccer and flag football facilities. The asking price for the property is 4 Recreation and Parks Board Meeting Minutes Boynton Beach, FL September 23, 2002 astronomical and this would be a good subject to talk to Bill Wilshire about when he attends the Board meeting. Caloosa Park consists of soccer fields and the City's Recreation Programs utilize these fields. There is also an excellent girls' softball program run by the ASYA that plays at the park. The baseball field is underutilized because it is a single baseball field and cannot accommodate tournaments. The County is planning to change the baseball field into a softball field and the outfield, combined with another area, will be turned into two T-Ball fields. There is a bike path, a wheelchair accessible path, a jogging path and two hockey rinks. The Sheriff's Department patrols this property. The entire park consists of approximately 30 acres. Mr. Wildner pointed out the area that is being considered for the Friendship Park that would have a Chinese garden theme. A preliminary design has been prepared. The picnic area would be changed into a Chinese theme and a tower would be built on the other side of the lake with Chinese-style garden plants. There would also be pagodas and other Chinese type facilities. Mr. Wildner explained that Boynton Beach is the Sister City of Qufu, China and the garden is a joint venture among Qufu, the County and the City. It will not be necessary to move much landscape to accomplish the park. The benefits to placing Friendship Park in this area are that the infrastructure, restrooms and roads are already in place and would keep the costs down. The only downside to placing the park in this location is that it would not be visible from Congress Avenue. It has been suggested that a small pagoda be placed at Congress Avenue Community Park to provide direction to the park. Also, Mr. Wildner pointed out that a great deal of vandalism takes place at this park. Little League Park Mr. Wildner reported that one of the 300' fields has been shortened at the request of the Little League. Since softball is no longer being played on the field and the Little League is utilizing the field in the Fall, there is no need for a 300' field. Little League Park consists of approximately 12 to 14 acres. There are new shade dugouts and the grass is Bermuda grass. There are four fields at the park that can accommodate T-ball to senior league ball. Girls' softball no longer is played at the Park and has moved to Caloosa Park. Mr. Wildner noted that Little League Park is next to the City's Cemetery, which is almost full. The Cemetery consists of approximately 10 acres and the Cemetery Board would like to expand the Cemetery into Little League Field. Mr. Wildner pointed out that Little League Park has close to $3 million in infrastructure, which is a big investment. He did not think it would be feasible for 5 Recreation and Parks Board Meeting Minutes Boynton Beach, FL September 23, 2002 the Cemetery to expand into the park because of the money that has been invested into Little League Park. Mr. Williams suggested if the Cemetery needed to expand that they should look at purchasing some property out west. Members would like to see Little League Park remain at this location. it was decided to conclude the tour due to darkness and to view the Cricket Pitch at Rolling Green School at the next meeting. Chairperson Pierce suggested that at the next meeting the Board also look at the Neighborhood Gardens that have been planted on Seacrest Boulevard. Mr. Wildner suggested that members look through the FunFare Magazine that has a list of the City Parks to assist them in selecting a park. Please contact Mr. Wildner or Mr. Majors' office for a copy. Chairperson Pierce collected the forms. 3. Adjournment The tour concluded at 7:50 at the Civic Center. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) (September 24, 2002) 6